Board 91 : The UTEP Edge: A Student Success Initiative for Developing High-impact Practices

The objective of this contribution is to share how, through the integration of leadership development, undergraduate engineering education is continuing to develop steadily at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) [1], [2]. This development, led by the Department of Engineering Education and Leadership (EEL), aligns strongly with our University’s core goals and strategic initiatives. Growth in leadership learning across campus is occurring through several channels, which include the establishment of a university-wide UTEP Edge initiative [3] and institutional support for crossdisciplinary faculty through the creation and operation of the Center for Faculty Leadership and Development [4]. The UTEP Edge initiative highlights the value that the integration of leadership studies has in service to the institution by: (a) encouraging leadership education innovation and best practices within engineering, and (b) moving beyond to provide frameworks for leadership development for undergraduate students across all majors at UTEP. Through these avenues, engineering leadership studies are contributing to our institution’s core educational paradigm change. The takeaway is that engineering leadership education reverberates with and reiterates the value and core purposes of higher education in El Paso, TX, where we are committed to “providing quality higher education to a diverse student population” [5].