A Review Of Strategies Employed On Minority Recruitment And Retention In Engineering Education

According to research nationwide, many students entering college confront developmental challenges and face difficulties while adapting to their new environment and coping with the greater demands of academic life. For minority students, these factors may involve obstacles different than those of their mainstream peers. Minority undergraduate student populations in the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics lag significantly behind its representation in the overall population. Data from the U.S. census bureau and other studies indicate the population of African-American and Latinos to be between 12% and 13%, respectively. Undergraduate students falling in these groups account for only a small percentage of the undergraduate student population in the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. These minority student populations have increased slightly over the past decade, but are still significantly underrepresented. To increase the attraction and retention of minority engineering students, many higher-education institutions have implemented various strategies to help address the academic and social pressures these students may face. The aim of these programs is to make the college experience problem-free and to improve retention rates, particularly of undergraduate students. Various institutions with accredited undergraduate engineering programs have an office or set of programs in place for minority engineering students. Typical programs include both social and academic support mechanisms. The purpose of this paper is to review the various strategies employed by higher education institutions in recruiting and retaining minorities in engineering education. Some of the strategies reviewed include early exposure of students to engineering topics, advising, student participation in student competitions, teaching tools, recruiting packages, and scholarships.