California State University, Los Angeles seeks to meet the need for a diverse STEM workforce through the expansion and scale-up of a first-year experience (FYrE@ECST) program for undergraduate students at its College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology. The institution serves primarily Hispanic, first-generation, Pell-grant eligible, commuter students, and is an access institution, offering many kinds of students the opportunity to study and complete an engineering or computer science degree. The FYrE program aims to build a stronger academic foundation during the students' first year by developing the cultural and social capital necessary for students to successfully navigate their undergraduate experience. The program uses evidence-based strategies to promote student success, including working with student cohorts, offering peer-assisted mathematics Supplementary Instruction, emphasizing hands-on labs, building classes that integrate mathematics and physics, and providing a faculty mentor throughout students? first year.
The intellectual merit of this project is the expansion and evaluation of the FYrE model. The performance of each student cohort will be tracked during their first year, and continue for the duration of their time on campus. A multivariate, structural equation modeling (SEM) approach will be used to quantitatively respond to a set of research questions about the impact of the interventions on student attributes. The results of this work will include new knowledge about the first-year experience of low-income, Latinx-majority commuter student populations in the context of the development of their identities as engineering students. Research will be conducted on the impact of a first-year experience program that integrates engineering education best-practices such as cohorting, supplemental instruction, summer bridge experiences, a project-based Introduction to Engineering course, and integrated mathematics-physics courses on student persistence and academic performance. This knowledge will improve the ability of American universities to serve the growing population of low income Hispanic students, especially commuter students who cannot take advantage of built-in cohorting that takes place in on-campus living situations. Best practices for supporting success of first-year engineering students from underrepresented minorities have often been developed and implemented at predominantly white institutions. In a public Hispanic-serving institution in which most students are members of one or more underrepresented minority, scaling these best practices can be challenging. The FYrE@ECST program is designed for scalability and sustainability and may provide insight into successful strategies for supporting student success at similar institutions.
