Center for Excellence in Engineering Education Projects

Lift-Off: Curriculum Improvement for Engineering Minority Engineering Education

Supported by: NASA

The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) and San Antonio College (SAC) are partnering to infuse/enrich their engineering and earth science curricula with NASA-related technology and research, to give students from both institutions research and education experiences at NASA, and to improve the 2+2 pipeline for engineering students between the community college and the university

Objectives/Method of Approach

1. Each summer of the grant, three UTSA/SAC faculty and six students will visit a NASA center to gain experience in research/curriculum improvement aligned with NASA’s mission
2. Faculty and students will revise/infuse 12 engineering courses at UTSA and six engineering/earth science courses at SAC with NASA-related technology/methods/content
3. UTSA will create a new course related to the use of technology in Earth observation for UTSA and SAC students
4. 15 SAC and UTSA engineering students will obtain/participate in summer internships at NASA
5. 45 SAC students will have received course credit and a research experience during a summer program at UTSA

Outcomes by December 31, 2012

1. The new course on Technology and Earth Observation will be added to UTSA’s course catalogue as a regular course
2. At least 36 SAC/UTSA students each semester will be enrolled in the new Technology and Earth Observation course
3. SAC will increase the numbers of minority students graduating from SAC with an Associate’s Degree in Engineering by at least 200%
4. The numbers of minority Engineering majors at SAC who transfer to Engineering programs at UTSA will increase by at least 200% from 2008
5. 40 SAC transfer students will have completed all junior-year requirements toward a bachelor’s degree in Engineering or another science career at UTSA
6. The numbers of minority engineering students graduating from UTSA will have increased by 50% from a 2008 Calendar Year baseline