| NSF Org: |
DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | July 30, 2013 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | August 13, 2015 |
| Award Number: | 1304431 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Elizabeth Teles
DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education EHR Direct For Education and Human Resources |
| Start Date: | August 1, 2013 |
| End Date: | July 31, 2017 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $199,713.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $199,713.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
2006 Ankeny Boulevard Ankeny IA US 50023-3993 (515)964-6200 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
2006 S Ankeny Blvd Ankeny IA US 50023-3993 |
| Primary Place of Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Advanced Tech Education Prog |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.076 |
ABSTRACT
This project is focusing on the issue of declining student enrollment in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields by offering a retooled Applied Associate of Science (AAS) Engineering Technology (ET) degree to meet the needs of Iowa employers for highly qualified ET workers. It is also developing a comprehensive marketing and recruitment plan to attract students to the program and inform them about ET career and educational pathways. Ultimately, the program is increasing the quality and availability of individuals in Iowa pursuing technology related careers, providing clearly articulated educational pathways, and filling a gap in the needs of the business community for highly qualified ET employees.
Intellectual Merit: The AAS curriculum is being developed to align with the standards of the Accrediting Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). This accreditation is offering students an improved chance of finding employment or of pursuing a baccalaureate degree through an articulation agreement with a partner institution. Implementation of an ABET-accredited curriculum is a unique approach to attracting more individuals, including those from underrepresented groups, into technology related fields of study since ABET accreditation provides assurance that a college program meets the quality standards established by the profession. It also adds a level of confidence to participants that the program contains the foundation and skills directly aligned with the intended career. A critical ABET component is the continuous improvement aspect of education, ensuring that the program exercises a high degree of self-analysis as to content and quality. The project also includes outreach efforts to high school students and their parents that are designed to provide information on the careers available in ET and the benefits of pursuing an educational path in this field. High school teachers and counselors are receiving similar information along with professional development opportunities. Formative and summative evaluations are assisting in determining the impact of the retooled curriculum and its implementation at the high school level, along with additional activities provided along the career and educational pathways pursued by program participants.
Broader Impacts: This project is increasing recruitment, completion, and retention of ET students through implementation of an industrially-relevant and rigorous program of study and thereby increasing the skilled workforce in Iowa. Employers across the state have indicated an unmet need for qualified technology employees and studies indicate an overall lack of the middle-skill employees that are critical to the manufacturing sector in the state. This project is serving as a model for providing ET instruction both at the community college level and through high school Career Academies, thus fostering an interest among high school students as they decide upon their future educational plans. The materials developed during this project, including the AAS and summer camp curricula, marketing materials, and professional development materials, are being made available to institutions across the state and the nation with the intent that the information could be utilized and/or modified asynchronously and independently. Articulation agreements that are being developed with four-year institutions in Iowa are applicable to similar technology programs at community colleges throughout the state.
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.
The Technicians in Engineering, Automation, and Machinery (TEAM) project focuses on the issue of declining student enrolment in STEM fields by offering a retooled Associate in Applied Science (AAS)Engineering Technology degree at Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) to meet the needs of Iowa employers for highly qualified Engineering Technology workers, and by developing a comprehensive marketing and recruitment plan to attract students to the program and inform them on Engineering Technology career and educational pathways.
The original project intent was to develop an AAS curriculum aligned with the standards of the Accrediting Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). Motivation for doing so was to provide program graduates with an improved chance of finding employment, or of pursuing a bachelor’s degree through an articulation agreement with a partner institution. Industrial partners weighed in during curriculum planning that ABET accreditation was not a determining factor in hiring in the field. Fundamentally, technical competency and immediate workforce availability were the utmost priorities expressed by the partners. The project formally shifted focus away from actual ABET accreditation, though much of the final program structure of the revised AAS in Robotics and Control Systems Engineering Technology (R&CSET) followed ABET recommendations including continuous improvement analysis for instructional efficacy and content applicability.
At inception, the R&CSET program’s required academic courses provided a near-even balance of “general education” and “technical core” content. In contrast to a heavily lop-sided technical regimen in previous related AAS programs, the balanced course requirement provided greater articulation pathways to four-year degree programs. One example was program-specific transferability with the University of Northern Iowa’s Electrical Engineering Technology (BS) degree where the possibility of direct-credit transfer increased by 40%, potentially saving a R&CSET transfer student an entire semester of effort and expense.
The project was successful in standing up new pathways in to the R&CSET program - namely, the creation of targeted high school “career academy” cohorts that included offering two semesters of program-required courses free to eligible high school juniors and seniors in partnering K-12 school districts. Two academy cohorts (in academic years 2015-16 and 2016-17) were funded through the project. The cohort enrollment did not constitute expanding the “academy” beyond the primary location as originally planned to scale to other locations. However, putting into practice lessons learned through the Robotics Career Academy, DMACC initiated a more-generalized Engineering Technology Career Academy in fall 2017. In this new Academy, high school students will take one course from each of five engineering technology programs (including Robotics) - increasing their awareness of program and career opportunities.
The project laid the foundation for other informal pathways and related connections to the R&CSET program. Program faculty offered summer experiential learning opportunities for middle-school aged students through week-long camps. A high-altitude ballooning camp conducted in July 2016 tied a variety of STEM concepts to problem-based learning, especially as it related electronics and digital data collection. In July of 2017, middle school-aged campers were tasked with building and experimenting with electrically-controlled underwater remotely-operated vehicles (ROVs). Participants of both camps were on campus in R&CSET labs and classrooms and provided hands-on access to tools and equipment used in the AAS program. Based on the age-group of those participating in either camps, it is too early to assess if such activities has a positive impact on R&CSET enrollment. However, based on camp surveys, overall awareness of engineering technology programs improved. In June of 2016, K-12 educators participated in? a week-long workshop to see, first hand, the skills needed and job availability related to engineering technology programs. This problem-based activity also centered around the educators building an automated side-walk chalker, allowing them to take both tangible hardware and related skills back to their own school. Educator participation directly correlated to a student departmental tour of the program and direct and continued conversations with an educator’s students experimenting in electronics and robotics. In summer 2017, educators were invited a week-long workshop offered in parallel to the middle-school ROV camp.
Last Modified: 10/24/2017
Modified by: Bryan A Burkhardt
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