From fall 2012 through spring 2017, students at the University of New Haven have received S-STEM support from A Scholarship Program to Increase Retention in Engineering (ASPIRE): Improving Work-Study-Life Balance. The goal of the program was to increase retention of sophomore and junior engineering students who show academic promise but are at risk of not completing their studies due to financial concerns and/or life-work-study balance issues. In addition to financial support, ASPIRE provided scholarship recipients with opportunities to participate in activities that contribute to persistence such as tutoring, faculty mentoring, conferences, presentations and career planning workshops. Sixty-one students have been awarded scholarships in this five-year period.
This paper examines the effectiveness of ASPIRE to help students alleviate financial concerns and better manage their life-work-study balance for the five cohorts that have been supported by this NSF S-STEM program. Student demographics are summarized along with graduation rates. A description of the support activities is provided and their contribution to retaining students in engineering is discussed. The value of the financial support and ASPIRE related activities is assessed using a survey and student reflections. The paper concludes with lessons learned through implementation of this program.
Jean Nocito-Gobel, Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of New Haven, received her Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She has been actively involved in a number of educational initiatives in the Tagliatela College of Engineering including KEEN and PITCH, PI of the ASPIRE grant, and is the coordinator for the first-year Intro to Engineering course. Her professional interests include modeling the transport and fate of contaminants in groundwater and surface water systems, as well as engineering education reform.
http://orcid.org/https://0000-0001-5887-0744
University of New Haven
[biography]
Maria-Isabel Carnasciali is Chair of the Engineering and Applied Science Education Department at the Tagliatela College of Engineering, University of New Haven, CT. She is also an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering in the Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering. She obtained her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech. She received her Bachelors of Engineering from MIT. Her research focuses on the nontraditional engineering student – understanding their motivations, identity development, and impact of prior engineering-related experiences. Her work dwells into learning in informal settings such as summer camps, military experiences, and extra-curricular activities. Other research interests involve validation of CFD models for aerospace and industrial applications, as well as optimizing efficiency of thermal-fluid systems.
Christopher Martinez is an associate professor of computer engineering at the University of New Haven. His area of research is in the field of human computer interaction with a focus on embedded system interfacing.
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