Summer 2000

For Minority Engineering Programs at NC State, It's All About Success

Minority Engineering Programs (MEP) at NC State University is responsible for the numerous activities and programs that contribute to the development of prime minority engineering graduates. MEP is primarily responsible for developing, enhancing and evaluating initiatives and activities that support Native American, African American and Hispanic students. The MEP staff works closely with the College of Engineering's Women in Engineering Programs and Engineering Recruiting to optimize collective resources and efforts, thereby affording the greatest possible impact for the College as a whole.

MEP supports such endeavors as a summer transition program, formal engineering student mentoring programs, minority-specific professional student development courses, financial support to minority student group activities and a variety of scholarship activities. While many of these have been in effect for quite a while, their growth and success have increased substantially over the last decade - most notably in the last five years under the leadership of Dr. Tony Mitchell, MEP Director and Assistant Dean of Engineering Student Services.

Mitchell says, "We need to have an eye towards trying to increase the number of underrepresented minorities, their success rate, the quality of our activities, as well as funding to support existing and new initiatives. I hope to garner more support for what we are trying to do, and continue to integrate the activities for minorities in a way that are more inclusive of the general engineering student population. We need to reach a new level of success."

Success is what the MEP office continually strives for - for both the minority students it supports and represents, as well as for the College of Engineering. Activities such as summer transition and student mentoring have been essential in the success of MEP students. This success can be seen in the College's national profile. During the December 1998 to December 1999 period, NC State awarded the largest number of engineering and computer science PhD degrees to African American women among all engineering programs in the Unites States. According to annual data compiled by the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME), the College of Engineering at NC State continues to rank second nationally in the number of undergraduate degrees awarded to African Americans among majority engineering programs. Additionally, the engineering college is ranked sixth nationally in undergraduate degrees awarded to Native Americans. Recent data indicates that the NC State College of Engineering is now tied for first place nationally in the number of PhD degrees awarded to all African Americans.

Mitchell and other MEP personnel's efforts have led not only to student successes such as these, but also to new external financial support that is used to supplement and expand current programs while enabling the creation and development of new ones. The BP Amoco Foundation Minority Engineering Recruiting and Retention initiative gave one such award in March 1999. The grant, valued at $150,000, will be awarded over the course of three years. Monies from this award, as well as others from the National Science Foundation and corporate grants, are used to further fund and expand established programs, and to fund research/conference opportunities for minority faculty within the engineering college.

Summer Transition Program

The College's fifth Summer Transition Program (STP) got off to a good start July 3, 2000. STP is a significant recruiting activity available to admitted high school minority students who are considering NC State as their undergraduate engineering school. STP participants spend five weeks during the second summer academic session enrolled in their initial math course while also attending weekly industrial visits and workshops on a variety of topics. When the program began in 1994, it was originally shaped so that "weaker" minority students would have the opportunity to take their initial math class early, thereby putting them closer to the first math course taken by the majority of engineering students in an entering freshman cohort. Its goals also include introducing students to the challenges of the university's academic setting under the guidance of additional counselors and mentors. STP activities include weekly industrial site visits, weekly workshops on issues of importance to entering freshman students, as well as exposure to the College's extensive computing environment.

Mitchell says, "There is more than the academic component - there is mentoring, as well. We want the students to appreciate the challenges and opportunities associated with being a minority in a majority setting."

Better recruiting and the enhanced reputation of NC State's success at graduating minority engineering students have allowed STP to evolve from a program that was mostly remedial to one that now contains about one-third of the participants who will enter fall 2000 one mathematics semester ahead of the entering engineering freshman cohort.

Student Advancement and Retention Teams

The National Science Foundation, through the North Carolina Alliance for Minority Participation, continues to fund MEP's START, a peer-mentoring program in its third academic year. The program was originally designed to support the STP participants; however, additional funding through the BP Amoco Foundation has enabled MEP to expand START.

All entering minority freshmen are now assigned to a START peer mentor, who shares the responsibility for social and academic development of the mentees. Mentors, upperclass minority engineering students, are selected and trained by the program. They meet regularly with their mentees to provide guidance in academic areas, as well as to help in the transition to university life. While the program is intended to ease the transition into their engineering education and be a notable support system for minority engineering students, it also helps develop leadership and mentoring skills in upperclass minority students.

While the START program has been a success, Mitchell would also like to structure a program geared towards upperclass minority engineering students. He believes a similar program that targets student persistence will enhance overall student graduation rates. Although such a program has not been implemented previously, it has the possibility of being as effective as the current START program.

Mitchell continues to seek funding and program development opportunities that will benefit MEP. Recently, the College of Engineering submitted a successful proposal to the National Science Foundation's Computer Science, Engineering and Mathematics Scholarships (CSEMS) Program. The $247,500 awarded to NC State to use as need-based scholarships is the third largest of 102 awards made by NSF. Mitchell, contributing proposal author and a co-principal investigator on the proposal, believes the 45 $2,500 annual scholarships funded under CSEMS will benefit minority students because they continue to excel academically and have demonstrated financial need.

As further testimony to the success of MEP, this year the College of Engineering Minority and Women in Engineering Programs have been nominated as a recipient for the Presidential Award for Mentoring Excellence in Science, Engineering and Mathematics. This NSF-managed program recognizes annually up to 15 individuals and 10 institutions nationally who have had a dramatic impact on the success of under-represented students in the target disciplines.

Recognition and awards such as these, and the continued efforts of Mitchell and other MEP personnel, will ensure the established position of NC State as a premier producer of minority engineers.

For more information, contact:
Dr. Tony L. Mitchell
tmitchel@eos.ncsu.edu
(919) 515-3264

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