SWE - Fall 2008 - (Page 57)

to Engineering DARREN PHILLIPS, NMSU COMMUNICATIONS In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, New Mexico State University’s dean of engineering discusses ways in which this Hispanic-serving institution is working to increase recruitment and retention of underrepresented groups in its engineering programs. NMSU’s historic Goddard Hall, with its picturesque bell tower, was built in 1913 with an annex added in 1936. ers interested in increasing minority participation in engineering? SC: As I mentioned before, many of the Hispanic and Native American students do not have strong math preparation. We were finding that students who came to NMSU who were forced to start in a remedial math course such as algebra had a very high attrition rate — we would retain maybe 35 to 40 percent of these students from their first into the second year. We received generous funding from the Hewlett Foundation to start a project we termed “Integrated Learning Communities.” Any student who was entering as an engineering major but needed to take a lowerlevel math class was placed in a learning community so that they would take math, English, a couple of pre-engineering classes, and a first-year engineering design class as a group. We found that the retention rate shot up to 75 to 80 percent! Since it was demonstrated to be so successful in the pilot, I decided to continue to fund it out of the College of Engineering. The program is now in its third year. SWE: That sounds like a great program. Are there other challenges you face in recruiting ethnic minority students? SC: Many times, there are major socioeconomic issues that affect minority students. Some come from families that are so stressed that basic survival is challenging, let alone learning how to navigate an educational system to make sure their children are being prepared for good jobs. As a result, NMSU has started programs to reach out to some of the most challenged communities, places where many students come from very low-income families. The Gadsden Mathematics Initiative (GMI) is one example of a program that has been working with teachers and parents to increase the mathematics preparation of students in grades K-8. The Gadsden school district in southern New Mexico is one of the poorest in the country. Students were demonstrating very low rates of mathematics comprehension on standardized tests. Standardized math scores in K-5 now exceed those of the state as a whole. Working with teachers on mathematics does pay off. SWE: Do you think your own Hispanic background has played a role in your decisions about increasing minority recruitment and retention in the NMSU College of Engineering? SC: Although I am Hispanic, I did not come from a lower socioeconomic status family like many of these students. But I think I do have a little more sensitivity to these issues, to some extent, by virtue of being at a place like NMSU as well as growing up in the public education system of New Mexico. SWE FALL 2008 57

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of SWE - Fall 2008

SWE - Fall 2008 Heritage Club Contents Farewell Message from FY08 President Michelle Tortolani Congratulations SWE Magazine A Conversation with FY09 President Virginia Connolly, P.E. Introducing the FY09 Board of Directors View from the Executive Suite Editor's Page Public Policy Update SWE Retention Study, Part 6 Membership Information & Calendar A&B SWE Member Kristina Johnson First Woman to Receive John Fritz Medal University Labs Fuel a New Era in Energy Women Engineering Leaders in Academe 2008 Opening the Gateways to Engineering Your Collegiate Section History is Waiting to Be Discovered Honoring the Legacy of Ada Pressman, P.E. Report from WEPAN Engineering World Proposed Bylaws Amendments Point of View Correction Career Toolbox Corporate Partnership Council Book Review SWE Smiles In Memory Opportunity Index SWE Scrapbook

SWE - Fall 2008

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