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The purpose of the Sustainable Bridges from Campus to Campus project (NSF IUSE #1525367, known locally as Engineering Ahead) is to establish summer bridge programs that serve Engineering students at regional campuses of The Pennsylvania State University. The overarching goal of this project is to increase retention and graduation among underrepresented Engineering students, with a focus on students who start their Penn State education at a regional campus. In 2016, summer bridge programs for incoming Engineering students were started at three regional campuses in the Penn State system, including the Abington, Altoona, and Berks campuses. Recruitment focused on enrolling racially underrepresented domestic students (i.e., African American, Hispanic American, Native American, Pacific Islander), women, and firstgeneration students in Engineering. The new bridge programs were tailored to the needs and resources of each campus. The project also supported an established summer bridge program for racially underrepresented incoming Engineering students at the flagship University Park campus. The goal of the Engineering Ahead summer bridge programs is to increase retention and graduation through four strategies: intensive math review (pre-calculus, calculus), community building, college success skills, and professional development. In their review of the STEM summer bridge literature, Ashley and colleagues [1] recommended to "report more information about the details of implementing bridge programs" (p 14). They noted that implementation details often are not described when published articles report on the outcomes of summer bridge programs. However, "A team developing a bridge program would benefit from more information about program logistics" (p. 14)." The 6-year Engineering Ahead project concluded at the end of 2021. Our experience initiating new bridge programs and enrolling 6 cohorts of incoming engineering students in summer bridge programs at regional and flagship campuses with different delivery methods (residential, non-residential day program, synchronous online, hybrid) can inform the higher education STEM community. The purpose of this paper is to address the Ashley et al recommendation about sharing implementation details and provide information on the logistical "how to" of starting, conducting, and hopefully sustaining engineering summer bridge programs at small and large campuses. This paper will discuss the leadership team communication and learning community, engagement of administrative leaders, program costs and resources, participant recruitment and selection focusing on underrepresented students, program size, staffing, curriculum development, sustainability, follow-up interventions, delivery method (residential, non-residential, online, hybrid), expectations for participant conduct, and addressing problems with participant conduct. Please note that outcome data from this project will be reported elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The graduation rate in engineering can be correlated to several factors, including race and gender. Nationally, the populations with the highest engineering graduation rates are majority males, with Asian males at 66.5% and Caucasian males at 59.7%. The goal of diversity and inclusion program practitioners is to establish parity in graduation rates for all populations. There are several interventions that are proven to increase the retention and graduation of underrepresented students in engineering. Some of these include math intensive summer bridging, tutoring, cohort building where students establish a learning community. Singly these are somewhat effective, but when multiple interventions are applied over multiple years, the effect is additive and there is a significant increase in the likelihood of graduation. Outside of traditional applications, there other interventions that are shown to be effective on student retention, but they are not typically applied to underrepresented students. One of these is international scholarship, or study abroad experiences. The research question addressed by this project is the following: While long term applications of traditional retention programming for underrepresented students yield graduation rates at parity or exceeding that of majority males, could the graduation rate be even higher with the addition of a scholarly international experience, an intervention not typically applied to underrepresented populations? In this study, traditional interventions were applied to 10 students at Pennsylvania State University (all underrepresented in engineering by race or gender) over a four year period. In addition, an international or study abroad experience was added. Interventions were applied addressing four known variables that increase retention: financial support, math and academic preparation, the learning community/cohort building, and international education. Three objectives or expected outcomes of this project were: 1. Increased retention and graduation rates of participating students in STEM fields. 2. Improved programs and strategies for sustaining diversity in STEM fields. 3. Improved access to engineering educational opportunities. The quantitative measure of success for the NSF Pathways project is determined by the retention and graduation rate of the students in STEM fields at the end of five years. The current four-year retention rate for these students in 2017 was at 100%. The graduation rate of these ten students who completed all interventions is also expected to be at 100% in a STEM field, with 90% in engineering. Qualitative data through focus groups and essays indicated the importance of building a strong learning community, and the added impact of international scholarly collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impetus for the Sustainable Bridges from Campus to Campus study is to address the urgent need to expand the pool of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) graduates, especially African American, Native American, and Hispanic students. Long-term improvements in the pipeline of a diverse STEM workforce start with sustaining effective bridge programs that can produce more Engineering baccalaureates. To improve retention in Engineering, this study will conduct academic enrichment programs for racially underrepresented Engineering students at three points in their career at the Penn State--entering freshmen, rising sophomores, and rising juniors. The goals of the study are to (a) increase retention in Engineering among racially underrepresented students in the Penn State system, (b) develop long-term sustainability plans for these enrichment programs, and (c) compare retention rates in Engineering depending on whether students attended a summer academic enhancement program at their local campus or at a different campus and whether they transfer between campuses within the University system. The guiding framework for the summer bridge programs is the Minority Engineering Program (MEP) Model. The study started in January 2016. During summer 2016, we conducted 5 summer bridge programs with the first cohort of freshmen across 4 campuses in the Penn State system. The students in Cohort 1 are currently in the fall semester of their freshmen year. At this early point in the study, our paper can present an overview of the project as well as reporting preliminary data on Cohort 1 after their first semester (Fall 2016). Academic performance data after the first semester include grade point average, math course grades, academic social support, and whether they are retained at the University. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]