Dame; her industry experience includes shipyard project management and consulting for Off-High Vehicles projects for GE Transportation. AbstractThe Scholars of Excellence in Engineering and Computer Science (SEECS) program is a National Science Foundation sponsored scholarship granting program at Gannon University. Through the first seven years of scholarship granting (2009 -2015), SEECS helped 77 students pursue the goal of graduation from college with a STEM degree, specifically a degree in an engineering or computer science related field. This paper analyzes data from current and previous SEECS students confirming previously-published data pointing to "roadblock" courses which most often lead to GPA trouble (i.e. cumulative GPA less than 3.0), and investigates techniques which are or have been implemented to improve student academic success. Strong correlations have been noted between specific letter grade thresholds in identified courses and eventual separation from the SEECS program for low GPA. Intervention strategies for students who have stumbled in one or more roadblock courses, as well as generally-implemented practices conducted by the university and the SEECS program, are discussed. Consideration is given to intervention techniques presented in previously-published literature, with respect to feasibility for inclusion in an honors-type engineering program such as SEECS.A commonly-held perspective within the United States urges for an increased pool of qualified workers in the STEM fields. Aligned to the perception is the conviction that the number of STEM-major students in universities is far short of the projected demand for STEM workers. In response to this problem, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has created the program "Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (S-STEM)" seeking to increase the number of domestic students in STEM fields by providing financial support to promising students who have limited financial means. The SEECS program, detailed in the next section, is one program sponsored by the NSF through the S-STEM grant program. S-STEM addresses one side of the problem: The number of STEM students is increased by providing lower-income students with the financial wherewithal to enter into STEM studies. The funding does not directly address another key problem of graduating STEM majors: attrition of matriculated students.Causes of attrition among STEM students have been the subject of numerous studies [1,2]. An excellent survey of those studies and their conclusions has been provided by Geisinger and Raman [1]. The paper reviewed 50 studies addressing reasons for student attrition, supplemented by 25 additional studies of methods attempted to improve retention. The major causes of attrition are reported to be (1) an unwelcoming academic climate, (2) conceptual difficulty with core courses, (3) lack of self-efficacy or self-confidence, (4) inadequate high school preparation, (5) insufficient interest or commitment to engineering or a change in career
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