201

104

145

224

198

176

245

211202

318

289

218

315

261244

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

SDSU SDCC SWC

2007/2008

2008/2009

2009/2010

2010/2011

2011/2012

39

46 48

44

58

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Summer

2008

Summer

2009

Summer

2010

Summer

2011

Summer

2012

STEP Partnership of San Diego (SPSD) – Sixth Year Rafael Alvarez1, Dr. Raga Bakhiet2 ,Theresa M. Garcia3 , and Eric Pamintuan4

1. San Diego City College MESA Program – DUE0653291, 2. Southwestern College MESA Program – DUE0653234,

3. San Diego State University MESA Engineering Program – DUE0653277, and 4. SPSD Program Coordinator

The Mathematics, Engineering, and Science Achievement (MESA) Program assists educationally

disadvantaged students to graduate from four-year institutions with a math-based major. MESA focuses

on student groups who historically have had low levels of attainment.

The National Science Foundation (NSF)-supported STEP Partnership of San Diego (SPSD)

incorporates the successful MESA model at each partner campus (San Diego State University, San

Diego City College, and Southwestern College); enhancing essential services (e.g. academic support,

STEM competitions, leadership development, etc.) that help students excel academically and prepare

for the STEM workforce. Together, MESA and SPSD create a partnership of educational, industry, and

government organizations forming a pipeline from community college to university to STEM

industry. The goals of SPSD are to: increase the number of students who pursue STEM academic and

career pathways, increase retention in STEM disciplines, and promote opportunities in STEM post-

graduate studies. For further information, visit http://alliance.sdccmesa.com.

• A regional STEM pipeline of educational institutions that supports multiple pathways to STEM careers

• Educational experiences and activities based on industry driven standards for comprehensive student

development – academic, personal, and professional

• The use of best practices in STEM education

• An active pool of industry partners with shared accountability for success

• Evaluation of SPSD effectiveness

The SPSD has met their outcome goals as they pertain to enrolling students, maintaining them

in STEM disciplines, and encouraging them to continue on to graduate studies. The appropriate

level of expected participation may require adjustment, but accurate data collection is also a

critical part of creating success that can be reflected back to funders. SPSD/MESA has created

an environment that supports students by providing much needed academic and community

support, allowing them to be successful in their challenging academic careers as well as the

STEM industries.

Abstract

Goals

Conclusion

1. Expand participation in SPSD activities

2. Improve the retention of SPSD students

3. Increase the number of SPSD students graduating with BS degrees in STEM fields

4. Provide STEM industry internship opportunities to an increasing number of SPSD students

5. Promote post-graduate study opportunities for SPSD students

Strategies

MESA Supported Programs SPSD Enrichment and Leadership Development

Activities Individual Academic Plans StrengthsQuest

STEM Course Clustering Summer Team Internship Program

Academic Excellence Workshops (AEW) and Tutoring Scholarships

College and Career Exploration Professional Development

Transfer Assistance to Four-year Universities

(2-year colleges only)

STEM Competitions

San Diego Region Joint Planning Conference

Assistance Applying to Graduate Schools

(4-year universities only)

Faculty Advisors

Training Academies for Industry Skills

College Orientation Course Over 2,300 instances of individual tutoring and/or group

Academic Excellence Workshops (AEWs) were offered at

each campus through the support of the NSF STEP grant.

Scholarships

Collaboration with Student/Professional Organizations

The SPSD collaborative establishes out of classroom professional development activities that focus

on team building skills and facilitates group interaction, both of which are vital in the STEM fields.

MESA Shadow Day: November 7, 2012

Participation: 105 students, 14 companies

Student participants have the opportunity to

observe one or more people working at a job

of interest. Overall, students will observe and

network with professionals, investigate a

career field, clarify career goals and interests,

and function within a work environment.

Evaluation Results: 83.3% of survey

respondents were more interested in their

career area after participating in Shadow Day.

97.3% rated the quality of their Shadow Day

experience as good or excellent.

SPSD builds on MESA best practices:

Implementation Continued

Program Students City SDSU SWC Total %

MESA - Year 6 150 243 149 542 86.2%

NSF - Year 1* 15* 18* 22* 55* -

NSF - Year 2* 44* 46* 11* 101* 18.9%

NSF - Year 3* 42* 66* 40* 148* 25.6%

NSF - Year 4* 51* 88* 28* 167* 27.8%

NSF - Year 5* 48* 115* 26* 189* 26.5%

NSF - Year 6 44 31 12 87 13.8%

Total Students Served - Year 6 194 274 161 629 100.0%

Student Genders

Male 121 190 85 396 63.0%

Female 73 84 76 233 37.0%

Total Students Served 194 274 161 629 100.0%

Student Majors

Science

Biology 49 0 32 81 12.9%

Chemistry 6 12 6 24 3.8%

Nursing 7 0 8 15 2.4%

Pharmacy 2 0 2 4 0.6%

Physics 5 1 0 6 0.9%

Pre-Med 2 0 0 2 0.3%

Other Science 6 4 31 41 6.5%

Technology

Engineering Technology 0 0 0 0 0.0%

Engineering

Aerospace Engineering 6 30 2 38 6.0%

Architectural Engineering 2 0 2 4 0.6%

Bio Engineering 7 5 1 13 2.1%

Bio Chemical Engineering 0 11 5 16 2.5%

Chemical Engineering 5 0 2 7 1.1%

Civil Engineering 12 60 3 75 11.9%

Computer Engineering 7 13 21 41 6.5%

Construction Engineering 0 7 1 8 1.3%

Electrical Engineering 14 34 4 52 8.3%

Environmental Engineering 4 10 2 16 2.5%

Mechanical Engineering 27 58 5 90 14.3%

Structural Engineering 1 0 2 3 0.4%

Other Engineering 3 0 8 11 1.7%

Math/CS

Computer Science 18 13 16 47 7.4%

Mathematics 11 16 8 35 5.5%

Total Students Served 194 274 161 629 100.0%

American Indian/Alaska Native

Asian/Pacific Islander

Black, non-Hispanic

Hispanic

Caucasian

Other

Demographics

Ethnicity

*Students accepted under the NSF STEP grant in the first, second, third, fourth,

and fifth year have graduated or are included in sixth year (NSF-6) totals

Progress Continued

MESA and SPSD Students interned at 70 science and engineering companies or did research

for faculty in the summers of 2008-2011. Students participated in 181 internship opportunities

surpassing the goal of 144 internships to date and continued working for their host company

after the completion of the internship around a rate of 1/3 for each cohort.

MESA Olympics & Robotics Competition:

April 28, 2012

Participation: 92 students, 10 alumni/industry

volunteers

Competition for all MESA program segments in

problem-solving sessions and/or robotics

competition designed to promote teamwork,

engineering and problem solving skill

development.

Evaluation Results: 96% of survey

respondents reported the competition as good

or excellent. 90% stated they were more

interested in pursuing a STEM career after

participating in this event. Summer Team Internship

Program 2012

Participation: 58 students, 24

science and engineering

companies

Teams consisted of 2-5 students in

23 teams. Students completed a

minimum of 100 internship hours,

met weekly, collaborated on a

poster presentation, and

presented their internship

experience to industry and

academic guests at a summer

luncheon.

Goal 1: Expand participation in

SPSD activities

Related Objective: Enrollment at

each partner institution will

increase by 10% each year of the

program.

Progress: See Figure 1, right. This

objective has been met by each

partner institution, every year of the

grant. With reductions in funding and

dwindling student enrollment, it is

important to reflect on the MESA

enrollment data in the context of the

current economic climate.

Progress

Figure 1. Targets and actual enrollment at each SPSD partner institution

Goal 2: Improve the retention of SPSD students

Related Objective: At least 350 students will be enrolled in SPSD from declared major

through transfer or graduation.

Progress: To date, there have been 170 graduates from SDSU, 76 transfers from SDCC, and 159

transfers from SWC. This goal was exceeded, with 405 total graduates or transfers.

Goal 3: Increase the number of SPSD students

graduating with B.S. degrees

Related Objective: At least 160 SPSD students

will graduate with a B.S. degree in a STEM major.

Progress: See Figure 2, left. As community college

students are considered to be ‘transferred’ as

opposed to graduated, SDSU is the sole focus of this

goal. SDSU has met and exceeded this goal with a

total of 170 MESA participants graduating with STEM

majors.

Goal 4: Provide STEM industry internship

opportunities to an increased number of SPSD

students

Related Objective: At least 36 SPSD students will

complete an internship or research opportunity

each year.

Progress: See Figure 3, left. One activity focus

group students identified as being critical to their

success in the SPSD/MESA program was the

Summer Internship Program. MESA students were

provided the opportunity to participate in 100+ hours

of onsite work experience each summer with interests

and abilities matched to industry sites within the

community. The Summer Internship Program was

very successful beginning with 39 Internships at its

inception and growing to 58 summer placements by

the conclusion of the grant period.

GOAL 5: Promote post-graduate study

opportunities for SPSD students

Related Objective (GOAL 5): At least 15

graduating seniors participating in the SPSD

program will enter STEM graduate study

programs by the end of the grant period.

Progress: See Figure 4, right. SPSD/MESA has

as one of its goals to promote opportunities in

STEM post-graduate studies. SDSU exceeded

this important outcome goal with a total of 24

students continuing on to graduate school.

Figure 2. SPSD graduating students breakdown.

Figure 3. Target (36) and actual participation in Summer

Team Internship program

Figure 4. Breakdown of graduate school career fields.

Implementation

Successes

Internship Partners 2008-2012 Alere**

Ambient Control Systems Inc.*

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park*

Assure Controls Inc**

Bio4Front Inc.* Biotechnology Education & Training Sequence Investment (BETSI) Project**

Bridges to the Future**

California Space Grant Consortium

Caltrans*

City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation*

Dexcom**

Fleet Readiness Center Southwest

Fqubed Inc**

General Atomics Electronic Systems, Inc

Goodrich Aerostructures

Howard Hughes Program*

Infrastructure Engineering Corporation*

Kennedy/Jenks Consultants*

LEE & RO Inc. Malcolm Pirnie*

MWH Global

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Naval Air Systems Command*

Naviscan Inc**

Northrop Grumman Corporation

Raytheon Company* Regional Water Quality Control Board

Retired Senior Volunteer Police Patrol*

REU, Northern Illinois University, University of Minnesota**, CCSEP Maryland

Rick Engineering Company*

San Diego Coastkeeper* San Diego Natural History Museum

San Diego Water Department

San Diego Zoo SDSU Global Change Research Group**

Sempra Energy, San Diego Gas & Electric

Shiley Center for Orthopaedic Research & Education at Scripps Clinic** Short-Term Education Program for Underrepresented Persons**

SMDEP, University of Washington**

Southern California Biotechnology Center** SouthWest Water Company

SPAWAR Systems Center San Diego* Spectrum Scientific, Inc**

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program**

Technische Universität Hamburg-Harburg

UCSD Laboratory of Sleep and Chronobiology*, Moores Cancer Research Center UniversityLink Medical Science Program**

Research SDCC: Professors Rafael Alvarez, Misael Camarena** , Dr. Lisa Chaddock Research SDSU: Drs. Gordon Lee**, Joseph Lewis**, Khaled Morsi**, Satish Sharma**,

Diane Smith**, Satchi Venkataraman

Research SWC: Drs. Raga Bakhiet, David Brown**, Lukas Buehler, David Hecht**, Jerry

Selah, Roland Wolkowicz

*Companies that provided internship opportunities in one or more of the following years of 2008-2012.

** Faculty Research Projects or Biotechnology Internships

Robotics competition: Team captains program their LEGO

MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 creations to carry LEGO pieces

back to their home square.

Summer team interns: Civil Engineering interns pose with Rick Engineering

Company Associate Principal Engineer Edgar Camerino.

Yr 07/08

38

Yr 08/09

32

Yr 09/10

35

Yr 10/11

41

Yr 11/12

25

07-08 08-09 09-10 10-11 11-12 Total

Chemistry 1 1 0 1 2 5

Engineering 3 1 5 1 6 16

Math 1 1 1 0 0 3

5 3 6 2 8 24