Board # 24 : Sustainable bridges from campus to campus: Preliminary results from Cohort 1

The impetus for the Sustainable Bridges from Campus to Campus study is to address the urgent need to expand the pool of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) graduates, especially African American, Native American, and Hispanic students. Long-term improvements in the pipeline of a diverse STEM workforce start with sustaining effective bridge programs that can produce more Engineering baccalaureates. To improve retention in Engineering, this study will conduct academic enrichment programs for racially underrepresented Engineering students at three points in their career at the Penn State—entering freshmen, rising sophomores, and rising juniors. The goals of the study are to (a) increase retention in Engineering among racially underrepresented students in the Penn State system, (b) develop long-term sustainability plans for these enrichment programs, and (c) compare retention rates in Engineering depending on whether students attended a summer academic enhancement program at their local campus or at a different campus and whether they transfer between campuses within the University system. The guiding framework for the summer bridge programs is the Minority Engineering Program (MEP) Model. The study started in January 2016. During summer 2016, we conducted 5 summer bridge programs with the first cohort of freshmen across 4 campuses in the Penn State system. The students in Cohort 1 are currently in the fall semester of their freshmen year. At this early point in the study, our paper can present an overview of the project as well as reporting preliminary data on Cohort 1 after their first semester (Fall 2016). Academic performance data after the first semester include grade point average, math course grades, academic social support, and whether they are retained at the University. Overview of the Project Goals and Objectives The current research seeks to accomplish three goals: (1) Increase retention in Engineering among racially underrepresented engineering students by extending a successful summer bridge model and transition program to regional campuses in the Penn State system, (2) Develop long-term sustainability plans for these programs, and (3) Compare the efficacy of three different bridge models. The primary outcome measure is retention in baccalaureate Engineering majors following the Entrance to Major process at the beginning of the junior year (i.e., enrollment in a specific major). Secondary outcome measures are retention in STEM majors and retention at the University. This research is generously funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF IUSE #1525367). Please note that any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. The Intellectual Merit of this research is two-fold: examine variation in Engineering retention for three models of bridge programs and produce a series of workshops on Engineering bridge leadership, funding, and sustainability strategies for Engineering summer bridge programs. The goal of each math-intensive bridge program is to provide academic, social, and geographic exposure for groups of 15 to 30 incoming students. The three models differ by students’ transfer status (native or transfer student) and bridge location (assigned campus or campus different from assigned campus). For Model 1, incoming students at the flagship University Park campus attend the summer bridge at that campus (~25 students) and do not make a campus transition. For Model 2, incoming students (~30 students) from approximately 16 regional campuses attend a summer bridge at the University Park campus, complete the first two years at their regional campus, and transition to University Park as juniors. For Model 3, incoming students at 3 regional campuses attend a summer bridge at their own campus (~15 students per campus), complete the first two years at that campus, and then transition to University Park as juniors. The three models are applied to five bridges. As part of a comprehensive program, all participants will also be offered professional development seminars during freshman year, an additional math-intensive 4-week summer bridge for rising sophomores (Calculus II, Differential Equations, Physics II), and transition programming to assist in acclimating to the University Park campus for rising juniors. Bridge programs are successful for only as long as they exist. Sustainability of summer bridge programs is a significant challenge because of their annual expense and the ongoing need to raise university, industry or external funds to support them. We propose to develop a learning community among the regional campus Engineering bridge leaders and conduct a series of workshops on fund-raising and sustainability strategies for the 3 regional campuses with new summer bridge programs for incoming underrepresented Engineering students. The Broader Impact of increasing the retention of students in baccalaureate Engineering majors is derived from the urgent need to expand the pool of STEM graduates, especially racially underrepresented students (African American, Hispanic, Native American). That need is documented in a series of monographs by major government and scientific councils. Penn State is comprised of the flagship University Park campus and 19 regional undergraduate campuses. About 60% of Penn State students opt for the “2+2 plan” by completing the first two years of their education at a regional campus and then transitioning to the University Park campus for the last two years. For over 20 years, Penn State has offered a traditional Engineering bridge program for underrepresented students who start their education at the University Park campus. For 11 years, a second Engineering bridge program at the University Park campus has served underrepresented Engineering students who will start their Penn State education at one of 19 regional undergraduate campuses. Historically, the regional campuses have not offered local summer bridge programs. Based on preliminary success starting STEM bridge programs with predominantly white, first generation populations at 3 regional campuses (NSF-STEP Toys’n MORE project #0756992), the research implements 3 new bridge programs at the regional campuses with the largest populations of underrepresented Engineering students in the Penn State system. Because these regional campuses have not had summer bridge programs, they do not have a sustainability plan or bridge program staff. Long-term improvements in the pipeline of a diverse STEM workforce starts with sustaining effective bridge programs that can produce more Engineering baccalaureates. Sustainability starts with understanding the funding process at each campus. National Retention in Engineering The broad rationale for this proposal is derived from the national need to retain and graduate more baccalaureate Engineering students, especially underrepresented students. To remain competitive in the global marketplace, the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness (2011) called on American universities and employers to collaborate to graduate 10,000 more students with a baccalaureate degree in Engineering each year. To meet this goal, American colleges and universities will need to double the annual increases of the past several years by adding 5000 to 6000 more engineering graduates each year. Where will those successful engineering students come from? There are two sources. The incoming pipeline of Engineering students from high school can be increased or student retention in college Engineering programs can be increased. Research on the pipeline for Science and Engineering students is rather discouraging, with 1 to 2.5% of middle and high school students showing interest in STEM professions (Mau, 2003; Tyson, Lee, Borman & Hanson, 2007). Increasing the retention of Engineering students who already have an expressed interest is the focus of this proposal to increase the number of Engineering graduates. Studies with large samples of Engineering students show that approximately 60% of college students who intend to major in Engineering do complete an Engineering degree (National Science Board, 2012; Ohland et al., 2008). One way to make strides toward achieving the goal of 10,000 Engineering students is to boost retention among racially underrepresented students. They enter STEM majors in college at similar rates as white and Asian American students, but have much higher rates of attrition (American Council on Education, 2005). Racially underrepresented students earn approximately 12% of the baccalaureate degrees in Engineering, less than half of their representation in the population (28%; National Science Foundation, 2013). The problem of low numbers of racially underrepresented individuals in STEM fields was described as “urgent” by the Committee on Underrepresented Groups and the Expansion of the Science and Engineering Workforce Pipeline (2011). Engineering at Penn State An overview of the structure of Penn State and the process for Engineering students is important for understanding the research. Penn State is comprised of 19 regional undergraduate campuses across the Commonwealth that offer 2and 4-year undergraduate degrees or 2-year curriculums which tie into terminal programs at other Penn State locations. Penn State’s College of Engineering at University Park (the flagship campus, 46,000 students), offers a selection of 13 Engineering majors (including computer engineering and computer science) and has one of the largest Engineering colleges in the United States (Yoder, 2012). With a Fall 2013 undergraduate Engineering enrollment of 9,941 across 20 campuses, Penn State offers the largest variety of Engineering degrees in the U.S., primarily through the College of Engineering at University Park, with newer programs evolving at several regional campuses. One r