Work

The Path from Community College to Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Through Partnerships and NSF S-STEM Funded Scholarships

Year: 2024

Type: conference-paper

Abstract: In the spring of 2014, Governor Bill Haslam signed Tennessee Promise into law; making it possible for Tennessee high school graduates to complete two years of community college (CC) free of charge.In the fall of 2016, the first cohort of Tennessee Promise students began the transition from two-year pre-engineering CC curricula to four-year institutions in order to complete their engineering education.As a result of the National Science Foundation S-STEM grant program, Lipscomb University has been able to provide significant scholarship assistance by way of the Enhancing Engineering Talent in Tennessee S-STEM grant that is designed to provide tuition assistance to Tennessee CC students as they transition to Lipscomb's 4-year ABET accredited programs.During the course of this grant, there have been 20 NSF S-STEM scholarship recipients admitted to Lipscomb's engineering college from four different public Tennessee CCs.This student population represents a wide range of academic and life experiences that present unique challenges with regard to their transition into a four-year program.An important aspect of this grant includes partnering with CCs in the Middle Tennessee area to provide STEM enrichment and early pre-transfer advising.This paper presents a comparison of the state-wide approved Tennessee CC Engineering Pathway curricula with Lipscomb University's engineering curricula in Civil Engineering, Electrical/ Computer Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering and the harmonization of the different curricula.The effect of this program regarding perceived barriers to the success of CC students and CC transfers; changes in faculty and staff perceptions regarding CC transfers; and the effects of the program on CC student matriculation and completion of Lipscomb's engineering program are presented.

Source: ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

DOI: 10.18260/1-2--37880

Authors: A. Fort Gwinn, Todd Gary

Institution: Lipscomb University

Language: English

Topic: Higher Education Research Studies

Subfield: Education

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Quality education

Open Access status: bronze