Supporting Engineering and Computing Studies Scholars through Experiential Learning, Personal Development, and Community Service

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at Gannon University. Gannon is a private, four-year, primarily undergraduate university located in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Over its six-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to approximately 85 unique full-time students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in engineering and computing studies, including mechanical, electrical, software, environmental, biomedical, and industrial engineering. One-year scholarships (renewable for up to four years) will be offered to selected incoming freshman students.

The program provides professional and personal development activities chosen to support retention to graduation and help students thrive post-graduation. These activities include sessions geared towards building student competence in the workplace, experiential learning, personal development, and community-building activities. The project contributes to student academic success through active advising of students, peer mentoring, and development of close, personal ties to faculty members.

The broader impact of the project is found in the experiential aspect, wherein local in-need charitable organizations are assisted in development of low-cost engineered solutions to specialized problems, thereby enhancing livability in the university neighborhood (which is situated in one of the poorest zip codes in the USA) and encouraging students towards community service. Intellectual merit of the project is to be found in the establishment of additional best practices in student retention and in knowledge gained about the efficacy of actions taken to provide academic aid to students struggling in fundamental math and physics courses.

The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The goals of the Scholars of Excellence in Engineering and Computing Studies (SEECS) program are to: (1) increase the number of low-income, academically talented students with demonstrated financial need, especially women (an under-represented group), enrolled in and graduating from Gannon University’s engineering and computing studies programs, (2) facilitate students’ degree attainment by providing scholarships and rigorous academic support, (3) foster professional development and assist students’ entry into careers in STEM fields and/or graduate education, and (4) study and communicate the impact of targeted interventions on retention of high academic performing students, focusing on attrition-point courses.

To realize these goals, this project aims to: (1) provide 25 scholarships per year on average for eligible students, (2) achieve an average 90% freshman to sophomore retention rate for SEECS scholars, (3) provide scholars with academic and professional development preparing them for employment in a STEM field and/or graduate school, (4) develop and maintain recruitment strategies to achieve a 30% rate of women applicants, and (5) provide academic support for critical path courses. The underlying philosophy of SEECS is to help increase diversity in engineering studies by increasing access to low-income students.

Further, based upon past study of attrition, it has been noted that there are two particular courses that cause academic problems, namely Calculus and Physics. This project utilizes peer mentoring and multi-level academic advising to provide additional support to bolster student success in these courses. Thus, SEECS goals both foster diversity, and support development of a strong work force by providing academic and financial assistance towards graduation.

Results will be disseminated through publications in conference proceedings and journals and will be made available through the university website. This project is funded by NSF’s Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in STEM fields.

It also aims to improve the education of future STEM workers, and to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income students.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.