Increasing the participation of diverse populations in engineering and technology fields is a challenge for many universities. A significant means to address this issue is to increase the participation of women students. However, this can prove to be challenging. In a study conducted by Marra and Bogue, it was found that although women engineering students enter the university with high levels of self-confidence and self-esteem, those levels decline quickly during the first year. They also found through their research, that the initial levels were never regained. One method to help retain diversity in engineering and technology majors is the implementation of support programs. Research literature on effective strategies to increase diversity in STEM fields generally describes support programs as activities crafted to help overcome factors that deter underrepresented students' from pursuing programs in STEM areas. NSF supported research indicates that "Students that participate more frequently in support activities are less likely to leave engineering than those who do not participate or participate less frequently."
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