A goal of the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) is to increase the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) instructional and research capacities of specific institutions of higher education that serve the Nation's indigenous students. The PEEC-II track provides support for studies or educational research conducted by institutions that have had earlier Pre-Engineering Education Collaborative (PEEC) awards. The intent of PEEC-II is to capture, analyze, and disseminate the impact of these awards on the participating institutions, faculty, or students, and their communities. PEEC and PEEC-II are partnerships between TCUP and the Directorate for Engineering.
Kapiolani Community College (KCC), as the lead institution of a University of Hawaii (UH) System collaboration that includes Honolulu Community College (HCC), Leeward Community College (LCC), Maui College (MC), and Windward Community College (WCC) and University of Hawaii Manoa (UHM), proposes to build on the foundation of their PEEC award which created pre-engineering tracks and transfer agreements between the colleges and UHM as well as instituted student support activities. The Hawaii PEEC II goals are: 1) to build capacity at Native Hawaiian-serving institutions to prepare students for engineering degree completion, seamless transfer to a four-year institution, and entry into the workforce; and 2) to implement, investigate, and evaluate the effect of discipline-specific undergraduate research on student success.
Along with expanding the sense of place for Native Hawaiian students on each campus through facilities and resources that support the community, the project will contribute to a better understanding of retention and student success in formal pre-engineering programs especially for Native Hawaiian students. The project will investigate the effect of undergraduate research on student success and the utility of vertically-integrated projects for university and community college students around the themes of robotics, space & astronomy, maker, and sustainability. PEEC II will provide evidenced-based practices to help resolve a major national problem for community colleges attempting to develop effective engineering transfer pathways to universities for students underrepresented in STEM.
