A Plan To Retain Women Students In An Electrical Engineering Technology Program

An innovative plan has been developed to secure the retention of women students in a four-year Electrical Engineering Technology program. Our aim is to recruit six to ten women and move them as a group through the complete program. Bolstering confidence levels, developing hands-on skills, and forming coping strategies are all addressed in unique and innovative ways. The thread that runs through the various components of our program is a group-based support network that moves with and coexists with the real-world demand of a technical environment. Every aspect of a technical climate such as being one of few women in classes will undoubtedly be experienced by these students. However, alongside will be a subset support environment to help anticipate these kinds of experiences and provide coping strategies. For example, the addition of an office hour spent between the group of women students and their professor will provide an alternative environment where women will be in a majority and can identify what they need from the professor.