New ‘academic redshirt’ program to support undergraduate STEM education

[FarCenter]

The University of Washington in collaboration with Washington State University is developing an “academic redshirt” program that will bring dozens of low-income Washington state high school graduates to the two universities to study engineering in a five-year bachelor’s program.

The first year will help incoming freshmen acclimate to university-level courses and workload and prepare to major in an engineering discipline. The students will receive extra advising and a detailed course plan to help lay a strong foundation in engineering. At the UW, they will earn a spot in one of the school’s 10 engineering departments starting their second year.

“Engineering education needs to adapt to the tortoises, not just the hares,” said Eve Riskin, UW associate dean of engineering and program lead for the UW. “We’re talking about investing an extra year in what will hopefully be a 30-year engineering career.”

The initiative, called the Washington State Academic RedShirt in Engineering Program –STARS, for short – is funded by a National Science Foundation grant awarded May 8. Eight other colleges and universities also will receive grants to help increase retention of undergraduates in engineering and computer sciences.

http://www.washington.edu/news/2013/05/08/new-academic-redshirt-program-to-support-undergraduate-stem-education/

[DreamGypsy]

1. Great!!! Here's the National Science Foundation announcement of the program...

[link:http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=127902&org=NSF&from=news|
NSF Joins Forces with Intel and GE to Move the Needle in Producing U.S. Engineers and Computer Scientists]

Imagine a young athlete arriving at a university with the potential to win big over the next four years. Now imagine this athlete sitting out an entire season while practicing with the team and getting the lay of the land. This strategy is called redshirting, and it has proven to be an effective way to prepare athletes for success.

Now imagine using the same concept for preparing undergraduates for a degree in engineering. It's just one of the creative approaches being taken by institutions that are receiving grants through a public-private partnership called Graduate 10K+--so named because of its goal of stimulating comprehensive action at universities and colleges to help increase the annual number of new graduates in engineering and computer science by 10,000.

Through Graduate 10K+, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has partnered with Intel and GE in making grants to institutions whose projects aim to improve retention of undergraduates in engineering and computer science. This effort is funded with $10 million in donations from Intel and the GE Foundation as well as a generous personal donation from Mark Gallogly.

Engineering and computer science are fields in which industry leaders lament an inadequate supply of graduates with the knowledge and skills needed in business and industry. Both fields are dynamic--encompassing areas of focus that didn't even exist a couple of decades ago--from green energy and advanced robotics to cybersecurity.

More info at the link, including a list of all the participating institutions, the principle investigators, and grant information.

Thanks for the post, FC.