Building Bridges To Engineering Careers For Underserved Students

A project with Waukesha County Technical College, Marquette University, and other partners, funded by a Congressional Award, increases the number of underserved individuals completing a degree to enter rewarding engineering careers. This model program removes barriers through collaborative linkages with secondary and post-secondary institutions, businesses, and community, minority, and professional organizations to recruit, support, and retain underserved students. It integrates program curricula and creates detailed plans to replicate this program at other institutions. introduction There is a need to increase the number of women and minority engineers and the number of women and minorities in engineering education. Women accounted for approximately 35 percent of employed engineers between 1993 and 1999, Asians made up about 11 percent, AfricanAmericans and Hispanics each made up about 3 percent and American Indians made up less than 0.5 percent [1]. Although engineering is “gaining in popularity at all degree levels” [2], according to the results of ASEE’s 2001-2002 survey, women and minorities are underrepresented in engineering with women earning engineering degrees at between 17 and 22 percent, and African-American and Hispanic students both represented at less than 5.5 percent at the undergraduate level [2]. United States Bureau of the Census data is useful to compare relative percentages of groups including gender, race/ethnicity, and disability. That data shows that the demographic composition of the population in 1999 included approximately half women, African-Americans and Hispanics each were 12 percent of the population, Asians were 4 percent of the population, and American Indians were less than 1 percent of the population [3]. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that in 1997, about 20 percent of the population had a disability [4]. background P ge 975.1 Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2004, American Society for Engineering Education In Fall 2002, Waukesha County Technical College (WCTC) received a $700,000 congressional award for the development of a joint curriculum and transfer program with Marquette University for the fields of engineering and nursing to benefit underserved populations [5]. Underserved populations who may benefit include members of minority groups, the financially disadvantaged, people with disabilities and those who consider careers in engineering and nursing nontraditional occupations. Individuals may be underserved for a variety of reasons including financial condition, home and family situation, academic setting and cultural/lifestyle obstacles. In addition, engineering can be a rigorous and competitive academic program. These challenges contribute to potential students finding it difficult to realize success. Individuals among underserved populations often find it helpful to study in an educational environment where additional support services are readily available. This program is designed to provide a nurturing environment to assist students to achieve successful outcomes. The congressional award program will help underserved students start their engineering education at WCTC and progress seamlessly through a bachelors degree program at Marquette University. The process of transferring degree credit course work from a two-year technical or community college to a four-year institution has historically been difficult for students. Engineering courses with high levels of mathematics (Calculus) and science preparation often result in denial of course credit transfers resulting in extended times to complete a baccalaureate degree. Individuals transferring from two-year to four-year institutions may be required to start their engineering education over from the beginning. Transfer agreements designed to make it easy for students to transfer credits have existed between WCTC and Marquette University since 1995. The current agreement allows students to complete their first two years of electrical or mechanical engineering technology at WCTC and then transfer to Marquette University to complete their bachelors degree. Since 1995, over 50 engineering-related students have already successfully transferred from WCTC to Marquette University to complete their bachelors degrees in engineering.