In engineering departments across the United States, there remain significant discrepancies in retention, performance, and satisfaction between students of underrepresented groups (first-generation, underrepresented minorities, women, and low socioeconomic status) and those of dominant groups (white, male). To increase the population of underrepresented engineering students and to foster their success, targeted recruitment, academic services, and social support can be developed and refined. As the demand for engineers and related professions continues to grow, it is increasingly important that universities prioritize their efforts to recruit, retain, and sustain engineering students of diverse backgrounds and identities. To better support first-generation and underrepresented minority (URM) students in engineering at a large polytechnic university, an introductory course, Engineering Student Success (ENGR 101), was specifically designed and offered during the fall quarter of the 2015-16 school year as a part of a NSF S-STEM grant, Program for Engineering Excellence for Partner Schools (PEEPS). PEEPS is a cohort scholarship program that provides engineering students with financial, academic, and social support. ENGR 101 was developed by two engineering faculty, a VISTA member, and supported by a curriculum expert, to expand the benefits of PEEPS to a larger number of students and to establish interventions and practices in engineering classrooms that better support diversity on our university's campus. The specific course goals were to develop and enhance students' engineering identity and sense of belonging within the College of Engineering in order to support their academic and social transition to college. To achieve these goals, the course curriculum emphasized career exploration, collaboration with peers, written reflections, and diversity and global learning opportunities.
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