Donald G. Kelley, Arizona State University
Marian G. Barchilon, Arizona State University
A recent report by the Council for Aid to Education titled ``Investing in American Higher Education: An Argument for Restructuring,'' warns that the nation's colleges and universities are less accessible to non-wealthy minority students because of decreased public funding [2]. Because of this problem, the Council for Aid to Education appointed a 14-member panel called the Commission on National Investment in Higher Education to find ways to make college more affordable. In Arizona, for example, it now costs residents over $10,000 a year to attend any of three state universities, according to a study by the Arizona Board of Regents [5].
Minority students' financial difficulties are often juxtaposed in the literature with minority retention problems. For example, an American Council on Education report states that ``financial difficulty is the reason cited most frequently by (minority) students for withdrawing from college'' [4]. Further, former Secretary of Education, Lauro F. Cavazos, in a plenary address to the annual conference of the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) indicated that we need to find scholarships and grants for minority students to keep them in school [1]. Likewise, according to Raymond Landis, Dean of Engineering and Technology at California State University, outside employment due to financial difficulties is one important factor in retention [3].
To help alleviate the financial pressures that minority students face at the University, in 1993 we designed an NSF-funded academic program for minority students, called the Sun Devil Bridge Program (SDBP), that included an academic scholarship component. In the 1994 SDBP, five teams competed for Grand Prize, First Prize, and Second Prize academic scholarships. Thus, those teams that successfully competed in the program's academic areas were rewarded with funding to help alleviate the financial pressures they face in the first year.
The SDBP is a five-week summer program that is a collaborative effort between Arizona State University and South Mountain Community College. The program's purpose is to help eligible minority (African American, American Indian, Pacific Islander/Alaska Native, or U.S. Hispanic) students forge an academic bridge to the University so they can successfully obtain the baccalaureate degree in engineering or technology. In the SDBP, students receive academic credit, room and board, materials, books and supplies, stipends, and the ability to compete for scholarship money. Throughout the five weeks, students work in academically, ethnically, and gender-balanced teams to prepare for a design/manufacturing/technical communication competition that industry experts judge.
Since 1993, 54 students have participated in the SDBP. In 1994, 22 students competed for over $13,000 in scholarship monies. Throughout the five weeks, participants worked diligently to design and manufacture a plaque, and develop documentation and an oral presentation about the team's manufactured product. Of course, although students realized grades in the program were important, it was clear they were extremely motivated by winning the Grand Prize and the accompanying scholarship monies.
Because academic excellence was the purpose of the program, the team that demonstrated excellence by winning the Grand Prize also received the most scholarship monies. Thus, Grand Prize winners won almost $2,000 each, while First Prize winners received almost $950and Second Prize winners won $300. Thus, the motivation to excel academically was very great, since the best team received the most funding.
Non-wealthy minority students are discovering that colleges and universities are becoming less accessible to them because of decreased funding. In addition, the literature shows that minority students' retention problems have been tied to financial difficulties. Thus, those educators who wish to increase the number of minority graduates in engineering and technology should also seek creative ways to help students alleviate the financial pressures that come with a college education.
In our attempt to help students solve their financial problems, the SDBP included a scholarship component. We incorporated academic competition because we had a strong desire to reward academic excellence. Fortunately, then, this financial reward served two purposes: it motivated students to achieve, and it helped diminish economic pressures so students could focus on academic success.