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2004-1228

Mentoring Students To Technology Careers

Narayanan M. Komerath, Marilyn J. Smith

School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0150

Abstract

This paper summarizes three years of experience from the Computer Science, Engineering and Mathematics Scholarship (CSEMS) program funded at Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT) by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Features of the program include a partnership between academic faculty and the Financial Aid department, a strong mentoring program involving academic faculty, and guidance of student participation in activities that broaden their horizons. A grade point requirement profile has been developed, to support students as they adjust to the demands of a technical education. Program data and samples of student work are presented. A seminar-reporting system encourages students to discover and explore their own interests. Assessment results indicate success in enhancing retention and supporting diversity. The paper discusses experience with the faculty-mentoring program, metrics and success in seeing students through to successful graduation, and glimpses how the program has made a difference to the ability of many students to reach careers of their interest.

Introduction

When demand for technology graduates outstripped supply in the 1990s, the United States Congress expanded the recruitment of professionals from overseas. Accompanying that temporary program, Congress also assigned a substantial fraction of fees paid to the Immigration and Naturalization Service by employers seeking overseas professionals, to the National Science Foundation1. These funds were specifically aimed to increase the supply of technology professionals in the future US workforce. The Computer Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Scholarships (CSEMS) program was set up using these funds. Educational institutions were encouraged to compete for these funds, generally for two- to- four-year awards. This program has several special features – the funds were to be used for scholarships, as distinct from work- study, research internship or other such arrangements. The intent was clearly to enhance the supply of enthusiastic professionals in the above technology-related disciplines, and hence some level of personal attention to the success of the students was essential.

Proceedings of the 2004 American Society of Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition. Copyright ©2004 by the American Society of Engineering Education.

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Smith, M. (2004, June), Mentoring Students To Technology Careers Paper presented at 2004 Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--12855