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Summer Bridge Programming for Incoming First-Year Students at Three Public Urban Research Universities

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Conference

2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Minneapolis, MN

Publication Date

August 23, 2022

Start Date

June 26, 2022

End Date

June 29, 2022

Conference Session

First-Year Programs Division Technical Session 1: Student Success Boot Camps, Summer Bridge Programs, and Living Learning Communities

Page Count

15

DOI

10.18260/1-2--41415

Permanent URL

https://strategy.asee.org/41415

Download Count

332

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Paper Authors

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Miriam Howland Cummings University of Colorado Denver

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Miriam is a PhD candidate in Education Research and Evaluation Methods at the University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) and a graduate research assistant on an NSF S-STEM grant in CU Denver's College of Engineering, Design, and Computing.

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Maryam Darbeheshti University of Colorado Denver

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Dr. Maryam Darbeheshti is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado Denver. Her research interests are in multiphase fluid flow, and Engineering Education.

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Stephanie Ivey The University of Memphis

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Craig Stewart

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David Russomanno Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis

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Danny King Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis

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Katherine Goodman University of Colorado Denver

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Katherine Goodman is an assistant professor (teaching track) at the University of Colorado Denver. She serves as curriculum lead for Inworks, an interdisciplinary innovation lab within the College of Engineering, Design and Computing. Her research focuses on transformative experiences in
engineering education. She is the past division chair of the Technological and Engineering Literacy / Philosophy of Engineering Division (TELPhE).

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James Campbell The University of Memphis

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Tom Altman

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Dr. Tom Altman – Professor
Tom Altman received his B.S. degrees in Computer Science and in Mathematics, and M.S. and Ph.D. (1984) in Computer Science, all from the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Altman specializes in optimization algorithms, formal language theory, and complex system simulation. He joined CU Denver in 1990 and became a full professor in 1997. Dr. Altman has published a book and over 90 journal, conference, and technical papers. He has been a recipient of numerous research awards, including ASCE Best Research Paper and USEPA Star Award. Professor Altman has been a PI or co-PI on over 20 external grants, including multiple ones from the NSF, DARPA, AFOSR, MDA, AFRL, Army and Navy.

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Michael Jacobson University of Colorado Denver

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Gregory Simon University of Colorado Denver

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Abstract

This Complete Evidence-based Practice paper will describe how three different public urban research universities designed, executed, and iterated Summer Bridge programming for a subset of incoming first-year engineering students over the course of three consecutive years. There were commonalities between each institution’s Summer Bridge, as well as unique aspects catering to the specific needs and structures of each institution. Both these commonalities and unique aspects will be discussed, in addition to the processes of iteration and improvement, target student populations, and reported student outcomes. Finally, recommendations for other institutions seeking to launch or refine similar programming will be shared.

Summer Bridge programming at each of the three institutions shared certain communalities. Mostly notably, each of the three institutions developed its Summer Bridge as an additional way to provide support for students receiving an NSF S-STEM scholarship. The purpose of each Summer Bridge was to build community among these students, prepare them for the academic rigor of first-year engineering curriculum, and edify their STEM identity and sense of belonging. Each Summer Bridge was a 3-5 day experience held in the week immediately prior to the start of the Fall semester.

In addition to these communalities, each Summer Bridge also had its own unique features. At the first institution, Summer Bridge is focused on increasing college readiness through the transition from summer break into impending coursework. This institution’s Summer Bridge includes STEM special-interest presentations (such as biomedical or electrical engineering) and other development activities (such as communication and growth mindset workshops). Additionally, this institution’s Summer Bridge continues into the fall semester via a 1-credit hour First Year Seminar class, which builds and reinforces student networking and community beyond the summer experience.

At the second institution, all students receiving the NSF S-STEM scholarship (not only those who are first-year students) participate in Summer Bridge. This means that S-STEM scholars at this institution participate in Summer Bridge multiple years in a row. Relatedly, after the first year, Summer Bridge transitioned to a student-led and student-delivered program, affording sophomore and junior students leadership opportunities, which not only serve as marketable experience after graduation, but also further builds their sense of STEM identity and belonging.

At the third institution, a special focus was given to building community. This was achieved through several means. First, each day of Summer Bridge included a unique team-oriented design challenge where students got to work together and know each other within an engineering context, also reinforcing their STEM identities. Second, students at this institution’s Summer Bridge met their future instructors in an informal, conversational, lunch setting; many students reported this was one of their favorite aspects of Summer Bridge. Finally, Summer Bridge facilitated a first connect between incoming first-year students and their peer mentors (sophomore and junior students also receiving the NSF S-STEM scholarship), with whom they would meet regularly throughout the following fall and spring semesters.

Each of the three institutions employed processes of iteration and improvement for their Summer Bridge programming over the course of two or three consecutive years. Through each version and iteration of Summer Bridge, positive student outcomes are demonstrated, including direct student feedback indicating built community among students and the perception that their time spent during Summer Bridge was valuable. Based on the experiences of these three institutions, as well as research on other institutions’ Summer Bridge programming, recommendations for those seeking to launch or refine similar Summer Bridge programming will also be shared.

Howland Cummings, M., & Darbeheshti, M., & Ivey, S., & Stewart, C., & Russomanno, D., & King, D., & Goodman, K., & Campbell, J., & Altman, T., & Jacobson, M., & Simon, G. (2022, August), Summer Bridge Programming for Incoming First-Year Students at Three Public Urban Research Universities Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41415

ASEE holds the copyright on this document. It may be read by the public free of charge. Authors may archive their work on personal websites or in institutional repositories with the following citation: © 2022 American Society for Engineering Education. Other scholars may excerpt or quote from these materials with the same citation. When excerpting or quoting from Conference Proceedings, authors should, in addition to noting the ASEE copyright, list all the original authors and their institutions and name the host city of the conference. - Last updated April 1, 2015