Retaining Undergraduate Women in Science, Engineering, and Technology: A Survey of a Student Organization

National Council for Research on Women finds that much of the progress that women have made in science, engineering, and technology has stalled or eroded. As we enter the new millennium, there will be an increasing need for a scientifically and technologically literate workforce. A student organizat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of college student retention : Research, theory & practice Vol. 6; no. 2; pp. 155 - 168
Main Authors Wasburn, Mara H., Miller, Susan G.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.08.2004
Baywood Publishing Company, Inc
Sage Publications Ltd
Subjects
Career Choice
Careers
Children & youth
College students
Computers
Educational leadership
Educational technology
Engineering
Enrollment
Females
Higher Education
Information Technology
Learning
Mathematics
Polls & surveys
School Holding Power
Science
Sciences
Student Organizations
Student retention
Women
Women Scientists
New York
United States > US
San Francisco California
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Summary:National Council for Research on Women finds that much of the progress that women have made in science, engineering, and technology has stalled or eroded. As we enter the new millennium, there will be an increasing need for a scientifically and technologically literate workforce. A student organization, Women in Technology, was formed at Purdue University—West Lafayette in 1998 in response to data indicating that there had been no increase in the number of women enrolled in the University's School of Technology over the past five years. Such data were consistent with those produced by national studies indicating that the trend of increasing numbers of women enrolling in engineering, science, and technology programs in American colleges and universities, established in the preceding two decades, had ceased. The aim of Women in Technology was to attract more women to the School, and reduce the attrition rate of women already in the program by serving as a well-recognized, formal context in which they could receive mentoring and in which they could find stable social support to help them achieve their academic and career objectives. This article discusses an overview of the organization, the results of a survey of members' undergraduate classroom experiences, student-generated strategies for addressing the concerns revealed in the survey, and the implementation of those strategies.
ISSN:1521-0251
1541-4167
DOI:10.2190/NDXH-YM83-TKWY-4E6C