Increasing the Retention of Under-Represented Students in Engineering Through Connections with an Industry Advisory Committee

Meeting the increasing demands from industry for engineering graduates from diverse backgrounds poses a challenge for many universities. These challenges stem in part from a lack of recruitment of engineering majors from inner city and rural high schools and higher attrition rates for students from under-resourced high schools. Attrition rates are attributed to many factors including under-preparation for the mathematical and scientific rigor of an engineering curriculum and lack of academic capital from which to draw a general understanding of higher education and how to take full advantage of its offerings. In an effort to increase retention and completion rates among under-represented students the Bucknell University College of Engineering has worked closely with Parsons Brinkerhoff Inc. to establish the Engineering Success Alliance (ESA). The ESA focuses on first-year engineering students from various inner-city recruiting programs and students from under-represented groups in engineering whose admissions materials suggest they might need extra support during the first two critical years in an engineering curriculum. Students are invited to participate in the ESA prior to their arrival on campus. Those who accept the invitation are then offered a variety of support activities targeted primarily at building mathematics skills, study skills, and academic capital. It is expected that these activities will assist in the retention of these students in engineering during the critical first two years of intense preparation for their engineering courses. Integral to this process is an exceptionally active and motivated Advisory Committee made up of alumni from a variety of engineering disciplines and graduation years. These industry partners work not only to help raise funds to endow the program but also meet regularly with the students to mentor and inspire. The students and alumni share multiple meals a year together on campus and the students have been invited to visit partner offices and project sites. In exchange for the students’ participation in the ESA activities, the industry partners will facilitate internship and professional development activities in the third and fourth years of the students’ engineering program. When the students in the ESA program graduate, the Advisory Committee members will benefit from having built relationships with well-prepared engineering graduates with diverse perspectives and backgrounds. The true impact of the ESA has proven to be in the interactions between the industry partners and the students. Student motivation and persistence is immediately and noticeably different after each of these interactions. While the ESA is a young program that has not yet seen its first graduating class, preliminary assessments show that the presence of the Advisory Committee in this program has already proven integral to its success.