Enhanced Engineering Education for Underserved Communities of the San Joaquin Valley

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 California State University-Fresno, a Hispanic-Serving Institution and Asian-American Pacific Islander Serving Institution. Over its 6-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to 31 unique full-time students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in electrical, computer, civil, geomatics, or mechanical engineering. First year students will receive 4-year and 5-year scholarships depending on their needs for degree completion. This project will integrate multiple evidence-based high-impact practices (HIPs) to support student academic success. The main aspects of this grant are: a) a focus on supporting and documenting the progress of talented, low-income, primarily first-generation and minority college students, b) collaboration among three departments in the Lyles College of Engineering, and c) a focus on project-based learning, which involves students working on real-world engineering problems, linked to community service. The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion for low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The aim of this project is to boost the performance and outcomes of talented low-income students to close the gap between those students and their higher-income peers. The program is designed to support student development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and promote creativity, innovation, and service to society. The project’s research plan will monitor several factors, including students’ perception of themselves as engineers, their STEM self-efficacy, their engineering identity, their perceived barriers and concerns, and the effectiveness of mentoring to support their learning, engagement, and success. 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.