Exploring collaborations with non-metropolitan community colleges to graduate more engineering and computer science students with Bachelor's and graduate degrees: Two years later

In Fall 2008, the National Science Foundation (NSF grant # 0836050) funded a one-year grant (with a no-cost extension) to explore the feasibility of a four-year research institution working with three non-metropolitan community colleges (Arizona Western College, Central Arizona College, and Cochise College) to encourage more students to study engineering and computer science and to assist them with their transfer to earn a Bachelor's degree in these fields. The program involved communication (each CC is some distance from the university), joint high school outreach efforts, encouraging CC students, assisting with the transfer process, and supporting transfer students at the university. Transfer students at the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering at Arizona State University are supported by a Motivated Engineering Transfer Student (METS) Center where students can network, study, socialize, and receive informal mentoring. In addition, transfer students can enroll in an Academic Success Class for one credit and attend additional workshops which are held in the Center. Scholarship for over 30 qualified transfer students are provided each year through an NSF S-STEM Scholarship Program. An experimental scholarship program, for transfer students who do not qualify for NSF S-STEM scholarships, was also evaluated. An emphasis in this project was placed on involving women and underrepresented minority students and encouraging students to go right on to graduate school, as has been done with all NSF S-STEM Scholarship Programs in the ASU Schools of Engineering. The grant research showed that although there are challenges, a very vital collaboration can be held between a four-year research university and rural community colleges even though they are located one to over three hours distant from each other. A key to the success of the project was the passion of the community college liaisons, along with the passion of the university leaders. The success of this project was rewarded with a fiveyear (three-year plus possible two-year extension) NSF STEP grant (NSF grant # 0856834) which began in the Fall 2009. The new project continued the collaboration with the three community colleges in this project and added two additional nonmetropolitan community colleges.