Engineering Schools Push Stay-In-School Programs; SIA Grants Support Innovative Stay-Tech Retention Effort.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) has awarded grants to five leading engineering schools to support innovative programs to address a high drop-out rate among engineering students. The SIA noted that approximately 50 percent of all students majoring in electrical engineering drop out of their major before completing their studies. The attrition rate is even higher among minority students. SIA awarded grants of $20,000 each to support pilot programs at the University of California-Riverside, University of the Pacific, North Carolina A & T, Rochester (NY) Institute of Technology, and Boise State University. The grant winners were selected from 43 proposals received from engineering schools across the country.

"The semiconductor industry has long been concerned that the supply of qualified electrical engineering graduates will not be adequate to meet our workforce demands in the years ahead," said SIA President George Scalise. "There are signs that enrollment in electrical engineering programs is declining. Lower enrollments coupled with a high rate of drop outs -- especially among minority students -- could lead to a serious shortage of engineers within a few years."

Scalise noted that many engineers working in the industry today are from the "baby boom" generation and will be retiring in greater numbers at a time when fewer American-born students are choosing to pursue careers in electrical engineering. "One of the fastest ways to address this growing problem is to reduce the attrition rate among those already in engineering programs. The SIA 'Stay Tech' program provides both funds and industry mentors for pilot programs to improve retention rates, especially among minority students."

According to the SIA, the major reasons for high attrition among EE majors are poor preparation for requisite math and science courses, poor study habits, inadequate understanding of the requirements for an EE major, faculty attitudes that accept high attrition rates, lack of mentors or peers, and the absence of support systems for new students who are already facing a challenging transition to the college experience. A common theme of all the winning proposals is building peer support for engineering majors during their first two years in college.

"The Stay Tech program has already produced a number of innovative approaches to addressing these problems," said Scalise. "The University of California at Riverside plan begins in the first week of a student's freshman year with the assignment of a faculty mentor for each student and activities designed to create a support network. Early in their studies, students will work on 'mini projects' that demonstrate the practical side of engineering. The Riverside program also includes creation of a web-based resource system to help students find study partners, access schedules, and network with peers and mentors.

"The Rochester Institute of Technology plan involves freshman engineering majors in programs before the start of their first year with summer enrichment programs," Scalise said. "Early in their first semester students will have opportunities to be involved in outreach programs. Going forward, students will have an opportunity for fun and challenging competitions involving Lego Mindstorm Robotics to solve engineering problems. Each quarter there will be a forum creating opportunities for first- and second-year students to meet and work with successful upper classmen."

The North Carolina A & T plan includes a peer mentoring program that will match electrical and computer engineering majors in their junior year with incoming freshmen to help them adapt to college life while also learning about concerns or problems the younger students are having. The program also includes monthly activities involving mentors, faculty, and staff aimed at creating a sense of community among engineering majors.

The Boise State plan focuses on the first two or three semesters of new engineering majors by appointing "route leaders" -- upper division students -- who will maintain contact with newer students, and "route guides" -- printed handbook, a web site, and support services. The program also involves regular informal lunches with engineering professors and staff members.

The University of the Pacific program includes a mentoring program, tutoring sessions, pre-exam review sessions, social events, and a unique assessment test in math, physics, and chemistry skills. The assessment test will be administered twice a year in an effort to identify at-risk students and provide tutoring and mentoring assistance where appropriate.

"Electrical engineering is a very demanding major," said Scalise. "It is not surprising that the attrition rate is high. The Stay Tech program has the potential of achieving a very high return on investment. The creative retention programs developed by these five engineering schools would work anywhere, and I believe they will demonstrate that much can be accomplished without spending a lot of money. Even a modest reduction in the drop-out rate would have a very large and rapid impact on the number of engineers available to meet the future needs of our industry," Scalise concluded.

The Stay Tech program is a project of the SIA Workforce Strategy Committee. The primary sponsors of the Stay Tech program are IBM, LSI Logic, National Semiconductor, and Xilinx. The Workforce Strategy Committee also includes members from Agilent, AMD, Altera, Analog Devices, Conexant, Freescale, Integrated Device Technology, Intel, International Rectifier, Micron, SEMI, Texas Instruments, and the Semiconductor Research Corporation.

About the SIA

The SIA is the leading voice for the semiconductor industry and has represented U.S. semiconductor companies since 1977. Collectively, the chip industry employs a domestic workforce of 255,000 people. More information about the SIA can be found at www.sia-online.org.