Mep Summer Bridge Program: Mathematics Assessment Strategies

Abstract

Arizona State University's (ASU) Office of Minority Engineering Programs (OMEP) has hosted two successful Minority Engineering Program (MEP) Summer Bridge Programs to promote greater awareness of and recruit potential candidates to the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS). Through a collaborative effort, the two-week residential program was funded by the Western Alliance to Expand Student Opportunities and the CEAS Dean’s Office. The program content and curriculum were designed to prepare underrepresented ethnic minority students for success in the CEAS at ASU. The curriculum focused on engineering design, technical communications, and included a design project. Academic scholarships were awarded to all participants based on a team design project competition. The competition included the design of web pages, documentation in individual design notebooks, and a presentation to industry representatives and parents. During the summer of 1996, 44 students participated and completed the program. As a recruitment tool, the program was an overwhelming success with 43 of the 44 students completing the academic year (one chose not to because of the family’s financial situation). During the summer of 1997, 39 students also completed the program. Currently, 38 of the 39 from the 1997 program have enrolled in the CEAS (one choosing not to enroll because of problems with financial aid). During both programs, the students were given university mathematics placement examinations. The students were then advised to take either MAT 117: College Algebra, MAT 170: Pre-Calculus, MAT 270: Calculus with Analytic Geometry I, or more advanced classes based on their placement test results. However, students were not required to register for a mathematics course based on their exam score. The academic success of these students in their first mathematics course is evaluated relative to their placement score as well as their participation in an academic success seminar and use of the MEP tutoring program. INTRODUCTION In Fall 1997, Arizona State University (ASU) enrollment figures including the East, West and Main campuses grew to over 47,000 students, placing it as the fourth largest university in the United States. The Main campus supports 44,255 students: 33,497 are undergraduate (75.7%) and 10,758 are graduate students (24.3%). The undergraduate underrepresented minority students included 2.2% Native American, 3.1% African American, and 10.5% Hispanic students. The graduate underrepresented minority students included 1.3% Native American, 2.4% African American, and 6.3% Hispanic students. 1 Within the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS), the Fall 1997 enrollment of undergraduate engineering students increased by 5.9% (3,625) and the increase in graduate level