UG Research with FEP Recruit-BEST NSF Grant (8445379)

We are now recruiting undergraduate student assistant for the NSF funded project: Effective Strategies to Recruit Underserved Students to Baccalaureate Engineering Success and Transition Programs (Recruit-BEST).

Recruit-BEST aims to evaluate the effectiveness and alignment of different recruitment strategies to recruit underserved students (women, underrepresented minorities (URMs), first-generation, low-income, and rural students) into Baccalaureate Engineering student Success and Transition programs (abbreviated as BEST programs, e.g., summer bridge programs, education enrichment programs, math remediation programs, etc.) at 4-year universities. The project personnel will survey and interview BEST program leaders and prospective undergraduate engineering students of the programs, respectively, at colleges and universities offering 4-year bachelor’s degrees across the country to identify best practices in reaching underserved students and convincing them to join BEST programs, examining the alignment of recruitment methods with students’ decision-making processes about locating and applying to those programs.

We are hiring one undergraduate student assistant at 15 dollars an hour. We expect the student to work between 10 and 20 hours per week. This position will last for approximately four months in Spring 2024, and we are hoping for the student to start ASAP. This position has flexible weekly hours and can be worked remotely with regular check-ins.

Job Duties: The student assistant will assist the Principal Investigator in the administration and distribution of the two Recruit-BEST Surveys. This includes the following:

• Contributing to and finalizing the list of undergraduate BEST programs in the US and their points of contact.
• Emailing these program contacts and requesting that their program leaders complete our Program Leader Survey..
• Communicating with BEST program leaders about the timeline for future Survey #2 for the BEST program prospective students.
• Keeping track of who has been contacted and their progress.
• Literature search and summary
• Other duties as directed by the Principal Investigator.
• The assistant will also be expected to meet with the Principal Investigator and the other senior project personnel regularly.

Job Qualifications: The student assistant must be an undergraduate student at WVU. The candidate is expected to be punctual, responsible, and responsive. Preference will be given to applicants from STEM, education, psychology, or similar degrees. The applicant should have familiarity with Google Drive, Excel Spreadsheets, Gmail, and be able search for detailed information from online sources. Additionally, strong writing skills (emails, reports, etc.) are preferred. The candidate must be capable of working on multiple tasks simultaneously and communicating with faculty in a timely manner.