BPE Track 4: Phase I: Systemic Transformation to Foster Inclusion and Belonging in Engineering Recruitment and Retention (FIBERR): A Student-Centered Approach.

Systemic Transformation to Foster Inclusion and Belonging in Engineering Recruitment and Retention (FIBERR): A Student-Centered Approach, is multifaceted, placing students at the heart of transformation to increase the enrollment and academic success of historically underrepresented Engineering and Computer Science students in the College of Engineering (COEN) at Boise State University. A Track 4 Phase I project over two years, FIBERR initiatives will be centered within the recently opened Micron Student Success Center located in COEN. Aligned with the goals of the Broadening Participation in Engineering Program, the focus of this proposal is on filling the void in workforce needs by ensuring accessibility and success for our historically underserved populations. The proposal will build the needed capacity through an inclusivity and equity focus of its three objectives: 1) Develop and improve the system-wide curriculum and pathways for increased student recruitment through a user-experience lens; 2) Develop and improve inclusive teaching practices across the College of Engineering; and 3) Develop and improve students’ sense of belonging, identity, and mattering with centralized and collaborative equity approaches. FIBERR weaves together existing university and college efforts within these three objectives to form a strong, scalable center within the Micron Student Success Center. FIBERR will advance knowledge of organizational development, the servingness framework, and its study and application to help emerging Hispanic Serving Institutions build an intentional organizational identity, rather than merely enrolling Hispanic students. The three objectives of FIBERR will leverage and accelerate existing work and collaborations. Our development of pathways and understanding of curriculum complexity, will inform the Idaho State Board of Education, our governing body, and other higher education institutions of how to effectively grow the pathways for our rural students. This, coupled with a more concentrated statewide effort, will be transformative for Idaho. FIBERR will add to the literature on developing student sense of belonging, identity, and mattering, with an important focus on student input - not a build it and they will come effort. Key elements of FIBERR are building identity through Story Collider, exploring career options through Career Discovery, cohort building, and an inclusive teaching certificate program for graduate students to help transform the next generation of faculty. This program will inform other programs on the efficacy of these efforts and the important design elements that helped our students. Potentially transformative features the team will examine include improving pathways and placement for students transferring from the Colleges of Southern Idaho and Western Idaho, intentional community building practices, and the cultural shifts required to educate and incentivize faculty to employ inclusive teaching practices. As this Phase I effort moves toward best practices, FIBERR can introduce practical solutions and strategies for other universities especially those in rural areas and those serving Hispanic/Latinx communities and those working in partnership with community colleges. The overall impact of the program will address the recently documented need for a growing ECS workforce by making it inclusive and providing better access and inclusion strategies to our rural, Pell Grant Eligible, Hispanic/Latinx, and first-generation students, the populations of focus at Boise State University. This project is jointly funded by [managing program], the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). 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.