Engineering Careers of Graduates from a Unique Summer Bridge Program (Project G5)

Jackson State University began a 10 week residence Summer Bridge Program in 2009 for incoming freshman engineer and computer science majors with the objective of increasing the retention and graduation rate of engineers. The 10 week program targeted those with Math ACT scores from 17 to 25 (not calculus ready). Students were enrolled in College Algebra the first summer term and in Trigonometry and in a College Guidance course the second summer term. Key aspects of the program are (1) Classes and homework sessions are all day Monday thru Thursday; (2) Friday are field trips to engineering employers; (3) classes are in the Engineering Building; (4) students meet with faculty advisors and enroll for the fall semester; (5) students are housed on the same floor of a university dormitory; and (6) graduate student tutors are available all afternoon and on weekends. Several papers were presented and published at American Society for Engineering Education Conferences that describe and early results. These data include academic records of over 300 participants. Unique program aspects are (1) a 10 week campus residence program; (2) earn 8 semester hours of college credit; (3) classes are taught by tenured Mathematics Department Professors; (4) tuition, room, board and field trips are paid; and (5) a summer bridge program sustained for 12 years. This education and workforce development research proposal has two objectives (1) add the last five summers of data to the first seven summers (included in the last ASEE publication) and (2) investigate the engineering careers of the 200+ graduates and obtain the student’s assessment of the value of the Summer Bridge Program to their careers. This proposal gives the STRIDE program the opportunity to mine 12 years of unique Summer Bridge program data.

Language

  • English

Project

  • Status: Active
  • Funding: $55658
  • Contract Numbers:

    69A355174710

  • Sponsor Organizations:

    Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

    University Transportation Centers Program
    Department of Transportation
    Washington, DC  United States  20590
  • Managing Organizations:

    Southeastern Transportation Research, Innovation, Development and Education Center (STRIDE)

    University of Florida
    365 Weil Hall
    Gainesville, FL  United States  32611
  • Project Managers:

    Tucker-Thomas, Dawn

  • Performing Organizations:

    Jackson State University, Jackson

    Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
    Jackson, MS  United States  39217-0168
  • Principal Investigators:

    Whalin, Robert

  • Start Date: 20210201
  • Expected Completion Date: 20230531
  • Actual Completion Date: 0
  • USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01775428
  • Record Type: Research project
  • Source Agency: Southeastern Transportation Research, Innovation, Development and Education Center (STRIDE)
  • Contract Numbers: 69A355174710
  • Files: UTC, RIP
  • Created Date: Jun 25 2021 9:15PM