Non-Curricular Activities Help African American Students and Alumni De- velop Engineer of 2020 Traits: A Quantitative Look

This research lays a foundation for understanding the unique experiences of African American engineering students and alumni who participate in non-curricular activities. Three noncurricular activities were examined for the scope of this study: National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), Black Greek Organizations (BGOs), and Minority Engineering Programs (MEPs). This study demonstrates the value of these three activities by quantifying participants’ perceptions on how involvement in these organizations aid the development of traits named in the National Academy of Engineering’s Engineer of 2020 report. Statistical analysis of data from over 250 student and alumni participants, from across the US, reveal that participants perceive each organization to make a statistically significant contribution to the development of at least one Engineer of 2020 trait. Results of this study provide leaders and advisors of these programs and organizations with empirical data that can be used to advocate for funding and institutional support. Introduction The number of minority students in engineering remains low despite numerous calls to action to increase the number of students in engineering from the growing minority population in the US. Hispanics, African Americans, American Indian, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders together represent 29% of the overall U.S. population,1 yet account for only 13.8% of bachelor’s degrees earned in engineering. More so, African Americans make up 4.2% of this group with approximately 3,385 bachelor degrees awarded in 2012.2 Furthermore, underrepresented minority graduates are even less present in the workforce: African P ge 24937.3 Americans represent 5% of the engineering workforce, Latinos 6% and American Indian/Alaska Natives combined represent 0.4%.1 To improve the low representation of minorities in college and in the workforce, peer-led groups and non-curricular activities have been found to support students’ persistence and development of critical professional competencies. This study explores how such non-curricular organizations and activities specifically help African American students and alumni members develop Engineer of 2020 traits and the implications for campus program directors, organization advisors, leaders and members. Literature Review For the scope of this discussion, non-curricular activities occur within an academic setting but outside of the classroom. In this study we specifically focus on activities that African American students participate in frequently, namely NSBE, MEPs, and BGOs. Professional organizations (e.g. NSBE), student support centers (e.g. MEPs), and fraternities and sororities (e.g. BGOs) offer community involvement, academic services, and professional development opportunities. Previous research has shown that organizations like NSBE and BGOs have a positive impact on students in their ability to expose members to role models, national conferences, industrial and academic professionals, and other engineering students.3 Researchers in higher education have shown that student participation in out-of-class activities generally offers positive outcomes.4,5 In addition, NSBE, BGOs, MEPs and similar organizations have been shown to provide a sense of community for student members, often seen as a family bond,6,7 and as providing academic support to retain minority students.8 While these organizations are not the sole answer to increasing minority representation in Page 24937.4 engineering, prior research9,10 suggests that they provide a unique means of social integration and academic support for African American students, and perhaps help alumni in acquiring traits that contribute to their development as professionals. This study aims to investigate the development of Engineer of 2020 traits as measurable outcomes of non-curricular participation. The Engineer of 2020:Visions of Engineering in the New Century report include ten traits established by the National Academy of Engineers in 2004 as necessary for engineering students to successfully face the challenges of the future. The ten traits include 1) analytical skills, 2) practical ingenuity, 3) creativity, 4) communication skills, 5) business & management skills, 6) high ethical standards, 7) professionalism, 8) leadership, 9) dynamism/agility/resilience/flexibility, 10) desire to be a lifelong learner. Research Approach The study takes a quantitative approach to analyzing an on-line survey conducted with a national sample of 289 African American student and alumni members participating in up to three types of non-curricular activities: BGOs, MEPs, NSBE. “Students” in this study are defined as current undergraduate members of an organization and “alumni” are members who are no longer enrolled as undergraduate students (i.e., graduate students, employed professionals). The research questions guiding this study are: 1. What, if any, are the differences in participants’ perceptions of the overall influence of membership in the three organizations (NSBE, MEPs and BGOs)? 2. When African American engineers are involved in any two of the three organizations, do they perceive membership in one organization to have more influence than another Page 24937.5 organization on the development of one or more of the Engineer of 2020 traits? If so, to which organization do African American engineers uniquely link trait development? Participants Participants were required to have either an undergraduate or graduate degree in engineering. Participants with non-engineering undergraduate degrees, but who had obtained a graduate degree in engineering were included in the sample since all three organizations allow for post undergraduate participation and/or membership. However, only 2.4% of the participants fit this category. A wide range of engineering disciplines was represented in the study with 70% of participants holding undergraduate degrees in Chemical, Electrical, Computer, Industrial, and Mechanical Engineering. More women (N = 156) than men (N = 133) participated in the study. Survey Design and Dissemination The survey was designed to collect demographic data and create a database to conduct screening for participant selection in a qualitative study. Yet, a viable opportunity was identified to conduct a quantitative analysis focusing on two questions of the survey (see Figure 1 below). Three versions of each question were used in order to measure involvement appropriately for each organization; therefore, versions not shown below only vary with respect to the organization of membership (i.e. BGOs and MEPs).