A Statewide Effort to Diversify the Undergraduate Engineering Student Population

Undergraduate engineering education is being transformed at every level of curricular, cocurricular, and extra-curricular experiences which requires an institutional shift in examining and redefining what it means to provide students with equitable access for student admission, and engagement, and success, in student admissions and graduation. Research shows that putting too much weight on high stakes standardized tests is resulting in a misrepresentation of actual student potential for academic success and may disadvantage students from historically underrepresented groups. This is especially true with undergraduate engineering programs where a minimum standardized test score is frequently required for admission. This dynamic is relevant in Nebraska where the demographics of the high school graduates, and in particular the growth of the Hispanic/Latino/a population, is changing quickly. In response to this, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Engineering (UNL-COE) admits students who would not ordinarily be admitted under the college’s current guidelines, particularly with respect to minimum ACT score and enacting wraparound state of the art Engineering Support Service (ESS) to provide comprehensive institutional support to alternately admitted students. Students admitted using this alternative screening will receive targeted programs focused on engagement, training, and enrichment activities designed to increase their success. This paper will report baseline data related to state demographics, diversity profile of the UNLCOE undergraduate student population, strategies being deployed to broaden admission considerations, student support systems, and student success. Mixed methods social science research and evaluation will contribute to knowledge on student perceptions and realization of academic and professional support in engineering and will enhance understanding of alternate academic pathways to success for alternately admitted engineering students. Background and Significance Undergraduate engineering education is in the process of a radical transformation; many programs have begun to restructure pedagogical practice and prioritize a broad range of essential socioemotional “soft skills” to both better prepare engineers to be leaders in the public sphere and in daily practice, and to recruit and retain a more diverse pool of talent to inspire innovation [1]–[7]. There are still many barriers to pursuing an undergraduate degree in engineering, particularly for historically underrepresented groups including rural youth, girls, persons of color, low-income populations, and English Language Learners [8]–[12]. Currently, women comprise approximately 19% of engineers, with disparities varying across different engineering programs [13]. At the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, for example, women are not fully represented in any program, but there are more women in Civil and Mechanical Engineering compared to Electrical and Computer Engineering. Despite the fact that women make up 57% of college attendees and generally have comparable test scores and greater GPA’s compared to men [14], [15], they are still less likely to apply for and enroll in Engineering Colleges [16], [17]. Students of color, particularly African Americans, Latino(a)s, and Native Americans, only make up a very small proportion of engineering majors, with little improvement in the last 10 years [18]. In addition to racial/ethnic minority groups historically underrepresented in STEM more broadly, students who are from rural areas, who are the first generation to attend college, who are not able bodied, and those who lack financial resources are often not adequately prepared in their K-12 education, and often do not meet the minimum standardized test scores to be admitted into engineering programs, particularly at land grant universities. Many engineering colleges are creating institutional resources to support student success and to reduce the historical barriers to entering and completing an engineering undergraduate degree for students from diverse backgrounds [19]. A major focus of new pedagogical practice and student success initiatives are aimed at providing an array of student resources to facilitate success through enhancing social support, augmenting engineering identity, provide service learning opportunities, and academic support [3], [20], [21]. Of course, these students must first be admitted and there are significant barriers to many students who do not have strong math and science preparation or standardized test scores required for admission to most engineering colleges. As the only engineering college in Nebraska, the University of Nebraska – Lincoln College of Engineering (UNL COE) administrators are reassessing admissions criteria to deemphasize standardized tests and to take a more holistic view of a student academic experiences. Research shows that putting too much weight on high stakes standardized tests results in a misrepresentation of actual student potential for academic success. Students, particularly students of color and girls, are often negatively impacted by stereotype threat which lowers scores and therefore do not accurately reflect student ability [22]–[26]. Students who are first and second-generation immigrants or refugees may not speak English as their first language and so they are doubly disadvantage when it comes to standardized test scores. It is important to recognize that the mission of the UNL COE is to • deliver relevant and challenging educational programs to attract an outstanding diverse student body • prepare graduates for rewarding careers in their chosen professions and encourage graduates to extend their level of knowledge through lifelong learning • conduct leading edge research advances engineering science and stimulate the intellectual development and creativity of both students and faculty, • extend exemplary engineering service and transfer knowledge that contributes to the wellbeing and betterment of society. In order to broaden participation in engineering, UNL COE will broaden the admission review process to deemphasize student test scores and to include a wider array of academic and social indicators in order to admit engineering majors from a broader spectrum of backgrounds and skillsets. Broader admission review processes will likely identify additional students from underrepresented groups who have great potential to be successful in engineering degree programs, but who may have been excluded during admission due to lower standardized scores. We anticipate that this will result in recruiting a more diverse array of students who might not have previously considered or felt they could succeed in undergraduate engineering programs. Once admitted, we also intend to assess factors that lead to retention and attrition for these groups, particularly related to their uptake of student success initiatives [27]–[29]. At UNL COE there are many initiatives aimed at augmenting engineering education to include not just technical skills, but also leadership, intercultural appreciation, teamwork, self-management, service & civic responsibility, and understanding of engineering ethics [30]–[33]. Our interdisciplinary team includes a variety of engineering disciplines, student services staff to implement direct support efforts, and a social science researcher who is expert in broadening participation research and evaluation. Further, our team is likely to be successful due to having broad institutional support at the college level. This effort has strong potential to be successful and lead ultimately to a more diverse college across multiple engineering programs. Changing Demographics While the graduating high school senior class in Nebraska is growing, most of this growth is in the population of those identifying as Hispanic (corresponding to 60% of the growth), Asian American (10%), or African American (9%). Changes in the high school graduating class demographics have not translated to increased diversity of the entering freshmen class in the UNL COE. Instead, 40% of the growth of the COE first-year class over the same time was from the Asian American population. As UNL COE aims to broaden participation, efforts will aim to better align our incoming student demographics with those of the state’s high school seniors. The data shown in Table 1 details the changing demographics occurring in the state. Current Admission Process The University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Engineering is co-located on two campuses in the state of Nebraska – the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Nebraska Omaha. Both campuses manage separate admissions processes and have different administrative structures in place regarding admitting engineering students. While each university has their own standards for university admission, the College of Engineering has an additional admission requirement as it relates to high school courses taken and test scores that are recognized by both universities. These are consistent across the college. It is unknown how long the current college admission requirements for the college have been in place. The current UNL COE admission requirements include high school credit for the following (one unit is equal to one high school year): • Four units of mathematics: two units of algebra, one unit of geometry, one unit of precalculus and trigonometry. • Four units of English. • Three units of natural science that must include one unit of physics and one unit of chemistry (chemistry requirement waived for students in construction management). • Two units of a single foreign language. • Three units of social studies. A total of 16 units is required for admission. Applicants having an ACT composite score of 28 or greater (or equivalent SAT score) will be admitted to the college even if they lack credits in trigonometry, chemistry, or physics. In addition to the course re