Work in progress - Utah’s engineering initiative

In response to a shortage of engineers in Utah an interdisciplinary team at the University of Utah developed an outreach program intended to increase the number of students recruited into the College of Engineering and who complete engineering degrees. An innovative mix of service learning, outreach, and peer mentoring comprises the program. Recruitment efforts include outreach, integration with teachers and public relations. In outreach, college students work with high school teachers and engineering faculty to prepare and present engineering-based teaching modules that meet requirements of the state core science curriculum. Education and public relations materials aimed at students, parents, teachers, and counselors also contribute to outreach. Retention efforts include academic advising, tutoring, peer mentoring, and service learning. Retention programs are based on college student retention research, and focus on engaging students both academically and socially. This paper reports on the first year of the initiative, including the creation of outreach teams and the development of high school teaching. We also discuss how participation in the outreach team impacted current students.