Career awareness, retention and curriculum programs

Strategies have been developed for implementing various programs to provide students (K-12, junior colleges, and undergraduate schools) with an awareness of civil and transportation engineering careers, to retain students who have the interest, and to affect curriculums that relate the relevance of class materials to such careers. These programs were assembled under a conceptual framework referred to as the “ARC” (Awareness, Retention and Curriculum) model. Recommended action plans were subsequently devised to address specific issues at each defined developmental stage of the educational process. Although the principal focus of the research was to promote student awareness of civil engineering as a career option, the research results are applicable across the various engineering education disciplines. The study results include: a catalog describing existing techniques used to promote student awareness in engineering, mathematics, and science studies; insights into attitudes on civil engineering via focus groups; development of the conceptual ARC model and associated action plans; and the publication of a “user´s guide” to implement the detailed strategies of the ARC model. A comprehensive Directory and Program of Services for existing programs was also prepared. The paper summarizes the overall research approach, describes the market research study, identifies the key findings, and explains the ARC model development and its application to the future engineering pool