(99) The College of Engineering is building upon its five year success from several NSF funded projects focusing on Service Learning Integrated throughout a College of Engineering (SLICE). The current project, Community and Industry Reaching into Computer, Lab and Engineering Sciences (CIRCLES) is extending the incorporation of Service Learning into the curriculum. Faculty from other STEM disciplines are being exposed to the Service-Learning concept and are incorporating community based projects into their current courses. Students choose one of several Service-Learning projects offered in their course and are mentored by a community member active in that area. Currently, all engineering students take at least one course with a Service-Learning component. Faculty are seeing increased student participation in course work, an increase in the number of underrepresented students in engineering courses and an increased ability of students to apply engineering principles to workplace questions. One goal of the project, to promote sensitivity and awareness of the sociological and environmental consequences of engineering decisions, is being met while strengthening the preparedness and diversity of the future engineering workforce.
