| NSF Org: |
DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | June 3, 2008 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | August 10, 2011 |
| Award Number: | 0757020 |
| Award Instrument: | Continuing Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Nicole Bennett
DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education EDU Directorate for STEM Education |
| Start Date: | July 1, 2008 |
| End Date: | June 30, 2015 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $2,499,907.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $2,499,907.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2009 = $528,794.00 FY 2011 = $543,815.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
426 AUDITORIUM RD RM 2 EAST LANSING MI US 48824-2600 (517)355-5040 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
426 AUDITORIUM RD RM 2 EAST LANSING MI US 48824-2600 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | STEP-STEM Talent Expansn Pgm |
| Primary Program Source: |
04000910DB NSF Education & Human Resource 04001112DB NSF Education & Human Resource |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.076 |
ABSTRACT
The project, a collaboration between Michigan State University and Lansing Community College, is developing programs to ease the transition of high school students into engineering undergraduate programs in order to increase the retention rate of these students. Close analysis of institutional statistics has revealed that key courses (early mathematics courses, first term physics, and a computational tools-for-problem-solving course) are pivotal in promoting retention. The project includes (a) a program to provide formative assessments in the key courses with follow-on "bootstrapping" tutorials, (b) a supplemental instruction program for the key courses that has proved to be effective at Lansing Community College, (c) a program to directly engage engineering faculty with early engineering students, and (d) a program to develop and exploit course material from one key course in another. The project goal is to increase the freshman-to-graduation success rate from its current value of 65% to at least 75%. Formal evaluation, with leadership from experts in the University's Institute of Public Policy and Social Research, is using institutional data, surveys of students and faculty members, focus groups and interviews of stakeholders, observations of project activities, and reviews of project materials and products. Instructional materials and approaches and evaluation results are being disseminated through website postings, conference presentations, and journal publications. Broader impacts include the dissemination of their materials and methods and assistance in the economic development of this region.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
EEES: Engaging Early Engineering Students to ?Expand Numbers of Degree Recipients
Undergraduate STEM student enrollment has declined substantially over the last decade. Specifically there has been a steady decline in retention of early engineering students working through the first half of their degree programs. Student “leavers” typically fall into two categories (i) those facing academic difficulties and (ii) those that perceive the education environment of early engineering as hostile and not engaging.
To address these challenges the EEES project integrates four component programs that address both categories of leavers-- those facing academic difficulties and those that perceive the education environment as hostile and not engaging.
Intellectual Merit and Broader Impact: This project is aimed at increasing retention in the undergraduate engineering programs at Michigan State University (MSU). An articulated set of four content programs (Figure 1) was used: (a) supplemental instruction targeted at key first and second year engineering courses, (b) Connector faculty (CF) program linking engineering faculty to first year engineering students, (c) a program to cross fertilize targeted first year engineering classes with problem sets from content material in other lower division engineering classes, and (d) a program applied in targeted first and second year engineering classes to provide early and ongoing content diagnostics coupled with bootstrapping online and live help for students. The program builds on the combined, synergistic effect of the program components. The project impacted a total of over 2000 students per year.
The major outcomes of the project are: a) increase in retention (~4 percentage points) for domestic engineering students that coincide with the implementation of the EEES project in 2008 (Figure 2); b) Institutionalization of EEES programs at MSU.
Retention: The main goal of the EEES project was to increase retention of students who matriculate at the university and declare their intention to major in Engineering. At MSU COE students are first admitted with a preference for engineering. After obtaining 56 hours of credit or after completing a core set of technical courses, students with an acceptable GPA (2.9 – 3.1, varies by program) are admitted formally to an engineering major. Once a student achieves admission to an undergraduate engineering discipline, the retention rate to graduation is over 85%. Hence the metric that we used is retention five semesters after matriculation (term 5). Figure 2 shows an increase in retention for domestic engineering students that coincide with the implementation of the EEES project in 2008.
The outcomes and achievements of the EEES project are better understood in the context of existing structures within the COE. In particular the first year engineering program is the structure that directly aligns with the focus of the EEES project—to engage early engineering students. The Cornerstone Residential Experience (CoRe) involves integrated academic and co-curricular activities, including a residential living-learning community.
Institutionalization of EEES Programs at MSU: A significant result of the project relates to the institutionalization and articulation of some of the EEES program components into existing structures in the COE:
Connector Faculty (CF): The CF program has been institutionalized as a direct result of the EEES project. The concept of informal faculty mentoring developed and tested during the implementation of the EEES project...
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