Jane Lehr
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo, CA·Education Research
Many talented low-income students start their engineering or computer science education at community colleges, but too few transfer to a four-year university and finish a STEM degree. Money, weak social connections and a low sense of belonging can push students out.
- Fields
Education Research
Social Science
Engineering
- Topics
engineering education
computer science education
transfer students
- Grants
- 2 known grants, through Feb 2032
What they work on
- Test whether scholarship program activities grow transfer students' social networks, resilience, confidence and sense of belonging, using social network analysis, surveys and qualitative interviews.
- Determine whether gains in social connection and belonging relate to retention, transfer and post-transfer success for low-income engineering students moving from Allan Hancock and Cuesta to Cal Poly.
- Compare why community college students, four-year students, transfer students and direct-admit students choose to join or leave co-curricular engineering team projects.
- Evaluate which factors drive successful transfer and lasting institutional change in a cross-campus scholarship network for low-income computer science and engineering students.
More about the research
These projects link two community colleges, Allan Hancock College and Cuesta College, with Cal Poly. Together they support scholars from their first courses through a bachelor's degree, and they study which supports help transfer students succeed.
Why it matters
The work could help more low-income community college students, including many at Hispanic-Serving Institutions, transfer and earn engineering and computer science degrees. Its findings on social networks, belonging and team-project participation could guide colleges in building stronger transfer pathways and support programs.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
David Knight
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, VA·Education Research
Answer how partnerships within and between institutions can be designed, built and sustained to support low-income engineering students, using a multiple case study of S-STEM program leaders and their organizational partners.
Dustin Grote
Weber State University, UT·Education Research
Examine how intra- and inter-institutional partnerships are designed and sustained to support low-income engineering students, through a multiple case study of S-STEM program leaders and their organizational partners.
Andrew Watkins
Case Western Reserve University, OH·Education Research
Develop a shared curriculum for the first two years of computer science across 15 Ohio colleges, and use it to create formal articulation agreements so community college credits transfer cleanly.
The school
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo: 7 labs on PI Pages, $38M a year on research.
More about California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
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