Award Abstract # 1502015
Providing Opportunities for Women in Energy Related (POWER) Careers

NSF Org: DUE
Division Of Undergraduate Education
Recipient: IDAHO STATE UNIVERSITY
Initial Amendment Date: September 8, 2015
Latest Amendment Date: July 8, 2021
Award Number: 1502015
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: Jill Nelson
jnelson@nsf.gov  (703)292-0000
DUE  Division Of Undergraduate Education
EDU  Directorate for STEM Education
Start Date: September 15, 2015
End Date: October 31, 2021 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $796,639.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $796,639.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2015 = $796,639.00
History of Investigator:
  • Vince Bowen (Principal Investigator)
     bowevinc@isu.edu
  • jessica sotelo (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • Lawrence Beaty (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • Nancy Lauts (Former Principal Investigator)
  • Lawrence Beaty (Former Principal Investigator)
  • Nancy Lauts (Former Co-Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: Idaho State University
 921 S 8TH AVE
 POCATELLO
 ID  US  83201-5377
(208)282-2592
Sponsor Congressional District: 02
Primary Place of Performance: Idaho State University
 921 South 8th Avenue, Stop 8046
 Pocatello
 ID  US  83209-0001
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:		 02
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): JJC9GJJJL4M7
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s): S-STEM-Schlr Sci Tech Eng&Math,
Advanced Tech Education Prog
Primary Program Source: 04001516DB NSF Education & Human Resource
1300XXXXDB H-1B FUND, EDU, NSF
Program Reference Code(s): 1032, 9150, 9178, SMET
Program Element Code(s): 153600, 741200
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.076

ABSTRACT

The over-arching mission of Providing Opportunities for Women in Energy Related (POWER) Careers is to help women achieve equity in STEM-related technical career fields. POWER Careers will increase enrollment and completion of women in STEM two-year degree programs that lead to energy industry careers. This pilot project is designed to evoke transformational change in the way that women are recruited to and retained in energy systems programs. Education and industry have not been successful in obtaining equitable participation of females in historically male-dominated technical fields. POWER Careers addresses the need to increase female participation, with a focus on non-traditional college-aged women (ages 25+) who need or want to begin a new career. Entry level energy technician jobs offer attractive salaries, excellent benefits, and career paths with promise and opportunity. POWER Careers will implement focused strategies aimed at increasing the successful participation of women in high quality, proven Associate of Applied Science (AAS) programs within the Energy Systems Technology and Education Center (ESTEC) at Idaho State University (ISU) College of Technology. These strategies will retain women students through graduation and placement in professional positions. The project is important because it can help participants make dramatic moves into higher paying STEM-related careers. It will employ a system of supports and activities that form a continuum across the student experience. For ESTEC, the best and most powerful voices to recruit students are those of successful female students and graduates. POWER Careers will serve as a pilot project to help identify and address the challenges of recruiting age-diverse women in a rural area, in part by working closely with program graduates who will be role models and mentors, and with community-based agencies that are in contact with potential adult students. The project will also engage industry in efforts to build a more diverse workforce and create workplace environments that are welcoming to female technicians. Efforts to recruit women will include those from underrepresented populations - Latinas, Native Americans, and military veterans.


The specific goals of POWER Careers are to: (1) recruit and enroll 45 women age 25 years and older into ESTEC AAS programs; (2) retain students to graduation with a supportive student learning community; (3) place graduates in professional jobs in the energy industry; (4) strengthen ESTEC partnerships with energy employers to further careers for women; and (5) promote a culture of mentorship to encourage women who pursue STEM technical careers. Attainment of project goals will be evaluated using direct measures such as enrollment, retention, graduation and job placement data, and by conducting surveys to assess affective outcomes related to the culture and climate, as well as program effectiveness. The investigators will address two specific research questions related to the project's goals: (1) How do improvements to educational strategies enhance student learning and performance for non-traditional college-aged women in rural areas within the energy field? (2) How do innovative and targeted recruiting and retention strategies increase the effectiveness of energy technician education programs in retaining, graduating, and placing non-traditional college-aged women in STEM-related and energy-specific careers? The investigators will develop a combination of strategies that will likely serve as a model for other institutions interested in improving STEM technician education and career opportunities for women.

PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT

Disclaimer

This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.

In 2015, the National Science Foundation awarded $796,639 to Energy Systems Technology and Education Center (ESTEC) at Idaho State University (ISU) for the Providing Opportunities for Women in Energy-Related (POWER) Careers project. This project aimed to address the issue of underrepresentation of women of all ages and ethnicities in ESTEC, as well as the significant under-representation of women across the engineering technology sector of the energy workforce. At the time of the grant proposal, women represented about 8% of students in ESTEC energy programs and had never exceeded 15%. The Project was originally scoped to last from 2015 to 2018. However, the Project received three no-cost extensions, officially ending in September 2021.

Goal 1: Recruit and enroll women aged 25+ into ESTEC AAS programs.

The Project implemented all planned strategies tied to this goal. 

Outcomes Include the Following:

  • ESTEC enrolled 51 women. Each of these students met the math and English entry requirements.
  • 51 women (100% of those enrolled) began coursework as planned.
  • 49 women (96% of those enrolled) completed their first semester in their ESTEC program.
  • Between 2011 and 2015, 53 unduplicated women enrolled in ESTEC programs.

Goal 2: Retain students to graduation with a supportive student learning community. 

The Project implemented all planned strategies tied to retaining women in their program. 

Outcomes Include the Following:

  • 38 women graduated from ESTEC with an AAS degree. Out of 51 enrollees, this reflects a completion rate of 75%. 
  • Of the 13 women who did not complete their programs, 2 are still finishing their degrees and 11 dropped. Of the 11 women who dropped the program, 5 completed a 1 Year Certificate. 
  • 28 women graduated from ESTEC between Fall 2015 and Spring 2020.
  • An additional 17 will graduate with an AAS degree on time but after the grant period (graduation date for these students will be Fall 2020 through Spring 2021).
  • 10 students who enrolled during the Project, graduated after the project was completed. While this number does not reflect the 17 in the objective language, more women graduated on time.

Goal 3: Place graduates into professional jobs.

The Project carried out all planned strategies tied to placing students. 

 

  • 28 graduates have been placed in professional positions for a placement rate of 74%. 
  • Of the 11 students who have not been placed in a professional position, five students are currently continuing their education.
  • Graduates were asked what their annual incomes were before enrolling in their ESTEC program of study. Of 10 responses, six (60%) graduates had income below $20,000 a year, three (30%) graduates had income between $20,000 and $30,000, and one (10%) had income between $40,000 and $50,000. The living wage needed for one adult with no children in Pocatello, ID is $13.02 an hour, and 60% of respondents were earning below this wage. Graduates were then asked what their current annual incomes are. Seven (77%) respondents at the time of the survey now had that income or higher. Beyond earnings, 100% of graduates stated that the ESTEC degree had positively impacted their lives and family. 

Goal 4: Strengthen ESTEC partnerships with energy employers to further careers for women.

The Project carried out most strategies tied to their goal of employer engagement.

  • Routine meetings with industry partners on the ESTEC Technical Advisory Committee and were able to develop strong relationships with a subset of 4 employers. 
  • Employers with strong existing relationships with POWER Careers (4) were asked how they interacted with the POWER Careers Project at ESTEC. Most employers were engaged in three or more interactions with the POWER Careers Project. Most of the employers had positive outcomes through engagement with ESTEC and all employers wanted to stay engaged.

Goal 5: Promote a culture of mentorship to encourage women who pursue STEM technical careers.

The POWER Careers Project implemented strategies tied to mentoring and connecting students to other women throughout the project.

  • A mentorship model was developed by POWER Careers at the start of the project. The project provided many opportunities for women to connect to graduates or other women in the industry, including closed Facebook and LinkedIn groups. Students mentioned knowing other women in the sector was important to them. Female role models and mentors included friends or family in energy careers, Alumni who met at POWER Careers events, and their ESTEC peers. 
  • Two facilitators were trained to mentor students− facilitators were both current students and graduates.
  • Students surveyed over the years were asked if they would stay engaged with POWER Careers past graduation and become a resource to future students themselves. On average, 91% of respondents said yes. Most stated that they wanted to be a resource to other women in the field and to POWER Careers. During the last two semesters of the Project, 100% of respondents planned to stay engaged.

Last Modified: 12/22/2021
Modified by: Vince M Bowen

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