Engineering Undergraduate Education (1986)

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Undergracluate Students Demographic Forces The number of engineering graduates who will seek employment in the decade ahead is very difficult to predict. It is a complex function of many variables, some of which are confirmed, some partially under- stood, and some conjectured. There are three principal elements in the supply of engineering graduates: {1 ) the high school graduates' popula- tion {the potential based; ~2J the percentage of qualified applicants from that base who enter engineering programs; and ~3J the retention of engineering students. The Population Base The number of 1 8-year-olds in the U. S. population through the year 2000 rests on well-established projections. Only the migratory drift of families will further affect regional populations. It is generally thought that, barring unforeseen political or economic events, the current pat- tem of migration will produce a minor but reinforcing effect on the existing population-age characteristics already established in each region. The Westem Interstate Commission for Higher Education published a projection of high school graduates through 2000 [McConnell and Kaufman, 1984) that indicated a 22 percent decrease nationwide between 1982 and 1991, roughly approaching the low point of the 12

UNDERGRAD HATE S TUDENTS 900 `~ 800 in :3 o A) UJ '< 700 O 600 A: UJ m Z 500 01 1 1 1 1 1 1 984 Southeast/ South Central - - - _- .~ - / - West '~ ~Northeast 1987 1990 1993 13 1996 1999 YEAR FIGURE 1 U.S. high school graduates: projections for 1984-1999. SOURCE: Based on McConnell and Kaufman ( 1984). period. All but 10 states share in the decrease, which in absolute num- bers is a decline of approximately 590,000 high school graduates from a base of 2.712 million. Figure 1 shows that the decrease in graduates varies widely among regions of the country between 1984 and 1999. Comparison of the future population of high school students with the current geographical distribution of engineering students reveals a new dimension of the problem that lies ahead. In 1981 - 1982, half of the B.S. degrees in engineering nationally were awarded lay only 45 schools, all of them graduating more than 400 engineering students. Of those schools, about 60 percent are located in the North Central and Northeastern regions of the country, where population decreases are projected to be the most severe. Fifteen of the 45 colleges are in Massa- chusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, states in which the high school population will decrease an average of 40 percent between 1982 and 1993. Thus, these highly industrialized and often " high-tech" North Central and Northeastern areas could be severely affected by the projected demographic shifts.

14 ENGINEERING UNDER GRAD HATE ED UCATION Engineering colleges in the North Central and Northeastern regions must either recruit outside their regions, as some already do, or work intensively to increase the percentage of qualified regional high school graduates who apply for engineering programs. Admissions experience of independent and public institutions, with the exception of a very few national universities, shows that the vast majority of students attend a college within a 250-mile radius of their homes. Applications to Engineering Programs Engineering enrollments, when charted since World War II See Fig- ure 2J rise and fall appreciably and are almost independent of the high school population j see the key to the figure, which associates enroll- ment peaks and valleys with national forces). Enrollments between 1945 and 1982 responded to the perceived market for engineering man- power. These historical swings indicate considerable elasticity in the interest in engineering among potential college applicants. As shown in Figure 2, the current surge of undergraduate enrollment is explained in part lay a new factor in addition to the traditional source Male applicants), the pool now includes women, minorities, and additional foreign nationals. {Asian-American minorities have been strongly represented for many decades. ~ In 1975, 8.7 percent of college-bound high school seniors intended to pursue engineering, while in 1982 that number reached 14.4 percent. Of college-bound seniors in 1982 whose Scholastic Aptitude Test iSAT) scores were over 1000 j the top 30 percent of the total tested~,21 percent indicated that they intended to study engineering. If the existing appli- cant pool is to be maintained, that percentage of 21, assuming that it is evenly distributed, would have to reach about 35 percent in those regions where the high school population base will shrink by 40 per- cent. Nationwide, with a future high school applicant pool at 78 per- cent of its 1982 level, about 28 percent of college applicants will need to be interested in engineering programs for 1982 applicant levels to be . . mamtame( .. The Panel on Undergraduate Engineering Education recommends that, if the flow of engineering graduates is to be maintained despite majordemographic changes, a verysubstantial effort will be required to increase the number of high school students who are qualified and motivated to study engineering. Both the traditional sources and the increasingpool of women and minorities must be nurtured to maintain the present quality of engineering students.

UNDERGRAD DATE S TUDENTS 1 20,000 1 05,000 In 90,000 UJ ~75,000 z ~60,000 of 111 C) 45,000 Oh 30,000 1 5,000 _ ~1 _g I I `% I l I First-Year Enrollments / 10 / / BS Degrees :,,," .` _' D MS Degrees PhD Dearees 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 YEAR 1. Returning World War I I veterans 2. Diminishing veteran pool and expected surplus of engineers 3. Korean War and increasing R& D expenditures 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Returning Korean War veterans Aerospace program cutbacks and economic recession Vietnam War and greater space expenditures Increased student interest in social-program careers Adverse student attitudes toward engineering, decreased space and defense expenditures, and lowered college attendance 9. Improved engineering job market, positive student attitudes toward engineering, and entry of nontraditional students (women, minori ties, and foreign nationals)  10. Diminishing 1 8-year-old pool A Manual on Graduate Study in Engineering issued, based on 1945 Committee Report chaired by L. E. Grinter B ASEE Evaluation Report recommends greater stress on mathematics and science and the engineering sciences. C ASEE Committee on the Development of Engineering Faculties recom- mends the doctorate for future engineering faculty. D ASEE Goals of Engineering Education recommends the master's de- gree for the majority of those who complete their undergraduate degree in the coming decade. 15 FIGURE 2 Engineering degrees and first-year enrollments: historical factors affecting engineering enrollments. SOURCE: LeBold and Sheridan ( 19861.

16 Influences on Admissions ENGINEERING UNDER GRAD UATE ED UCATION The engineering admissions process varies considerably among institutions between public and independent institutions and between large, public multiuniversities and public state colleges and among states. Highly selective engineering colleges have entering freshmen with median combined SAT scores in the 1200 to 1400 range. In many states, colleges of engineering are required to accept all high school graduates above a given rank in class or record on achievement tests. In states with good school systems, setting the class rank suffi- ciently high results in extremely well-qualified students. While the applications:admissions ratio is often taken as a measure of selectivity, a self-selection process is also at work in engineering education. That is, students who have a weak background in science and mathematics do not usually enter the admissions competition, so that almost all applicants possess the minimum requirement, which is sometimes as low as a 450 SAT score in mathematics. Furthermore, admissions standards can vary with the perceived size of the applicant pool. In periods of low interest in engineering, some schools lower their standards of admission in order to "fill the freshman class." In periods of high interest in engineering, many schools raise their admissions standards, thereby increasing their selectivity. Clearly, policy determi- nations and practices of admissions staff exert a strong influence on the numbers and quality of students entering engineering. Elasticity On a national or regional basis, the variety in types of institutions increases students' opportunity for access to engineering education. As long as at least some institutions have space, this diversity of opportu- nity gives the system elasticity. As the last 10 years have shown, with a relatively modest increase in the resources allocated to undergraduate education, this ability of the system to absorb additional students reached a factor of 2 before saturation. Transfer Students First-year enrollment is one path to engineering education; a second is the transfer student route. Again, the process varies among institu- tions. In some cases transfer students compensate for attrition during the first two years of engineering study. The size of this flow is charac- teristically in the range of 10 percent per year, although some colleges

UNDERGRAD HATE S TUDENTS 17 may admit as many as 30 percent transfer students each year. In gen- eral, the transfer process is more selective than that of freshman admis- sions. Experience shows that transfer students do as well as other engineering students. ~ Especially in the public sector, many states have established a feeder system whereby pre-engineering students begin in two-year programs or institutions and, if successful in those, transfer to upper-division engineering curricula. The number of such transfer students is essen- tially limited by the number of upper-division places available in given curricula. As cost factors become more critical, particularly for stu- dents, two-year programs will probably become major feeders to four- year engineering schools. Dual-degree programs were begun in the 1960s. Their major purpose has been to add a combined liberal arts/engineering dimension to higher education rather than to contribute to the central flow of under- graduate engineering manpower. These programs are usually of the "3 + 2" type: the student obtains both liberal arts and engineering degrees in five years. Dual-degree programs have been utilized to a limited extent to increase the entry of minority students and women into engineering. Overall, dual-degree programs have not produced a significant flow of engineering graduates because the demand has not been significant and because few of these programs dovetail effectively. Factors Affecting the Quality of High School Graduates Between 1978 and 1984, at least 20 comprehensive studies of U.S. school systems cited major deficiencies: loss of basic purpose, alo- sence of clearly identified goals, and low expectations of students. Most striking is their fundamental unanimity on the keynotes sounded in A Nation at Risk [Gardner et al., 1983), the 1983 report to the nation and the Secretary of Education by the National Commission on Excellence in Education. These studies present virtually conclusive evidence that, because of weaknesses in its educational system, our nation is dangerously at risk in several ways. For example, our technological supremacy erodes as other nations expand their own capacities. One threat to our ability to compete results from a shortage of skilled engineers and scientists and from a lack of scientific and mathematical literacy {Education Com- mission of the States' National Task Force, 1983~. Such literacy will lee * Davidson and Montgomery 119831 summarize 17 of these reports.

18 ENGINEERING UNDER GRAD UATE ED UCATION essential if citizens of this nation are to support a technologically advanced society. From 1964 to 1981, the percentage of high school students complet- ing courses in science and mathematics declined as follows: in biology from 80 to 77 percent, in chemistry from 34 to 32 percent, in general science from 61 to 37 percent, in algebra 1 from 76 to 64 percent, in geometry from 51 to 44 percent, and in algebra 2 from 35 to 31 percent {Adelman, 1983J. This loss of interest is alarming, considering that Japan and the Soviet Union recognize that world leadership depends on technological superiority. It has been said that "the technological bat- tle with the Japanese is really an industrial equivalent of the East-West arms race" Julian Gresser, quoted in Grayson, 1983. See also Stata, 1983J. Insufficient Time Commitment The United States has long depended on its schools to educate its citizens for world leadership. However, a minority of U.S. high school students study mathematics for three years, whereas other industrial- ized nations require all students to start mathematics {other than arithmetic orgeneralmathematicsJ, biology, physics, end geographyin grade 6. The class hours spent on these subjects in other industrialized countries is about 3 times that spent even by U.S. students who select four years of science and mathematics in secondary school Gardner et al., 1983:20J. Hurd {1982:2J found "that 93 percent of the seniors com- pleted one or more years of mathematics, 67 percent two years or more, and 34 percent three years." The consensus of the recent studies of schooling is that all students should have three years of mathematics; some studies recommend four years, at least for those who plan to attend college Third, 1982J. Only 41 percent of students in academic programs study science for three years in high school tend only 13 percent of general-studies stu- dents and 9 percent of vocational-studies studentsJ. The consensus among the studies referred to here is that all students should have three years of science, and some of the reports recommend four years of basic science courses for college preparation. Hurd {1982J finds students begin with biology and follow with chemistry ~37 percentJ and physics {19 percentJ; others "complete their three years of science with a selec- tion from biology 2, earth science, physiology, space science, aeronau- tics, oceanography, physical science, geology, ecology, environmental science, or from a host of one semester courses. " This jumble is what A Nation at Risk describes as curricula "homogenized, diluted, and dif

UNDERGRAD HATE S TUDENTS 19 fused to the point that they no longer have a central purpose. In effect, we have a cafeteria-style curriculum in which the appetizers and des- serts can easily be mistaken for the main courses" t Gardner et al., 1983: 18~. LowExpectations of Students The reports on U.S. school systems show that our nation's schools and colleges are not demanding enough of students. "Homework for high school seniors has decreased {two-thirds report less than 1 hour a night) and grades have risen, yet average student achievement has declined. In 13 States, students are given freedom to choose half or more of the units required for high school graduation. Given such freedom to choose the substance of their education, many students select less demanding personal service courses, such as bachelor liv- ing" [Gardneretal., 1983:19-20~. Under such conditions, College Board achievement scores in aca- demic areas such as English and physics have declined in recent years. Nearly 40 percent of 1 7-year-olds cannot draw inferences from written material, only one-fifth can write a persuasive essay, and only one-third can solve a mathematics problem requiring several steps. Science achievement scores of U.S. 17-year-olds as measured by national assessments of science in 1969, 1973, and 1977 have declined steadily Gardner et al., 1983~. The pattern of courses that high school students take and their low achievement are greatly influenced by college and university admis- sions requirements. Whatever the causes E.g., the growing intensity of competition for a declining pool of students or other influences, these requirements in many cases are so low that students are not prepared for college work: One-quarter of the mathematics courses in collegiate institutions are remedial {Gardner et al., 1983:8~. Nor are many high school graduates prepared for an occupation. Business and military leaders complain that without remedial work in reading, writing, spell- ing, and computation, many high school graduates cannot even begin the sophisticated training they need for their work. Lack of Student Interest in Science and Mathematics The list of reasons why so many students fail to master the skills they need for the study of science, mathematics, and other academic sub- jects grows with each analysis. The causes include lack of discipline in the classroom, overemphasis on socialization, automatic grade promo

20 ENGINEERING UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION lion, teacher disillusionment, tolerance of absenteeism, emphasis on educational opportunity without equal attention to quality, grade infla- tion, lowering of college entrance requirements, unfavorable study environments in the home, lack of homework, loss of public confi- dence in and support for schools, and unclear educational goals and policies. For whatever sociological or educational reasons, too many students lose interest in learning and simply evade it. U.S. students' dislike of science courses is acquired early-nearly half of them dislike science by the end of the third grade, and 79 percent by the eighth. The popularity of mathematics declines from a high of 48 percent in grade 3 to a low of 18 percent in grade 12. This loss of interest clearly affects the nation's pool of scientists and engineers, as shown, for example, in a study by Aldridge and Johnson ~ 1984J that traces the loss of scientific talent from the 4,170,000 members in the freshman high school class of 1977-1978: 302,400 of these students ~7.3 percents entered study of science and engineering Engineering 115,300~ as college freshmen in 1981-1982; an estimated 83,100, or 2 percent of the original high school class, would graduate in those fields {32,300 in engineering). At the graduate level, an estimated 0.4 percent of the freshman high school class of 1977-1978 ~16,680~ would earn M.S. degrees, and 0.1 percent 4,170 would earn doctorates in science and . . engmeermg. Of the total 71,470 engineering baccalaureates projected for 1985, 32,300 would be from the original pool of 1977- 1978 high school fresh- men. The remaining 39,170 would include approximately 13,000 for- eign nationals and 26,000 other Americans who had been out of high school for more than four years. The latter group comprises mostly transfer students and students who had left and returned to engineering programs. Of 32,000 M.S. degrees projected to be earned in 1987 in all fields of engineering, science, and mathematics, nearly 17,000 will be awarded to U.S. students who graduated from high school in 1981; 6,000 will be awarded to foreign nationals; and 9,000, to other Ameri- can students. Of the 7,700 Ph.D. degrees expected in these fields in 1989, 4,200 will go to students from the high school class of 1981; 2,300, toforeigu nationals; and 1,200, to Americana who did not pursue engineering or scientific studies continuously after high school gradua tion. One reason for the loss of such a high proportion of talent from the original high school pool is the inappropriateness of high school science and math courses for the 92.7 percent who will not become scientists or engineers. Current courses are often obsolete and of questionable value for the 7.3 percent who may do so, since these courses largely ignore the

UNDERGRAD HATE S TUDENTS 21 computer, modern electronics, and much of the new knowledge that has been generated so rapidly over the past 10 years. Present courses focus on pure science and are largely devoid of practical applications, technology, or the relevancy of science to society's problems, such as acid rain, nuclear wastes and disposal, or improper nutrition. Diminished Incen fives Although only implicitly stated in the literature, another reason for diminished interest in education is that students lack incentives to learn. Few of them, including some of the most talented, discover the pleasure of learning for its own sake. In the past, incentives for Ameri- can students included living up to parents' expectations, meeting teachers' expectations and receiving rewards for their efforts, and in some cases having the opportunity to attend college. Students now have little reason for developing the self-discipline to learn which the work ethic imbued in their Puritan or other immigrant forebears. The belief that education would guide their hard work to success was incul- cated in their parents, and that same conviction is evident today in many of the Oriental engineering students whose families insist on education as the road to success in America. Since incentives are not as strong as they once were, engineering societies and social agencies have attempted to provide them. The Junior Engineering Technical Society iTETSJ sponsors clubs, national team competitions, science fairs, and precollege programs. Other incentives programs are usually offered in inner-city environments, where educational problems are acute. These model programs, which include Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement tMESAJ in California; Philadelphia Regional Introduction for Minorities to Engi- neering jPRIMEJ in Philadelphia; and Massachusetts Pre-engineering Program for Minority Students [MassPepJ in Boston, offer encourage- ment and guidance to students who are talented in mathematics and science and who want to enrich their schooling. Such programs were designed to bring into engineering those underrepresented minorities who accept the challenge to education. They demonstrate efforts that might be made or adapted in all schools and systems to inspire the scholarship that is needed. MESA was one of the first model programs to state its goals, which included "Encouraging students from the target minority groups to acquire the academic skills they need to major in mathematics, engi- neering, and the physical sciences at a university; Promoting career awareness . . . and Striving to institutionalize the educational enrich

22 ENGINEERING UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION ment activities that prepare minority group students...." Its activities include tutoring; independent study groups; academic, university, and career counseling; and summer enrichment and employment. MESA offers scholarship incentive awards, and has high expectations in terms of student performance. MassPep in Boston offers a Saturday Lab Program supported by scien- tists, weekly club meetings to discuss technical issues and projects, and has conducted a successful summer program. The organization is planning to hold monthly assemblies of students and teachers for lec- tures, contests, and exchange of information. Its computerized records track students' academic and personal progress for use in counseling. The students involved in the program know individuals who care about and encourage their progress. Teacher Shortages The studies of U.S. schools referred to at the beginning of this section agree that there are too few qualified teachers of science and mathemat- ics. As indicated in A Nation at Risk "Gardner et al., 1983:22-23J, too many teachers come from the lowest quarter of their classes. Since about 41 percent of the time of elementary school teacher candidates is spent in education courses, less time is available for subject matter courses. Moreover, in 1981, 43 of 45 states had shortages of mathemat- ics teachers, 33 of these states reported critical shortages of earth sci- ence teachers, and all lacked physics teachers. Half of the newly employed mathematics, science, and English teachers are not qualified to teach these subjects. These shortages exist despite widespread pul:- licity about an oversupply of teachers. Many good students turn away from teaching because of the poor condition of the profession. The public is well aware of the problems of classroom management, including the burden of administrative as well as disciplinary duties. Furthermore, teachers lack control over such basic academic matters as curricular design and selection of text- books [Sizer, 1984J. * More personal detriments to undertaking a teach- ing career are the low pay and limited career line. If the low beginning salary and the national average salary of $17,000 per year after 12 years of teaching do not tempt math and science teachers to jump to industry, the limited career line often does. A teacher has roughly the same * The Sizer ( 19841 study examined high schools, lout the statement applies to school systems as well as to individual schools.

UNDERGRAD HATE S TUDENTS 23 responsibility at the end of a professional lifetime as he or she had on the first day of work. Failure of Leadership The failure of the teaching profession to attract its share of talented high school and college graduates results, as do many other problems that our schools face, from a lack of leadership at many levels. One analyst declares, "The United States lacks national goals, public poli- cies, or an agenda to focus discussion and delicate in the reconstruction of science and mathematics education.... If [a policy of high-level scientific, technological, and computer literacy for all citizens] is to lie a goal of science and mathematics education at the pre-college level, parents, teachers, and school administrators must first recognize its significance" tHurd, 1982: 7J. Research studies on school effectiveness have found repeatedly that academically effective schools have clear goals related to student achievement and that the teachers and parents of students at such schools have high expectations {Purkey and Smith, 1982J. However, the goals of high schools are numerous and seem to continue multiply- ing with little regard for the severe limits imposed lay a lack of school staff, equipment, and time Moyer, 1983J. To be effective, a school and the board that guides it must have a clear and vital mission. Educators and the public they serve need a shared vision of what they must accomplish together. Every school should establish clearly stated goals-purposes that are widely shared lay teachers, students, administrators, and parents. The future develop- ment of our nation depends upon our agreement as to the mission and importance of our schools. The Panel on Undergraduate Engineering Education recommends that, to improve the qualifications of students intending to study engi- neering, the engineering schools and engineeringprofessional societies actively encourage government andindustry to join them in an effort to improve the mathematical, scientific, and technological content in America Is school systems. This effort will require additional sources of talent andfunds. The Increasing Role of Women in Engineering Education Within just a few years, women have become a significant fraction of the undergraduate engineering population, and their numbers con

24 ENGINEERING UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION tinue to increase. Female enrollments in engineering rose from about 1 percent of total enrollment in 1970 to about 16 percent in 1983. The increase is not uniform across schools: In 1982 the percentage of B.S. degrees awarded to women from the 50 institutions having the largest number of undergraduate engineering students ranged from a high of 29.5 percent General Motors Institute) to a low of 8.9 percent {Iowa State UniversityJ. The largest number of B.S. degrees awarded by one school to women in 1982 was 203 t15.6 percents from Texas A&tM University, which graduated the largest total engineering class that year. The numbers also vary across engineering fields: In 1982, 29 percent of industrial engineering students The highest percentages and 24.5 percent of computer engineering students were women, while 10 percent of mechanical engineering students The lowest percentages and 13 percent of civil engineering students were women. The reten- tion rate of female students in undergraduate programs is similar to that of male students, about 70 percent. Preparation for engineering The percentage of women in engineering programs appears to have no inherent limit. There are as many young women as men in high school who study mathematics and science through trigonometry and chemistry. However, almost twice as many young men as women take high school physics, calculus, and introductory computing t although undergraduates in the field of computer science are about 25 percent women, as indicated above). Apparently an interest in physics is an important factor leading to a career in engineering; men are attracted to engineering mainly by tak- ing high school physics, while women are attracted to engineering through chemistry and biology. High school women often feel tracked away from physics; very few physics teachers are women, and course content and quality are quite variable, often not appealing to women. Educational experiments indicate that nontraditional approaches to the teaching of both physics and introductory computer subjects in sex- balanced classes result in their increased appeal to women students. Both men and women are attracted by mathematics and problem solv- ing in general, but women more so than men. Of all high school sub- jects, only mechanical drawing and physics attracted a greater percent- age of undergraduate men than of undergraduate women into engineering.

UNDERGRAD HATE S TUDENTS Aptitudes 25 Several factors indicate that the increase of women in engineering may continue as barriers such as those discussed above are eliminated. In 1983, the mathematics SAT score of women intending to enter engi- neering was slightly higher than that of prospective male engineering students: 549 versus 540. These same women students scored consid- erably higher on both the verbal and analytical parts of the Graduate Record Examination EGRET 492 versus 442 and 590 versus 522, respectively; on the quantitative portion of the GRE, they scored slightly lower: 653 versus 658. The scores show that as the pool of women with adequate preparation is enlarged, additional academically talented women are available for engineering. In addition, the profession of engineering will grow in directions that will make it even more attractive to women: The importance of biology and chemistry in engineering will increase; and the nature of engineer- ing work itself will change the increased use and role of computers will attract more women into engineering, and the importance of com- munication and verbal skills continues to grow. Women will feel increasingly welcome in science and engineering {as this happens, more women can be expected to become teachers of high school phys- ics and mathematics), and the image of successful women engineers will be more evident to young women. Professional Acceptance In the past, women have been virtually invisible within the engineer- ing profession. The 1968 "Goals Study" of the American Society for Engineering Education {ASEE) made no mention of women students, faculty, or engineers: All high school statistics were about male grad- uates; all faculty and practicing engineers were described as male. In spite of calling for a substantial increase in enrollment of engineering students among the nation's graduating high school students, the pos- sibility that some of this increase might include women students was not mentioned. For the most part, the profession was blind to the potential of women students. Various factors may have contributed to the change in women's participation in engineering. But whether it is due to universities' active recruitment of women into engineering dur- ing the dramatic decrease in engineering enrollments of the early 1970s, or to the rising aspirations of women for meaningful profes- sional careers, their participation in the profession has changed.

26 Needfor Support ENGINEERING UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION The increased enrollment of women in engineering suggests that various factors-financial, societal, emotional, and environmental- influence women's choice of engineering. Women students have come into engineering because of potential job opportunities and recent assurances from both industry and universities that they will be treated fairly with respect to jobs and salaries. Most senior women engineers can recount personal sagas of unpleasantness and insensitivity toward women in the profession. However, recent changes have considerably improved the climate for women in engineering. Freed from these past burdens, women engineers have demonstrated that they can do the work and that engineering is an attractive career for women. The increased number of women students has helped make engineer- ing schools a more attractive environment for them. Despite recent improvements, however, women students still report feelings of isola- tion, lack of acceptance by faculty and male student peers, and lack of acceptance of their career goals by friends, family, and their universi- ties. Many women students still find engineering schools to be stress- ful environments, and they need support to help them deal with the difficulties that they encounter. But they do not form a homogeneous group, and their needs vary. For example, some report significant prob- lems in adjusting to a strongly male environment; some find a support- ive environment in a particular department; and many find support in a confidant, sometimes a close male friend. Some of these are problems that will lessen over time as the number of both women students and women faculty increases. SpecialProblems of Women Studients While increased use of foreign nationals as graduate teaching assis- tants and as faculty members is often cited as a problem because of language barriers, the practice also brings special problems for women students. Anecdotal evidence suggests that students and faculty from cultures in which the role of women is subservient may not be sensitive or sympathetic to the career aspirations of American women engineer- ing students. Minority women attempting to prepare for or to pursue undergradu- ate engineering education may have very special problems that are not shared by all members of their minority group or by majority women. For example, the situation of minority women today in high schools preparing for possible entry into careers in engineering is not encourag

UNDERGRAD UATE S TUDENTS 27 ing. The falloff of women as compared with that of men in high school physics and calculus increases the handicaps these young women face in inner-city schools. Separate data for women are not available, but they are not likely to loe comforting. It is also difficult to trace minority women in engineering because of a lack of data. The percentage of doctoral degrees in engineering awarded in 1981 to native-l~orn minority women, including Asian women, was 0.19 percent. Not only are their numbers small, but the data for minority women are usually included in the total for minorities {and likewise are hidden in the data for women J. Incentives According to available data, starting salaries for men and women in a given engineering specialty at the entry level are roughly equal, with women having a slight edge. Some data also indicate that after 10 years women in engineering have fallen behind men in salary and position. Since the number of women engineers in the work force is still quite small relative to the number of women engineering students currently in school, this trend, while worrisome, may change over time. Data also indicate that starting salaries for women with advanced degrees are less than those for comparably educated men. At the Ph.D. level women average only 80 percent of the starting salaries of men. While generalizations about progress at this advanced-degree level are diffi- cult in the absence of correlations with professional experience, such differences do not seem to explain the 20 percent salary differential. The Panel on Undergraduate Engineering Education recommends that, to achieve the ~11 potential that this human resource offers, colleges of engineering, school systems, government, industry, and the engineering profession continue to work to increase the number of qualibed women who study for a career in engineering. A key require- mentis the need to encourage the study of mathematics and science by female secondary school students. Co-op Education Although only 8.2 percent of engineering students participated in such programs during 1983, cooperative education would seem to lee an attractive way to learn engineering, since it offers students an opportu- nity to learn while producing in a field that exists to serve the world's practical needs. {It is not surprising that engineering was the first field to try co-op education when that long tradition began in 1906.J The

28 ENGINEERING UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION advantages of co-op education seem to benefit all parties: Students learn by doing and can help pay for their education while learning; companies gain highly motivated workers at lower cost without the usual, expensive search process; and engineering schools can increase their capacity. Strengths and weaknesses of co-op education more sub- tle and numerous than these obvious attributes are discussed below. Co-op Students While it would seem that students would enter co-op programs mainly to finance their education, all studies of co-op education show that this reason is not dominant and that it subsides once students have begun their schooling. Only those co-op students who depend heavily on financial aid {about one-third continue to see income as an impor- tant reason for cooperative education. More than three-quarters of co- op students mainly seek to acquire skills and experience to support their career objectives through these programs. On average, their aca- demic performance is better than that of their non-co-op classmates, although no cause-and-effect relationship has been established. Experi- ence in the workplace increases their awareness of career possibilities and gives them an opportunity to develop their skills, and often they find co-op placements that prepare them for specific occupations. Two- thirds of these students perceive co-op education as a way to find employment after graduation ~Porter, n.d. I. The main benefit of such training is learning on-the-job skills. Co-op education nurtures personal characteristics, or affective skills, that come mainly from experience-positive attitudes, interests, values, needs, and motives. As shown in the ranked lists of goals below, these skills are interspersed among academic goals lay students, faculty, and administrators, but they head the list for industry Co-op students and graduates and their industrial supervisors Smith et al., 1981~: Goals Academe 1. Problem-solving skills 2. Engineering judgment 3. Communication skills 4. Engineering fundamentals 5. Planning skills 6. Technical skills Goals Industry 1. Practical judgment 2. Interpersonal competence 3. Oral communication 4. Managerial skills 5. Preciseness 6. Written communication (continued

UNDERGRAD HATE S TUDENTS 7. Interpersonal awareness 8. Professional ethics 9. Organizational skills 10. Self-confidence building 11. Creative expression 12. Leadership skills 29 7. Understanding problem-solving methods 8. Scientific-technical knowledge 9. Persuasiveness 10. Creativity and originality Employers rate co-op students high on motivation and ability to work with other people and to follow instructions. Co-op students find employment more readily than do non-co-op students, and nearly two-fifths of the former already know their employers from their co-op experience. They are more likely to find work that is directly related to their college major, and they progress more rapidly toward their career objectives. For the first three years of employment, their earnings are significantly greater than those of their non-co-op counterparts. They report greater job satisfaction than do non-co-ops, and they often have greater responsibility in their first jobs because they already know the work and how to work with fellow employees. Employers The employment of Co-op students offers employers the opportunity to cut costs by filling regular jobs with preprofessionals. Employers can also save by identifying and recruiting some of these workers, whose abilities and performance they can predict more reliably from on-site observations than they could do through the usual search for prospec- tive employees. While the cost of supervising these students is reported to be about 7 percent greater than that for supervising regular employ- ees, a majority of employers find them more productive than their regular co-workers. Most employers report less time spent on evalua- tion of co-ops and a lower turnover rate among them. More than half of co-op employers find students more able than regular employees to follow instructions and to work with other peo- ple. Nearly all employers report comparable or letter customer rela- tions when comparing the work of these students with that of regular workers. Co-op students represent a working basis for direct relation- ships of industry with regional educational institutions. Co-op educa- tion also provides industry with specific contacts and means for com- municating regularly with academic institutions about changing personnel requirements.

30 Institutional Considerations ENGINEERING UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION The integration of academic and career development offers academic institutions the opportunity to enhance their students' motivation. Not only do co-op students see the value of the knowledge gained from their studies, but they also stimulate classmates by sharing the experi- ence gained from their field work. The experiences of students on the job also encourage faculty to keep the curriculum current by modifying course content and program options. Senior administrators see cooper- ative education as a means of attracting students as well as a way to support the placement of graduates. Problems With Co-op Programs Problems that students may find with co-op programs include the longer time to graduation, although program formats can be as short as four years or as long as five and one-half years. The national average for all engineering students is four and one-half years. {There are three co- op program formats: {1) the traditional alternating format, in which students rotate between full-time campus study and full-time employ- ment; ~2~ the parallel, or concurrent, plan, which splits the student's day into full-time campus study and part-time employment; and {3) the field program, in which all students leave campus at the same time and have only one work experience a year. ~ Another problem that students may have is finding co-op employment unrelated to their academic interests. And scheduling the co-op experience can also be a problem. The problems related to co-op education for institutions result mainly from the differences between co-op and more traditional insti- tutional programs. The philosophy of cooperative education is differ- ent from the classical view of education. The difference is highlighted by the need for institutional changes to accommodate co-op programs, e.g., modification of the calendar, special scheduling of courses, and possible curricular changes. The most serious problem for all partners in cooperative education results from a depressed economy. Any doubts that employers may have about co-op make it an early candidate for cost cutting and termi- nation. Since the time constant is so different between industry and academe the fiscal year or " as of today" compared with the student's measure of the time to earn a degree termination of a cooperative education program is one of the most vivid examples of where industry and academe diverge. Termination of a co-op program causes consider- able stress on campus, not only for the students involved, but also

UNDERGRAD HATE S TUDENTS 31 because it disrupts faculty and administrative commitment to the pro- grams and interferes with the tightly organized study and financial aid plans of students. Conversely, when the economy is booming, industry is eager to attract co-op students, and the impression is created that industry wants "to fill a jolt" and is not really sensitive to the overall academic nature of the endeavor. The resulting cyclic "loom or laust" character- istic leads academicians to lie wary, so they are reluctant to make a deep commitment of time to enhance co-op programs academically. The requirement that co-op students be absent from the campus for substantial blocks of time detracts from their overall academic experi- ence. They lose contact with classmates and campus life and cannot participate in certain extracurricular activities. For some students this is an important deterrent. Possible Improvements One or more of the parties involved in cooperative education could help to improve certain aspects of the system. Employers sometimes need to clarify co-op job responsibilities, and they need to work closely with faculty to develop supervision and training of students t Wilson and Weinstein, 1982:22~. This relationship depends on frequent tele- phone contacts and occasional on-site visits. Employers must commit themselves to sustained support of the co- op program through good times and lead so as not to disrupt tight stu- dent scheduling and in order to encourage strong faculty commitment to the program. Some engineering educators consider the true potential of co-op edu- cation to be as yet unrealized. If industry were to adopt a revised posture toward co-op education and commit itself to a 12-month-per-year shared responsibility for the education of the engineer, it could make a significant impact. Such a partnership could help provide the engineer- ing practice component that has been steadily reduced in the curricu- lum during the last 25 years. Further, an integrated approach would bring an innovative and constructive dimension to the education of the engineer. The challenge remains unaddressed. The Panel on Undergraduate Engineering Education recommends that, to increase their effectiveness and enhance their role, co-op pro- grams be strengthened and made more attractive to students. A consid- erablystrongercommitmentfrom industryis required to eliminate the "boom or busts character of the programs that reflects a fluctuating economy. If industryodopted a revisedposture toward co-op education

32 ENGINEERING UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION and committed itself to a shared responsibility for the educational process, a very significant and innovative dimension could be added to the education of the engineer. Factors Influencing Graduate Study During their first two years of undergraduate study, the vast majority of students do not have any clear intention of pursuing graduate work. But, upon entering senior year, those with good to excellent academic records begin to think seriously about the trade-offs between industrial employment and graduate study. Many who choose industrial employ- ment intend to pursue graduate study either while employed or at some later time. Faculty Influence Studies {e.g., Consortium on Financing Higher Education, 1983) show that parents and faculty members both exert strong influence in a student's decision to undertake graduate study. Faculty are intimately familiar with the performance and quality of their students. Generally, students in the top 10 percent of their class are urged to continue study toward a graduate degree, but those in the top one-third of their class are also considered suitable candidates. Thus, performance at the under- graduate level is the primary determinant of which students continue for graduate study. Because of the strong faculty role in the decision process, the attitude of faculty members toward graduate study is extremely important. Faculty tend to presume that graduate study is preparation for an aca- demic career, but it is now necessary preparation for many industrial careers as well. Faculty who view an academic career as exciting and meritorious transmit this perception to their students. On the other hand, their lack of enthusiasm for academic careers or their belief that the professorial is disadvantaged compared with colleagues in industry will also be communicated and will discourage students from pursuing graduate work. StimulatingInterestin Graduate Study Faculty members can increase interest in graduate study by playing a more positive, active role in advising their students. They could do much more in this regard by involving undergraduate students in

UNDERGRAD HATE S TUDENTS 33 research projects and intermittent teaching opportunities. Recognition of achievement motivates further achievement. In order to attack the faculty shortage problem by encouraging the best students to consider careers as engineering faculty members, the ASEE's Engineering Deans' Council has adopted the following policy statement: At least 1000 intelligent and highly motivated individuals with doctoral degrees in engineering will lie needed every year as faculty members in insti- tutions of higher learning in the United States. Charged with the critical responsibility of educating prospective engineers, these individuals must enjoy the challenges and satisfaction of teaching, the excitement of research at the very frontiers of knowledge and the freedom of self direction. The opportunities for a lifelong, productive, satisfying and rewarding career are unlimited. * In addition, the Deans' Council has prepared an attractive brochure for use by faculty and students to encourage the lest students to seek academic careers. Financial Considerations The main reason cited for the decision to forgo graduate study is the substantial difference between graduate stipends and industrial sala- ries. One 1980 survey found that the average annual, part-time salary of graduate assistants was $4, 200, as compared with $24,000 reported for full-time, entry-level jobs of B.S. graduates at that time. Such a differ- ential results in lost income that takes many years to recover. Conse- quently, graduate stipends need to be increased to at least half of the starting salaries of B. S. graduates. With regard to those who ultimately pursue an academic career, American Association of Engineering Soci- eties [AAESJ salary survey data {"Mean Salaries of Engineers in Indus- try and Academia: 1983" J show that the salaries of full professors ton a 12-month basis J compare favorably with salaries of their counterparts in industry. With the possibility of additional earnings from summer work and consulting, an academic career is in a strong competitive position. Nevertheless, academic salaries for assistant and associate professors are a key problem and need to be improved in many institu- tions in order to be competitive. ~ l'ol~cy statement endorsed in January 1984 by the Executive Committee of the Engineering Deans' Council, American Society for Engineering Education.

34 ENGINEERING UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION The Consortium on Financing Higher Education has studied the question of whether undergraduate and/or graduate student loan debt accumulation is a disincentive to the pursuit of graduate education. Their most recent study ~ 1983~ shows that, except for its effect on some minority students, undergraduate educational loan debt burden has essentially no effect on the decision to pursue postbaccalaureate study. The Panel on Undergraduate Engineering Education recommends that, in addition to support forgraduate education, engineering schools and professional societies create and maintain an active campaign to emphasize the advantages of an academic career. Industry, govern- ment, engineering schools, and professional societies must encourage and support masters-level programs, combined B. S. -M. S. programs, and release time to enlarge and develop thepool of potential faculty. The Role of Minorities: Present and Future The Minority Share in Engineering The minority engineer is one of the scarcest professionals in Ameri- can society. In 1970 blacks, Hispanics, and native Americans made up about 2.4 percent of the U.S. engineering work force; lay 1982 that percentage had doubled. Percentages of the total U.S. population for these minorities were 16.1 percent in 1970 and 25.2 percent in 1980. At the opposite extreme are Asian/Pacific Islanders. The 1980 census showed this group made up 2.7 percent of the U.S. population, while their 1983 proportion of the U.S. engineering work force was 4.8 per- cent. Thus, Asian/Pacific Islanders' 9.2 percent of the intraminority population in 1980 provided 50.9 percent of the minority engineering presence in the work force in 1983. Comparable percentages jintraminority population/engineering presences for blacks, Hispan- ics, and native Americans were 50.5/20.4, 27.2/25.8, and 1.5/5.4, respectively. Table 1 shows that, overall, the potential talent for engi- neering within a substantial part of the population has remained dor mant. The statistics in Table 1 and those from other sources show progress, but not nearly enough. Clearly, except for Asian-Americans these par- ticular minorities have not achieved representative participation in engineering. The profession will need talent from these minorities as well as from other sources to keep abreast of technological change as demographic trends and weak educational practices shrink the pool of talent. Finally, minority engineers can be an important American

35 ~7 C~ ._ ._ C~W . ._ C~ ._ C~ o o · _1 ._ · .- o . ~ 4= ._ v . - 4= 5 C-w C~ C~ C - w ~W C~ ._ C) ._ L~ ~o o~ C) _, z ~o o~ C~ . z o\° C Z o\° ~ Z C~ ~ C~ O oo ~ G~ C) oo C~ ~ ~ oo O O ~ ~ O o O O O O O O O O O O O O ~) O ~ O Cx ~ C~ O  X ~ ~ _ ~ ~ O O ~ O . . . . . . O ~ O C~ ~ O o O O C~ o - ~ ~ O C~ ~ O . . . . . . O ~ ~ O o ~_ C~ C~ ~ oo C~ _ _ _ ~ O . . .. .. C~ ~ 0 4O ~ O o C~ ~ ~ ~ oo ~ oO G~ ~ Cx X ~ ~ O _ _ _ _ _ ~ ~ ~ G~ ~ O . . . . ~ ~ ~ ~ C~ O t_ ~O 1_ c :: ce ·= V-¢ V ~ C) X~ C~ o ._ 4 - C~ z C) 4_ o C) C~ Ct  4 - v 4 - o - C) ._ o ._ C~ ._ o (: v o ._ =' Ct ~ =~ ._ v ·- ~ C) C~ ~ ~ C) 4- -= 0 ~ CC ~ C~ 0 0 C) a~ ~ Ct V ~ ~V 0 C) V C) 0 ~ C) U) 0 C~ C) C) 5 V ._ C~ - C~ 4 - o 4 - a~ C~ ~s Cx C~ o o _ ._ V 4 - ~ -t - V o .. ~ C~ C.) , ~ 'V =; ~ ._ O V C~ U:

36 ENGINEERING UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION resource for international relationships and Third World development; if well educated, they might become the most effective of our nation's representatives to the Third World. Loss of Interestin Science andMath The greatest barrier to increasing the pool of talent for engineering is students' loss of interest in science and mathematics at all stages in their education. As indicated earlier in this chapter, by graded, slightly more than half of all students show an interest in science, and 48 percent are interested in math. By grade 8, 21 percent like science, and by grade 12 only 18 percent like math. Furthermore, a rational longitu- dinal study ~Berryman, 1983:66, 68~ of the high school class of 1972 showed that only 37 percent of the males and 30 percent of the females originally enrolled in a science field had obtained a B.A. degree in science or were enrolled in a science field by 1976. The policy implications of such statistics as those cited above are [1J the need to develop strategies to increase the size of the initial scientific/mathematical pool of minorities before and during high school and j2J the need to decrease attrition from the pool at every stage of the educational process. While individual intellectual development cannot be programmed, schools can determine the amount of time that students spend on different subjects, the quality of their curricula, and the performance standards for grade promotion and high school gradua- tion. In these areas of control, public elementary and secondary schools do not serve many children well in science and mathematics. The deficiencies matter most for those youth {i.e., females and minoritiesJ who do not have compensating resources and encouragement outside of~school. Blacks are more likely than any other group to leave the educational pipeline, except between the baccalaureate and the master's degree. Hispanics drop out more frequently than do whites at each stage in the pipeline through college entry. This may result in part from their immi- gration from countries with different school systems or from family mobility. Their dropout rate is average or lower than average after college entry. American Indians have a very high dropout rate between entering college and earning the B.A. degree. These different patterns imply that the needs of subgroups vary at different points in the pipe- line. The dropout rate for another minority group, Asian-Americans, is lower at each stage than that of any other group, including whites; the Asian-American share of the pool increases at each level.

UNDERGRAD UATE S TUDENTS Asian-Americans 37 Asian-Americans are the most inclined of any group to pursue quan t~tat~ve stuc ties: In 1979, a randomly selected Asian-American was 17 times more likely to earn a quantitative Ph.D. than a randomly selected black from the appropri- ate age group.... Asian-Americans chose Quantitative studies] at almost twice the t 16% ] national average; whites and Hispanics, at; about the national average; American Indians, at about 80 percent of the national average; and blacks, at about 60 percent of the national average. tBerryman, 1983:494 Asian-American college freshmen are clearly high achievers from high achieving families. They have the highest percent of second generation col- lege a third, for example, have at least one parent with graduate education; the highest average high school performance {B+~; and the highest average educational expectations three-quarters plan a postgraduate degree.... Forty-eight percent attend universities, and of those 60 percent are in the most selective universities. Thus, almost a third of all Asian-Americans in postsecondary institutions are in the most selective universities, and another 13 percent are in the nation's most selective four year colleges. (Berryman, 1983:94-951 Because of their achievement, Asian-Americans have a higher percent , . . . . . . . . age ot participation in englneenug than any other group. Barriers to EntryInto Engineering With regard to quantitative study, the major barriers to non-Asian- Americans' entry into the engineering profession are insufficient prep- aration in mathematics and science, little awareness of and motivation toward engineering, lack of money, lack of self-confidence, and per- sonal problems {Landis, 1982~. To overcome the lack of academic preparation, it is necessary "to identify promising students early in their academic careers, give them appropriate guidance in choosing a program of study, and ensure the availability of quality curriculum and instruction" Richardson, 1979:7 ~ . The lack of a math sequence and of other precollege courses is "compounded for the inner city student by the familiar problems of inadequately informed teachers and guidance counselors, absence of role models, unengaging curriculum, and an atmosphere not particu- larly supportive of academic achievement" Theodore Lobman, quoted in Richardson, 1979:7~. Students need to perceive their educational experiences as coherent and continuous over many years to develop their academic aspirations and behavior.

38 ENGINEERING UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION To overcome the lack of information, engineering as a profession must loe presented clearly to students and their parents. Minority indi- viduals have generally tended to enter professions in which they work alone, such as medicine or law, or in which they work with other minorities, for example, teaching and social service. Prospective stu- dents and their parents need to lie convinced of the marketability, the personal, human, social, and economic attractiveness of science and engineering careers. Knowing that financial aid is available for success- ful students is another strong motivator for families without adequate funds for education {Richardson, 1979:5~. Attrition is a greater problem for non-Asian-American minorities than for white students in college. Minorities need support systems: counseling, especially lay minority faculty members; tutoring by fac- ulty or students; short courses in specific techniques; study groups; videotaped instruction; and modules for self-paced study. They some- times need to be given flexibility in their academic progress through "stretch-out" programs, reduced course loads, and leaves of absence, although, of course, they must ultimately be capable of meeting all of the kinds of demands that will be made of them and their fellow grad- uates as engineers {Richardson, 1979:11~. Institutional factors can also discourage minorities. For example, minority students may have great difficulty adjusting to the environ- ment of a predominantly white institution. Elitist attitudes, poor teaching, and a general insensitivity to students affect the performance of all students but may have an especially negative effect on minority students. Many students, especially those who commute, find the institutional environment impersonal, and they often feel isolated and even alienated. Minority students can mistakenly attribute their sense of isolation and alienation to being in a minority, not realizing that other students experience similar feelings ; Landis, 19 8 2: 7 14, 7 1 8 ~ . Minority students need a special kind of support to ease their transi- tion from high school to college. The college environment is demand- ing, fast paced academically, less structured than high school, and socially permissive at the very time that studies require a new single- mindedness and intensity of purpose. Some colleges offer summer pro- grams to introduce minority students to collegiate study of calculus, physics, chemistry, and the humanities. Support of Minorities More than one organization is focusing its efforts on the precollege level junior and senior high school to identify minority persons

UNDERGRAD HATE S TUDENTS 39 with the apparent aptitude to succeed in engineering. Minority Engi- neering Education Effort, Inc., provides the names of such students to colleges and universities. The National Society of Black Engineers invites students and their parents to a spring event to discuss engineer- ing, co-op and summer job opportunities, and the educational demands of college. Consortiums in densely populated areas use a wide variety of com- munication methods, including classroom demonstrations, career days, science fairs, and field trips to engineering schools and industrial sites. Minority engineers and minority engineering students who work with secondary school students act as role models by introducing the students to the field of engineering and the methods and products of technology {Richardson, 1979:6~. The centers for these activities are often connected with a university {e.g., Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement {MESA) with the University of California at Berkeley and schools in other states, and METCON with Howard Uni- versity in Washington, D.C. ~ as well as with staff and resources of local industries and government agencies. They offer Saturday morning and/or afterschool programs, laboratory study, weekly club meetings, monthly seminars of all participants, summer programs of study and summer employment, math and science contests, and scholarships. At the collegiate level, the Minority Engineering Program {MEP) operates statewide from the same Berkeley center as MESA. It offers a full program of assistance with matriculation, academic counseling, particular emphasis on orientation and adjustment to the institutional environment, a concerted motivational program, the development of a supportive environment, a component for building study skills, a com- prehensive and accessible tutoring program, close monitoring of stu- dent progress, personal counseling, a mechanism for social interaction, and career development. MEP builds a strong sense of belonging by arranging various exercises to help students get to know each other and through which they learn to value each other's help. Exercises are organized, for example, to develop study skills, to teach students how to use their time effectively, and to motivate them by study of career possibilities. Finally, MEP places students in summer jobs in which they gain first-hand knowledge about engineering and the environment that engineers work in, and also develop confidence that they can work in that environment Landis, 1982:714, 715, 717) . Education of minorities is supported in part by efforts of the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering {NACME), which enlists substantial funding from fewer than 50 companies. A survey of NACME scholars ~LeBold et al., 1982) found that 96 percent of the

40 ENGINEERING UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION graduates indicated that they were planning some type of postbacca- laureate graduate education. In order to retain more minorities in engi- neering, the graduates recommended more tutoring, financial aid, counseling and advising, and improved precollege preparation [Richardson, 1979:13~. Standards of Performance Special attention for minority students is necessary to help them overcome barriers to the expression of their talent, but it must not mislead them about the professional demands they face. Lindon E. Saline, manager of the Professional Development Operation of General Electric, prepared a list of key conditions of employment for profession- als from minority groups [Richardson, 1979:14, 15, 22J: 1. Hire minority engineering graduates only if they are qualified for real tasks, not for purposes of show or tokenism. 2. Minority engineers, in accepting the opportunity to compete, should know their responsibilities and be measured and rewarded fairly. 3. Minority engineers must be expected to develop new technical, economic, and political knowledge to apply to evolving design, produc- tion, and application needs through new interpersonal and process skills. 4. Engineers must have the flexibility and resilience to cope with uncertainty and change in engineering employment. 5. All parties must have patience and persistence to see the minority engineering effort through to a successful conclusion. And, finally, Saline states that we need a national initiative to 1. Establish long-range goals and objectives For attracting minori- ties to engineering education and practice]; 2. Accelerate expansion of the pool of prepared, motivated minority high school students; 3. Identify localities where programs are needed; develop strategies, both general and specific; and assign responsibilities; 4. Obtain adequate funding; and 5. Develop continuous monitoring of program progress and effec tlveness. The one-fourth of our population that now provides less than 6 per- cent of our engineers namely, the black, Hispanic, and native Ameri- can segments of the population could significantly enlarge the pool of

UNDERGRAD HATE S TUDENTS 41 engineering talent. Of even more importance, such an increase would expand the portion of Americans who participate in their nation's most important source of power and individual well-being its economic life. The Panel on Undergraduate Engineering Education recommends that extensive efforts by schools, companies, and engineering societies are needed to bring more minorities into engineering. For example, precollege programs such as those operating in a few major cities and regions of the country must be expanded and funded to prepare and motivate minority students to pursue college study and careers in engi- neenng. References and Bibliography Adelman, Clifford. 1983. "Devaluation, Diffusion and the College Connection: A Study of High School Transcripts, 1964-81, " in National Science Board Commission on Pre-college Education in Mathematics, Science and Technology, EducatingAmer- icans for the 21 st Century (Washington, D. C.: National Institute of Education) . Aldridge, Bill G., and Karen L. Johnson. 1984. "The Crisis in Science Education," Journal of College Science Teaching, 14(Sept./Oct.~:22-23. Arbeiter, Solomon. 1978-1984. College-Bound Seniors New York: College Entrance Examination Board). Berryman, Sue E. 1983. Who Will Do Science? lNew York: The Rockefeller Founda- tion). Boyer, Ernest L. 1983. High School: A Report on American Secondary Education (New York: Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teachingl. Cass, James, and Max Birnbaum. 1983. Comparative Guide to American Colleges, 11th ed. New York: Harper & Row). Consortium on Financing Higher Education.1983. Beyond the Baccalaureate: A Study of Seniors'Post-College Plans at Selected Institutions, With Particular Focus on the Effects of Financial Considerations on Graduate School Attendance (Cambridge, Mass.: COFHE~. Davidson, Jack L., and Margaret Montgomery. 1983. An Analysis of Reports on the Status of Education in America: Findings, Recommendations, and Implications (Tyler, Tex.: Tyler Independent School Districts. ED 240182. Available from Educa- tional Resources Information Center, Washington, D. C. Education Commission of the States' National Task Force on Education for Economic Growth. 1983. Action for Excellence (Denver, Colo.: Education Commission of the States). Engineering Manpower Commission. 1983. Women in Engineering ~Washington, D. C.: American Association of Engineering Societies) . Engineering Manpower Commission. N.d. Data on enrollment of women in engineer- ing programs. Washington, D.C.: American Association of Engineering Societies. Gardner, David P., et al. 1983. A Nation at Risk. Report of the National Commission on Excellence in Education {Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office1. Grayson, Lawrence P.1983. "Leadership or Stagnation: A Role for Technology in Math- ematics, Science and Engineering," Engineering Education 73(February):356.

42 ENGINEERING UNDER GRAD HATE ED UCATION Greenfield, Lois, Elizabeth Halloway, and Linda Remus. 1981. "Retaining Academi- cally Proficient Students in Engineering," Engineering Education 71(April~:727- 730. Hurd, Paul DeHart. 1982. "State of Pre-college Education in Mathematics and Sci- ence." Paper preparer! for National Convocation on Pre-college Education in Mathe- matics and Science, May 12-13, National Academy of Sciences and National Acad- emy of Engineering, Washington, D.C. The Institute. 1984. News supplement to IEEE Spectrum (March) . Jagacinski, C. M., and W. K. LeBold.19$ 1. "A Comparison of Men and Women Under- graduates," EngineeringEducation 72 (December): 213-220. Janna, William S. 1981. "The Enrollment Crunch: A National Survey," Engineering Education 7 1 (April): 706. Landis, Raymond B. 1982. "Retaining Minority Engineering Students," Engineering Education 72(April):714-718. Lantz, A. 1982. "Women Engineers: Critical Mass, Social Support, and Satisfaction," Engineering Education 72 (April): 731 - 737. LeBold, William K., and Patrick J. Sheridan.1986. "Trends in Engineering Enrollments and Degrees Granted. " Appendix B in Panel on Engineering Infrastructure Diagram- ming and Modeling, Engineering Infrastructure Diagramming and Modeling ~Wash- ington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1986). LeBold, William K., Donna J. LeBold, and Benson E. Pennick. 1982. "Minority Engi- neering Graduates: A Follow-up Study of NACME Scholars, " Engineering Education 72(April): 722ff. McConnell, William R., and Norman Kaufman. 1984. High School Graduates: Projec- tions for the Fifty States (1982-2000) (Boulder, Colo.: Western Interstate Commis- sion for Higher Education). Porter, Ralph C. N.d. Address by President of the National Commission for Coopera- tive Education. Purkey, Stuart C., and Marshall S. Smith. 1982. "Too Soon to Cheer? Synthesis of Research on Effective Schools, " Educational Leadership 40 "December) 3: 64- 69. Quick, P., and S. Malcom. 1983. Minority Women in Science (National Network of Minority Women in Science). Reyes-Guerra, David, and Alan M. Fischer. 1982. Peterson~s Guide to Undergraduate Engineering Study (Princeton, N.J.: Peterson's Guides). Richardson,AlfredL.1979.InBuildingtheMultiplierEffect.CommitteeonMinorities in Engineering, Assembly of Engineering, National Research Council (Washington, D. C.: National Academy of Sciences) . Sizer, Theodore E. ~Chairman~.1984. A Study of High Schools, National Association of Secondary School Principals and National Association of Independent Schools. Horace~s Compromise: The Dilemma of an American High School (Boston: Houghton-Mifflin) . Smith, Karl A., David W. Johnson, and Roger T. Johnson. 1981. "Structuring Learning Goals to Meet the Goals of Engineering Education," Engineering Education 72(December) :221-226. Stata, Ray. 1983. "The Engineering Education Crisis," New England Business (May 16) :20ff. Walker, E. A. (Chairman). 1968. Goals of Engineering Education: Final Report of the Goals Committee [Washington, D. C.: American Society for Engineering Education) .

~D ~^ ~ T~! 43 Wilson,}ames^1977.~oz~Co~~1jv~uc~bon-~[jonQj~SsCsS . PrcpaIed for the Office of Planning, Budgeting and Evaluation, U.S. Deparr ment of Education. Wilson, fames ad, and Dana Einstein. 1982. ~n [~]oycr Desc#tio~ of ~ odd [~]o~r Code Education Program {Boston: Northeastern University). ^~n ~d as lo Scj~nc~ ~d Em. 1984 Washington, D.C.: Nadonal Science Foundation). women in Engineering. 1983. Notes prepared for Advisory Committee to Assistant Director for Engineering, National Science Foundation. Washington, D. C., }ply.