This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial. Over five-years, the project will provide up to four years of scholarship support to 32 students majoring in Civil, Construction, Computer, Electrical, Environmental, Mechanical, Mechatronics, or Industrial and Systems Engineering. The project will highlight the public benefits of engineering and Scholars will begin to make societal contributions while they are still undergraduates. The project aims to achieve its goals by using existing student support structures and implementing new activities that are known to increase retention of engineering students, particularly female engineering students. Such activities include undergraduate research experiences, living learning communities, STEM outreach efforts, and peer mentoring and tutoring. Industry partners, advisors, and faculty researchers who are committed to the success of this project will serve as mentors. It is expected that Scholars will gain an increased understanding of the importance of diversity in engineering, including the participation of women. The project has the potential to create a larger pool of female professionals in engineering disciplines.
The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. Through its activities, the project aims to achieve four major objectives: 1) to provide students with scholarships to mitigate financial-challenges that impede successful academic progress; 2) to engage students with an engineering faculty mentor and industry partner mentors; 3) to create a community of students who participate in activities with a service or outreach emphasis; and 4) to facilitate student participation in undergraduate research projects that address societal concerns. Although all low-income, high-achieving engineering undergraduates at Kennesaw State University will have an equal opportunity to receive scholarships, this project emphasizes efforts to increase the participation of women. Women are underrepresented in engineering nationally, and female undergraduate enrollment and degrees awarded in engineering at Kennesaw State University are below the national average. Research has shown that one important precursor to gender disparities that favor men in STEM education is a sense of belonging, or the feeling of fitting in and feeling like a legitimate member of a community. The project will examine whether the implementation of project activities leads to a more inclusive academic environment and heightened feelings of belonging among the Scholars. The program intends to answer three research questions that are aligned with the project objectives: 1) Does mentorship positively influence Scholars' feelings of intellectual belonging? 2) Does community building positively influence the Scholars' subjective experiences of connectedness and social belonging? and 3) Does participation in socially relevant research activities positively influence the Scholars' intent to persist in engineering? The project will be evaluated using a longitudinal, mixed methods, concurrent triangulation design. Dissemination of project results will occur locally, via the University website and local workshops, and nationally, at conferences such as the American Society for Engineering Education and in professional publications. This project is funded by NSF's Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in STEM fields. It also aims to improve the education of future STEM workers, and to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income students.
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.
