Summer grade school camps, women-in-engineering programs seek to recruit, retain females
The University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering is addressing the shortage of engineers facing the United States by tackling a related problem: the lack of women in engineering.
Compared to the population as a whole, the percentage of female professional engineers is very small. Currently, females make up only 20% of engineering undergraduates, while women hold less than a quarter of jobs in all technical fields (not just engineering).
At the same time, the United States, which used to lead the world in the number of engineering degrees granted, has slid to fifth in that category. The most recent statistics show, in fact, that China is producing more than five times as many first degrees in engineering (the equivalent of a B.S.) than the United States. According to Fritz Claydon, the college’s associate dean of undergraduate studies, figures such as these raise concerns about the nation’s long-term economic competitiveness As a result, government, educators and industry within Texas, have partnered to increase the number of engineers in the state through the Texas Workforce Development Act.
“The purpose of the act was to get more kids interested in electrical engineering, computer engineering and computer science,” said Claydon. “The population, gender-wise, is essentially 50/50, yet only 20% of students in the college of engineering are female. Our belief is that the female population is an untapped resource for engineering students, so we sought ways to get women interested in engineering as a profession.”
In order to effectively recruit and retain female students, studies were developed to determine why there is an overall shortage of women in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). Several factors have been identified as possible reasons women choose other career pathways. First, many females are not given significant exposure to the STEM fields during their primary and secondary education. Since many students enroll in college knowing the general area they will focus on (sciences versus liberal arts, for example), this lack of exposure results in fewer women selecting engineering as their college major.
Second, since the STEM fields remain dominated by men, there are very female role models in these fields for young women to emulate.
Third, because there are so few women majoring in engineering, educational institutions often fail to offer those who are in engineering enough supporting resources to guide them through their academic careers and address their particular concerns, like how to compete in a male-dominated career.
The University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering, therefore, has established two programs that address these issues: GRADE (Girls Reaching and Demonstrating Excellence) Camp, for female high school students; and a women-in-engineering program, for those currently enrolled in the college of engineering, called WELCOME (Women in Engineering Learning Community for Maximizing Excellence). The programs are a unified and proactive effort to increase the number of female engineering students at the college.
Given the age of the students it targets, GRADE Camp can be considered the first part of this effort. Each summer, the college hosts four, one-week camps, which are open to high school females who will enter the 9th through 12th grades in the fall.
The GRADE Camp curriculum consists of interactive morning sessions where the girls learn underlying engineering principles, followed by lunch with female engineering role models. The girls then work in the afternoons on the design, programming and construction of an autonomous Lego Mindstorms robot.
On the last day of GRADE Camp, the students give group presentations on the subjects discussed in the morning classes. The girls then demonstrate their robot to teachers, peers and guests, followed by a luncheon featuring a female guest speaker who is accomplished in an engineering or science field.
“It’s really amazing to see the girls not only do so well with their robots,” said Jenny Ruchhoeft, educational grants manager with the college, who manages the GRADE Camp program, “but also see the joy they have when their robot makes its way through the maze regardless of the originating location.”
Though the college has hosted GRADE Camp since the summer of 2003, early data indicates that it is effective. According to Ruchhoeft, of the 40 college-age GRADE Camp graduates who have participated in follow-up surveys, 65% are majoring in STEM Fields.
Increasing the number of female engineering students is only part of the job for the college, however. Once they enroll, they often face a number of challenges.
To address these issues, the college founded the WELCOME program in the fall of 2005. WELCOME is led by Julie Trenor, director of undergraduate student recruitment and retention and an assistant professor in the college.
According to Trenor one of the biggest problems facing female engineering students is a lack of a strong sense community within the college of engineering. In their liberal arts or science courses, there are often an equal number of male and female students. In engineering, however, there may be only a few female students in the class. Situations such as this, she said, create a sense of isolation.
“What we find is that when female engineering students hit a roadblock, they don’t always have a strong support system to lean on, and as a result, they may make the decision to change their major. Male engineering students, on the other hand, are more likely to have someone else to talk to about a problem,” she said.
The WELCOME program is attempting to address this sense of isolation by operating two mentoring programs. The first, said Trenor, matches incoming students with upper division students. This allows the newer students to receive advice on classes, professors, study habits and other school-related subjects from people who have already experienced what they are going through.
The second mentoring program matches junior- and senior-level students with female engineers working in the Houston area. This allows students to discuss topics such as job searches, the work environment and balancing work and family with a woman who has dealt with these issues.
Since WELCOME has been active for less than one year, it is too soon to gather data to evaluate its effectiveness. There is reason, however to believe the program is succeeding.
For instance, more than 50 students attended the first WELCOME meeting, prompting one student to comment that she had no idea so many women were majoring in engineering, said Trenor.
Feedback from students and professionals participating in the mentoring program is especially positive, and response from the local engineering community has been tremendous, according to Trenor.
As WELCOME becomes a more established program within the college and receives more funding, it will expand its community-building efforts. The program, though, will always work alongside GRADE Camp to increase the number of employable engineers while closing the gap between the female and male engineering students
“The women-in-engineering efforts in the Cullen College of Engineering are focused on both recruitment and retention of female students,” said Trenor. “GRADE Camp is a great way to expose high school students to the profession of engineering and help them make an informed decision about pursuing an engineering degree. Once students have enrolled as undergraduates, WELCOME gives them a strong support system that encourages success in their academic and professional life. Both activities will result in increased numbers of highly qualified women entering the engineering workforce.”