Scholars of Excellence in Engineering and Computer Science Program Phase I: Development and Implementation

Abstract

The Scholars of Excellence in Engineering and Computer Science (SEECS) program initiated its first cohort of 20 students in fall 2009. Funded through an NSF S-STEM grant, the interdisciplinary, multi-year, mixed academic-level offering awards scholarships to students based on academic merit and financial need. SEECS is an opportunity for students in certain STEM majors at Gannon University, Erie, PA, in the School of Engineering and Computer Science. The goals of the scholarship program are (1) to increase the number of academically talented, but financially disadvantaged students in the stated majors, (2) to assist students to be successful in their undergraduate education, and (3) to foster professional development for careers or graduate education. These goals are realized through the students shared interactions within the SEECS seminar. Students awarded SEECS scholarships are required to attend a seminar where specific development and learning outcomes are realized in a team-based, project-based approach. The challenging and engaging aspect of the SEECS program is a zero-credit seminar. The SEECS seminar encompasses three components: engineering design, professional development, and personal development. Through workshops, university support services, lectures, and invited speakers, the facets of professional and personal development are addressed. Each academic level, that is seniors, juniors, sophomores and freshmen, has different professional and personal development objectives realized each semester. While the two development facets follow more typical seminar activities, the engineering design component is the pivotal experience connecting and building not only engineering competency but also personal confidence. The design projects benefit regional service organizations. The design activities pair the freshmen cohort with the seniors; the sophomores with the juniors. Through these pairings, seniors mentor the inexperienced freshmen through thought processes and analysis questions accompanying initial understanding. The sophomore-and-junior pairings gain a similar benefit during the design and deployment phase. Juniors with more professional maturity provide insights to the design and deployment phases for the sophomores. Hence, "becoming engineers" for the scholars is a shared, fun experience as they immerse themselves in the task of realizing a contribution to the community. The development and current success of the SEECS program partially arises from the participation provided by and the willingness of established university services and administrative units to support the program's needs. Further, the correspondence of the SEECS program goals aligns with the university's mission. Hence, the SEECS program embodies the university-wide commitment to establishing a worthwhile program for the scholars.

Seeking Relevancy, Building Excellence: Service-learning in the SEECS Program

“…SEECS is an opportunity for students in the majors of computer science, electrical and computer engineering, environmental engineering, information systems, mechanical engineering, and software engineering at Gannon University, Erie, PA, in the School of Engineering and Computer Science. The goals of the scholarship program are (1) to increase the number of academically talented, but financially disadvantaged students in the stated majors, (2) to assist students to be successful in their undergraduate education, and (3) to foster professional development for careers or graduate education. These goals are realized through the students' shared interactions within the SEECS seminar.…”

“…The mentoring-learning paradigm adopted and the structure of the seminar are explained in a previous publication. 2 Design activities are the primary tool utilized to effect the "multidisciplinary" and "service" goals in the seminar; therefore, the selected community-based projects should have specific characteristics as outlined below.…”