Barriers and Assets: Understanding the Experiences of Underrepresented Undergraduate Engineering Students.

Engineering and other Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) student retention rates are alarming in the United States. For example, the annual graduation rate of those who enter college as STEM majors is about 50%. In addition, in 2015, less than 30% of underrepresented engineering students in the United States earned a bachelor’s degree. In the location of this study, a Minority-Serving Institution (MSI), historically, only about 25-30% of undergraduate engineering students complete degrees annually. In spite of this disparity, Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) are leading the way in producing a large percentage of underrepresented engineering bachelor’s degree holders. For example, while accounting for only 3% of all post-secondary institutions in the US, HBCUs graduate 17% of all Black engineering students in the US. Of Hispanic students pursuing a degree in engineering, at least 59% obtain their degree from an HSI. The field could stand to learn more about the experiences of underrepresented engineering students at MSIs (the largest producer of underrepresented engineers). However, much of the research about the experiences of underrepresented engineering students is in the context of Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs). Therefore, the purpose of this study, which is a part of an ongoing study, is to understand the experiences (barriers and assets) of undergraduate engineering students at a large Research I, HSI in the Southwest. The authors used a qualitative approach to understand the experiences of 10 underrepresented undergraduate engineering students (including three Chemical Engineering students) using a semi-structured interview. The authors analyzed data using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis and were guided by Community Cultural Wealth to uncover the assets they used to succeed in engineering. The most prominent barriers that arose were professor concerns, advisor concerns, and school/life balance. The observed assets included peer interaction and support structures. Finally, the work presented here sheds light on the importance of faculty and academic advisors in students’ success. Data also suggest that the most important factor in student success is engagement, specifically, their interactions with their peers, whether through formal student organizations or informal networks.