WIP: Accelerating Growth of Non-Traditional Engineering Students Through a Holistic Ecosystem of Programs, Courses, Activities and Partnerships

This Work In Progress (WIP) paper about the innovative practice for a complete ecosystem for non-traditional student success. This paper highlights the early successes of a student taking advantage of a robust program that combines, traditional support services, experiential learning in and out of the classroom and industry partnerships. This paper is written jointly from the perspective of the program chair and a student fully participating in the overall set of programs. It will highlight the significant acceleration of both skills and confidence that this student has experienced in their first year. His experience is helping to make a more robust set of pathways for students that will follow him. The paper will walk through the student's journey from completion of their GED at our community college, their initial year and project the future pathway beyond that initial year. The paper will show how the programs are designed and implemented by the people running them. It will provide highlights and insights from the student in terms of what worked well and potential improvements. Details are provided about support services such as the Ocean County College (OCC) EOF program which provides: a community of like learners, comprehensive service and support, private academic coaching, academic advising, a financial grant and continued eligibility at NJ senior institutions. Another support program: The Student Support Services (TRIO) at Ocean County College whose mission is to assist and encourage first-generation college students, income-eligible college students, and/or college students with disabilities through the completion of a credential. We operate in a holistic, inclusive, and collaborative environment while delivering services that will immerse students in a challenging and engaging student experience. TRIO emboldens students to be self-driven; to discover their own barriers, seek out solutions, and develop a positive mindset in their journey toward success. This is complimented by an engineering degree program with a heavy emphasis on experiential learning where every course must dedicate a minimum of 10% of the grade to engineering project work. Finally, all of this is complimented with outreach, both from Industry as well as students encouraging K-12 students to pursue STEM.