The Engineering Foundations Program-a new program for minoritystudents in engineering at Cornell

摘要

The principle behind the Engineering Foundations Program(established in 1988) is that some minority applicants in the pool ofapparently underprepared students (relative to the typical profile ofCornell engineering students) should be given an opportunity to learn ata slower pace and have an opportunity to take preparatory courses ifnecessary. At the same time, they should be assisted in developingsocial and cultural skills necessary to succeed in the professionalworld. The resulting program stretches the first two years of the normalengineering curriculum into three; special preparatory courses have alsobeen organized to fit this schedule. Concurrently, special nonacademicactivities are conducted to help develop in the students thenoncognitive skills generally necessary for higher academic achievement.The authors describe the courses created for the students enrolled inthis program, review the administrative support for the program, andsummarize the first year's performance of the first group of students tobe enrolled in it