Making a Way Where There is None - University of Missouri-Rolla recruits students from the Minority Engineering program of St. Louis Community College District

Black Issues in Higher Education, August 17, 2000 by Pamela R. Weiger

Despite those who say minority engineering students are hard to come by, one Missouri school has uncovered a hidden treasure -- the local community college

Attracting minority students into engineering programs is a challenge. A rural Midwestern school such as the University of Missouri-Rolla has double the difficulty, because it is a challenge to attract minority students, period.

At least, that was the issue 10 years ago, when it occurred to university officials that there might be more minority students enrolled in the area's two-year institutions than at the four-year level.

"We realized it might be an untapped market for engineering students," says Dr. Floyd Harris, who heads the Minority Engineering Program at the University of Missouri-Rolla.

As part of its ongoing effort to recruit minority engineering students, the university turned to the St. Louis Community College District, where 23.5 percent of the 30,000 students are African American. Teaming with St. Louis Community College and private industry, Harris helped develop a unique program that has increased the number of the university's minority engineering transfer students from two in 1989 to 42 students in 1999.

"Our numbers are not large, but it has definitely worked for us," Harris says, pointing out that while overall transfer enrollment at the university declined over the past five years, African American transfer enrollment has increased by 40 percent during the same time frame.

Now, with corporate sponsorship and a support network for students who don't have soaring grade-point averages, the program could serve as a model to other university engineering professionals across the country who are still scratching their heads over how to recruit more minority engineering students.

SKY'S THE LIMIT

Emerson Electric, a major employer in St. Louis that makes motors and other electrical components, carries the bulk of the financial burden for the program during the community college phase. Under the arrangement worked out between the company and the two schools, Emerson Electric provides up to eight full scholarships annually to freshman minority engineering students enrolled at one of the three community college campuses. The scholarships cover all tuition, books and a stipend each semester for supplies.

To qualify for the scholarship, a student must be a member of an under-represented minority in the area of math, science and engineering. In St. Louis, that translates to African American, Hispanic or American Indian. The student must also graduate from high school with at least a 2.5 grade-point-average, two years of math and science and an ACT score of 18.

"The top students are already sought-after, so the largest pool of untapped resources is the group with slightly lower GPA and test scores," Harris says. "This program is designed for those students."

"An 18 [ACT score] is low compared to what engineering students need to have to enter a university, so we provide lots of support to make sure these students can get through the program," said Dorothy McGuffin, scholarship coordinator at St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley.

That support includes monthly group meetings, individual sessions with advisers and counselors, tutorial service and monitoring students' attendance and grades throughout the semester.

The extra attention seems to be working. Of the 130 students who have participated in the Emerson Electric Minority Engineering Program in the last decade, 70 have graduated with an associate's degree or are still enrolled. Much to the delight of university officials, 49 minority students in the Emerson transfer program have transferred to the University of Missouri-Rolla engineering program, where the scholarship money continues on a sliding scale based on GPA. So far, 30 students in the program have received bachelor's degrees in engineering.

From there, the sky's the limit.

"Engineers are one of our most sought-after, highest paid graduates today," Harris says. "Close to 400 companies attend campus recruitments here, primarily for engineers."

THE JOB MARKET

Indeed, the critical job market is the driving force behind this particular program. Emerson Electric turned to the community college in part because the number of its minority employees was not where the company thought it should be. By adding plant tours, employment workshops, and summer internships to the scholarships it offers students, the company hopes many will choose to accept job offers from Emerson when they graduate.

"Emerson knows the importance of having an educated work force," McGuffin says.

Other companies are jumping on the bandwagon. Three years ago, Harris took the program to the Metropolitan Kansas City Community College District, teaming up with Sprint in hopes of attracting transfer students from 200 miles away. Once again, the plan worked.

"I thought I would go to Kansas State -- I didn't know anything about the university at Rolla," says Eboni Cunningham, who just completed her first semester at the university with a 4.0 GPA.