Society of Women Engineers Community College Task Force Status and Plans January, 2012 Barbara Haney

Page 2 History and Charter Community College Task Force (CCTF) was finalized August, 2011, reporting to the Director of Membership Charter: “…to further cultivate the SWE presence in the community college environment” Charter Charter In scope: Target key personnel in community college environment that may serve as a resource to grow SWE’s expertise in community colleges Make recommendations for CLCC involvement in the viability of CC CIGs/Sections Provide recommendations on what roles different SWE entities should take (i.e., HQ, Regions, Sections, etc.) Review existing collegiate membership and section requirements and identify needs of potential community college members and sections.

Page 3 Team Members

Page 4 Current Status Membership: SWE attracts majority of members as collegiates SWE has ~300 collegiate sections No current Community College-level sections: Collegiate Interest Groups (CIGS): by-laws do allow CC to form CIGs, but don’t have any now Sections support programs at Community Colleges on ad- hoc basis: Usually through request by CC Faculty, or University faculty

Page 5 Who attends Community College? In general, students attend community colleges for 4 primary reasons: 1.Cost (lower costs per credit hour) 2.Proximity (they can attend a local CC, instead of moving to the location of a university) 3.Aspiration (they are not yet ready to make a commitment to a degree program) How students use community college attendance is difficult to identify: Students “swirl” between CC and universities for many reasons: Start at CC, and transfer Attend simultaneously or during summer breaks Or other combinations

Page 6 Impact of Location Community colleges different significantly depending on location: State to state: Some states have very strong CC structures established to enable transfer to universities Others have CC organizations which are designed differently: – Example: CCs emphasis is two-year degree, not preparation for four-year degree Location within a state: Proximity (or lack of it) to universities changes the make-up of the CC student body – Students who live close to the CC, but not the university, may be attending the CC with a strong plan to transfer: » Reduce overall costs (tuition, living expenses) » Minimize family disruption – Students already near the university may skip the CC and go directly to the university: » Engineering students have more access to scholarships and may take this route more often than other majors Use of dual-enrollment programs: available in some states High school students receive credit for college-level courses

Page 7 Community Colleges/State: Sample - CC Student populations are more spread out among campus locations - Community college system “missions” vary among states: -path to university, -technical training, -continuing education, -or other - Ability of community colleges to attract well-prepared students varies widely among states * Not including multiple campus locations (example: Louisiana Technical College (30 campuses) Louisiana Technical College

Task Force Findings

Page 9 Benchmarking: CC Student Engineering Organizations SHPE and NSBE feedback regarding their experience: CC sections are not successful Both organizations indicated the same issue: Due to the short tenure of students, it was difficult to sustain an organization: Students got to campus, and joined; Were members/officers for 1-2 years; and then transferred, making leadership continuity very challenging. Educator feedback: Students do not have enough commitment to be attracted The populations are too small to be effective as an organization like SWE “Bigger” groups, like Math Club, or some other group, can exist, but is still relatively small SWE by-laws do allow for Collegiate Interest Groups at Community Colleges: Requires 10 students No current sections

Page 10 Feedback from CC Educators: What can SWE do for community colleges? 1. Help “build a pipeline” from K-12: In particular: help students understand that they need math all the way through high school: #1 barrier to entering a pre-engineering program: remedial math required Create & Drive messaging around CC as an option to enter S.T.E.M. Support educators as they work with K-12 educators in professional activities 2.Raise visibility of engineering as a profession: leverage SWE’s strength as an organization linking students and working professionals, with a national, regional, and local presence Inform educators of engineering as a profession Provide classroom resources for educators Encourage students through contact with engineers

Page 11 Proposal 1.Advocate membership for CC students, but not CIGs Recruiting message: SWE supports your transition to university and career Messaging Pre-College Level Messaging CC Level w/ a focus on C2C and/or Obtaining Advanced Degrees Continue to support CIGS at CC, but no new program to encourage this 2.Drive regions and sections to recognize CC students as members: Push for growth of the model from current four-year/university paradigm Engage CC Students w/in the MAL Structure MALs or Interested Sections have purview over CCs in their local area Low-Hanging Fruit for C2C Initiatives 3.Push for increased membership AND involvement among CC educators: WIA, Outreach, CPB – Each having a CC Educator representing the interests of CCs Influence CC students, AND Represent an additional “channel” of influence at local K-12 level

Page 12 Next steps: Membership actions 1.Create a “student” membership: Open to high school seniors (can test acceptance and change later to junior or other) Support these members as they enter any post-high school system: – Community College, College, University Prepare students to become collegiate members at university level 2.Change educator memberships to include CC educators (currently K-12 only) 3.Restructure both of these memberships: educator and student Change website to highlight these memberships Create a gift card to allow membership “gifts” 4.Ask SWE membership to push these memberships: Give gift memberships to K-12 educators, CC educators, students Help needed: HQ staff Help needed: BOD

Page 13 Next steps: Region/Section actions 1.Ensure community college students have full opportunities as SWE collegiates students: Example: Open current scholarship applications to community college students Change wording to include students who will attend “pre-engineering” programs Promote scholarships to community college students who are transferring Push for expansion of SWE’s Programs & Services beyond K-12, but K Strengthen connection to K-14 educators: Encourage connection between working engineers and educators Introduce SWE resources to educators 3.Collegiate and Professional Sections: Include activities at community colleges during Eweek and other opportunities Make engineering visible to CC students and educators Help needed: Regions, Sections, ….