ABSTRACT
The National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) undertook a study of success factors for minorities in engineering that was conducted in three phases: (1) a study of institutional statistics on minorities and non-minorities in engineering at 26 institutions; (2) a focus group study of 176 students at 11 institutions; and (3) an online survey of 1,145 students at 18 institutions, including 632 minorities and 513 non-minorities, assessing the contributions of program participation, college adjustment, and background to academic performance, effective school rankings, and retention to the senior year(s).
Institutional analysis showed that many of the differences reported in the literature appear due to the significantly lower average test scores of minority students. However, among students with roughly similar test scores, minority student performance rivaled that of non-minority counterparts in math grades, engineering grades, and graduation rates. Similarly, when minority 6-year graduation rates were adjusted for differences in student test scores, the five most effective schools included a variety of institutional types and characteristics—Minority-Serving Institutions (both Black and Hispanic), having a hidden Black college advantage from dual degree programs, hands-on engineering experience provided by a cooperative curriculum, visible leadership on behalf of underrepresented minority students and programs, and the importance of administrator-scholars. In other words, there appear to be multiple pathways available for engineering institutions seeking to be leaders in engineering retention.
Focus group interviews were conducted with involved students active in Minorities in Engineering Programs (MEPs) activities. They gravitated to engineering largely by inclination or family influence, were able to do math if not love it, were often groomed by exposure to STEM programs in secondary school and summer bridge, worked in groups enabling access to help when needed, thrived in student professional organizations, and paid little attention to racism, failure, or frequent setbacks. They desired to graduate, solve problems, build things, and have an impact on the world. Their mini-survey responses were correlated with four 242measures of success: reported GPA; classification; average minority test scores for the institution; and effective school rankings of the institution. The factor-analytic results showed that “success” was associated with exposure to the work of engineering—as in problem- or project-based courses, research, and industry internships.
The survey study showed the most important factors in success were universal—higher test scores, academic management skills, participation in industry internships, and undergraduate research. Non-minority students participated in support programs when test scores were low, but had far greater access to industry internships—the premier program success factor for all students. African American students participated most in MEP program components that enabled a better adjustment to the scientific milieu; attending an HBCU constituted a success factor in its own right. Hispanic students participated less in MEP programs than Black students, but reported a stronger scientific orientation. Their success depended more on interpersonal relationships of varying kinds that may be less available to Black students. There were few gender differences among African American students, and among Hispanic students, females were more social, outgoing, with identities more strongly wedded to their communities. Undergraduate women in engineering across the ethnicity board performed as well or better than males, and showed no overt signs of disadvantage.
In engineering, there is no substitute for strong academic skill sets, but interest and success can be ignited by exposure to engineering itself—in project-based courses, research, and particularly industry internships.
