Discover Engineering A High School Conference For Students And Teachers
- Conference
- Location
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Chicago, Illinois
- Publication Date
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June 18, 2006
- Start Date
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June 18, 2006
- End Date
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June 21, 2006
- ISSN
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2153-5965
- Conference Session
- Tagged Division
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Minorities in Engineering
- Page Count
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23
- Page Numbers
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11.487.1 - 11.487.23
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--985
- Permanent URL
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https://strategy.asee.org/985
- Download Count
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411
Paper Authors
Marsha Lee Texas A&M University
Marsha Lee is the Manger of Engineering Academic Program Services at Texas A&M University. In this role, she is responsible for coordination of the recruitment and retention programs in the College of Engineering. She is also an active member of Women in Engineering Program and Advocates Network (WEPAN).
Jan Rinehart Texas A&M University
JAN RINEHART, M.S. is the Deputy Director of the Space Engineering Institute at Texas A&M University and Past President of WEPAN (Women in Engineering Program and Advocates Network). She earned a B.S. in secondary education from Abilene Christian University and a M.S. in Higher Education Administration from Texas A&M University. Her interests include equity, leadership, and engineering education.
Scott Starks University of Texas-El Paso
Scott Starks serves is a Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering and serves as Director of the Pan American Center for Earth & Environmental Studies at the University of Texas at El Paso. He has research interests in remote sensing, soft computing and engineering education. He is a registered Professional Engineer.
Karen Villatoro Texas A&M University
Karen Villatoro is a junior level aerospace engineering major at Texas A&M University. She is currently working on the Space Engineering Institute CubeSat team and is on the Texas A&M Rugby team. She served as the day-to-day coordinator on the Discover Engineering Conference.
Abstract
NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract
Discover Engineering - A High School Conference for Students and Teachers
Introduction
The Dwight Look College of Engineering at Texas A&M University held its first Discover Engineering conference on Saturday, October 22, 2005. The goals of the conference were to interest high school students in a career in engineering and inform parents and teachers about the contributions made by engineers. When developing partnerships, there was a focus on programs targeted to underrepresented students. There was also a concentrated effort made to connect existing programs to each other so a smooth path to college and engineering exists.
Engineering Workforce Commission (EWC) national summary reports Fall19981, 94,909 students were enrolled as first year undergraduate engineering students. Assuming the average time to graduation is five years, these same students graduated in 2002. In 2002, the total bachelor’s degrees awarded to engineering students of all disciplines were 68,6482. If colleges of engineering retained ten percent more of the entering first year students, this improvement would increase the number of graduating engineers on an annual basis by at least 6,700. This ten percent increase in retention alone would go a long way in addressing the national need for technical talent in engineering. Another factor needing special attention is the enrollment in and ultimate graduation from engineering programs by students from traditionally underrepresented groups. Graduation of women from engineering programs at the same rate as men would address the current, shortage of engineers. The same applies for the graduation of Hispanic and African Americans. Therefore, to address the technical needs of the nation, underrepresented groups in engineering must be engaged at levels proportionate to their participation in the U.S. population.
A study by the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME3), which assessed the periods of 1980-81 and 1989-90, shows the percentage of ethnic minority engineering first year students who persist to earn engineering degrees is about half that of non- minority first year students. The extensive industry and government supported K-12 outreach efforts also influence students from underrepresented groups who dream of working in science- related careers. Nevertheless, the historically low persistence rate in engineering schools for underrepresented students means that even smaller fractions of students from underrepresented groups eventually seek jobs in the engineering arena. According to the U.S. Council on Competitiveness4, boosting the participation of women and minorities in the science and engineering workforce presents the single greatest opportunity to expand the nation’s pool of technical talent.
Consequently, efforts are being made by institutions to target under-represented groups and increase community involvement to educate the youth on topics dealing with career choices within the engineering discipline. Conferences, such as Discover Engineering, have been a mechanism for universities to build strong partnerships and provide opportunity for precollege students and parents to visit the campus and the college.
Lee, M., & Rinehart, J., & Starks, S., & Villatoro, K. (2006, June), Discover Engineering A High School Conference For Students And Teachers Paper presented at 2006 Annual Conference & Exposition, Chicago, Illinois. 10.18260/1-2--985
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