This project addresses the need to develop a diverse STEM workforce, through the development and scale-up of a first-year program for students at the College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology (FYrE@ECST) at California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA). Specifically, the program focuses on how CSULA’s engineering college can better support students in their first year, and help them be successful in the rest of their program, using a cohort-based, block-scheduled first-year program comprised of a summer bridge program, a first-year class, an engineering problem-solving class, and peer-assisted supplementary instruction, all of which together make it most likely that students will persist to graduation and embody the College motto, “Commit to Excellence, Engage in Community.”
The first phase of development has been completed and evaluated and with the lessons learned, the present proposal seeks funding to expand the program to Computer Science students, add more physics development interventions, strengthen the training of math peer instructors, and then scale the entire program up to serve all of our incoming calculus-ready freshmen in the third year, close to 400 students.
Funding Agency: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Investigators: Gisele Ragusa, University of Southern California
Emily Allen and Gustavo Menezes, California State University, Los Angeles