Two cohorts of twenty five academically talented, financially needy students majoring in engineering are receiving scholarships averaging $3,000 annually. Following a one year planning period, both cohorts are initiated during the second year. One cohort consists of 25 sophomores and the second of 25 freshmen. The scholarships are being awarded for three or four years respectively. Thus, it is planned that a total of 50 students share 175 year-long scholarships over the five year project period. There are plans for replacing any scholars who do not maintain scholarship eligibility by qualified upper classmen.
The project builds on a previous successful CSEMS project. Notable project features include the use of learning communities and peer tutoring - strategies known to increase retention. Other merits include the emphasis on advisement, the strong academics coupled with the many student support services, the integration of the evaluation with the ABET process and project-oriented, team building experiences.
