HSI Implementation and Evaluation Project: Building Paths to Civil Engineering Student Success

在“改善本科STEM教育：为西班牙裔服务的机构”（HSI计划）的支持下，该项目旨在开发和记录成功的方法，以扩大土木工程学业成功的机会，并提高服务不足学生的持久性。必须提供适当的支持，帮助有能力的学生过渡到并通过工程项目。一系列干预措施已显示各自产生积极影响，但缺乏从方案角度对其相对价值的全面评价。这些学术支持和指导活动有望增强学生在一所大型大学的归属感，并建立他们作为工程师的身份。本研究将定量评估一系列基于证据的活动对持久性、留任率、升学率和整体学业成绩的影响，以确定最有希望的工程项目包容性和多样性干预措施。为了评估有效性，一项交叉研究将确定为工程中服务不足的群体（包括URM，女性和佩尔接受者）提供最有意义的支持服务的干预措施。队列将包括根据新录取标准录取的工程专业学生，有或没有支持干预。影响将通过定量指标（留任、学位晋升、试用期状态、GPA等）和从个人访谈和焦点小组收集的个人叙述的定性主题来评估。干预措施以三个目标为指导。首先是通过专注的同伴和教师指导以及作为个人和学生群体参与学生活动来促进学术项目的归属感。第二是通过学术支持课程、辅导和暑期学术提升计划来提高学习成绩。三是通过实习、从业者指导、职业发展/专业内容、参与工程社团等方式培养工程师身份。最后，将为教师、从业人员和同行提供包容性指导培训。研究结果将通过期刊出版物和专业报告进行分享。HSI计划旨在加强本科STEM教育，扩大STEM参与，并在HSI进行能力建设。考虑到hsi的多样性和背景，实现这些目标需要创新的方法来激励机构和社区转型，并促进基础研究(1)关于参与式学生学习，(2)关于如何有效地使STEM多样化和增加参与，以及(3)提高我们对如何在hsi建立机构能力的理解。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

With support from the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI Program), this project aims to develop and document successful approaches to broaden access to academic success in civil engineering and improve persistence for underserved students. Appropriate support must be provided to help capable students as they transition to and move through an engineering program. A range of interventions have shown to have positive impacts individually but a comprehensive evaluation on their relative value from a programmatic perspective is lacking. These academic support and mentoring activities are expected to heighten students’ sense of belonging at a large university and build their identity as engineers. This research will quantitatively evaluate the impact of a holistic set of evidence based activities on persistence, retention, advancement rate and overall academic performance to identify the most promising interventions for inclusion and diversity in engineering programs.To assess effectiveness, an intersectional study will identify the interventions that provide the most meaningful support services for underserved groups in engineering including URM, women, and Pell recipients. Cohorts will include engineering students admitted under new admission criteria, with and without support interventions. Impacts will be assessed by quantitative measures (retention, advancement toward degree, probation status, GPA, etc.) and qualitative themes from personal narratives collected from individual interviews and focus groups. The interventions are guided by three objectives. First is to promote a sense of belonging within the academic program through focused peer and faculty mentoring and participation in student activities as individuals and in a student cohort. Second is to improve academic performance through academic support courses, tutoring and a summer academic advancement program. Third is to develop their engineering identity through internships, practitioner mentoring, career development/professionalism content, and involvement in engineering clubs. Finally, inclusive mentoring training will be provided to faculty, practitioners, and peers. Results will be shared through journal publications and professional presentations. The HSI Program aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education, broaden participation in STEM, and build capacity at HSIs. Achieving these aims, given the diverse nature and context of the HSIs, requires innovative approaches that incentivize institutional and community transformation and promote fundamental research (i) on engaged student learning, (ii) about what it takes to diversify and increase participation in STEM effectively, and (iii) that improves our understanding of how to build institutional capacity at HSIs.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.