Text Books for ChemEs Recommendation Report

Memorandum
To: Dr. Savior From: Sergio Garcia 12/09/2013

Dr. Savior, This report addresses the non-profit organization that has been recently supported by you, the Text Books for Chemical Engineers foundation at UNM. The organization aims to provide financial relief to students in the chemical engineering field of study. Therefore we will provide details on the anticipated amount of money required to provide such support for students. Because new text books are released almost on an annual bases we will look into a plan of action for sustaining a good inventory of books. The number of textbooks required for the degree program will also be evaluated and more importantly the overall financial aid to a student who successfully passes through the program. Comparisons to general financial aid will be performed to demonstrate how such aid increases student success rates.

Text Books for ChemEs Recommendation Report

Introduction The non-profit organization known as Text Books for ChemEs is a University associated foundation with the goal of providing support to students at the University of New Mexico. This report will provide information on the foundation including cost of text books for a students studies, influence of financial aid and the anticipated effects of the foundation. Moreover a review of the events inaugural fundraising event is included as well as future plans for fundraising. The methods of analysis are included to support the rationale of the report and to further the establishment of the foundation within the University.

Required Text for Degree Students entering the chemical engineering program at UNM should expect to acquire approximately 50 text books over their projected 4 years. Specifically 39 courses are required for the chemical engineering degree and each book ranges from $100-$300. Taking the average price of $200 per book, $7,800 is the estimated cost for text books. For an in state student this amounts to just under $1,000 per semester for text books as it is expected to take 15-18 credit hours. Typically that amount of credit hours amounts to 5 courses per semester each with its own text book. The cost for texts then is around 1/3 of the cost of tuition (~ $3,200). The cost for an out of state student is much greater, about $25,000 for tuition alone which means that they greatly depend on aid. The idea of free textbooks for the department would also draw more out of states students looking to have a career in chemical engineering. Unfortunately this extra financial need is causing students to drop out of the department. The chemical engineering program is known to be one of the most difficult degrees to acquire due to the course work alone. When the pressure of finances is added to young students it often makes finishing the program seem impossible. I myself had thoughts about changing my degree because of the challenges presented and the fear of failing while having thousands of dollars worth of debt. Any type of financial aid was crucial for my success and even small semester stipend encouraged and helped me to keep working and pushing through courses.

Text Books for ChemEs Recommendation Report

Common Text Book found in the Chemical Engineering Curriculum ($199.98). Listing from Amazon.com.

Real World Findings/Rational Below are details of a study conducted to determine if there are influences on students who receive financial aid, reported by usnews.com/education. The study was conducted in community colleges in New York. The study defines performance-based scholarships as those granted to students based on financial need, where students had to meet certain academic goals in order to continue receiving the grants. According to MDRC, making additional financial aid contingent upon certain behaviors can lead to "an increased effort toward studies, a reduced level of financial stress, and an increased confidence on the part of students in their ability to succeed." All of these may cause an increase in enrollment and credits earned over the long term, enabling students to meet their educational goals. In New York, the organization tested a "scholarship-only program" by providing scholarships but no counseling or additional support services. The program targeted "students in need of at least one level of developmental education who may be particularly at risk of not having enough funds to cover their college expenses (identified as low-income adult learners due to the struggles they often face, including "having to contend with competing responsibilities involving work, family and school") and tested whether scholarships alone (without additional support) could help them succeed. The study looked at students' behavior and performance while they were eligible to receive the scholarships and over four semesters (two years) afterward, to see if the scholarships affected future performance.

Text Books for ChemEs Recommendation Report The scholarships were distributed incrementally as students met enrollment and academic benchmarks. One group was eligible to receive up to $1,300 over two semesters, while another was eligible for up to $3,900 over three semesters (two main semesters with a summer term in between). The study also followed a third set of students, who did not receive the scholarships, for comparison. When evaluating all participating students at both schools, MDRC found that the overall program encouraged more full-time enrollment while students were eligible for the funds, but didn't have the same effect afterward when funds couldn't be earned. Eligibility for a scholarship over the summer may have increased registration (and completion) over that term, but didn't result in future registration for more semesters or the accumulation of more credits in the long term. But when looking at each school separately, researchers also found some evidence that at one of the colleges, increased registration, fulltime enrollment, and the number of credits earned continued even after students were no longer eligible to receive funds. At that school, scholarships were housed in the student services division; while no counseling or support services were provided, students could learn about those services in the same place they inquired about their scholarships.

Statistics found on National level. Tuition.io and ParentsCountdownToCollegeCoach.com These findings support the foundations initiative in increasing enrollment for the chemical engineering program and maintaining student success. Too often young students enter the degree program with not enough support and insufficient preparation from subpar public high schools. This results in students dropping out of school either after one semester due to the loss of the lottery scholarship or after a

Text Books for ChemEs Recommendation Report few semesters when students financial situation becomes overwhelming and unmanageable. Not only will this program support student success it will also decrease the amount of financial debt on members of the community. The end of the study noted they observed an increase in enrollment even without the offered scholarship. I believe this is due to the increased push on high school students to enter college and societies expectation of most young people to enroll. Here at UNM there has been a spike in enrollment resulting in the expansion of housing on campus. Rather than accepting this observation as a contradiction to financial support it should be seen as an important part of the foundations goal which is to help this ever increasing number of students enrolling into college. More students will result in more funds needed but also more students will have the opportunity to get a technical degree which will only expand the significance of the program.

Methodology The majority of the information provided in the report is directly from my own experience in the chemical engineering department. The number of courses that are required by the department comes directly from my transcripts. Due to my current enrollment in the University and engineering department I have first-hand experience in seeing classmates and friends drop the program or university studies all together, typically due to financial instability coupled to the transition in life style. The experience Ive had over the last four years inspired the concept of free textbooks as I personally feet that having text provided would be a tremendous advantage. Research was done on the web through sites that give advice to incoming students and their families. These statistics give reliable numbers on the typical dropout rate and the main causes of dropping out which are financial issues and that fact is becoming common knowledge due to the increase in students enrolling in college. The study referenced was conducted in a college setting which confirms the concept of giving incentives for increased student success.

Event Report By attending the event interested parties donated money in exchange for food, drinks and lively talks and demonstrations on the types of technologies Chemical Engineers are working on today in industry and research labs. The success of the event indicated that the community does think Chemical Engineers are worth investing in! The event was held at the University of New Mexico Student Union Building in the Ballroom. The night started off with talks by UNM professors, research faculty and deans. Sprinkled into the talks were demonstrations of working technology that has come from the Chemical Engineering department on campus, and appearances by UNM-ChemE alumni who are currently in the industrial sector. The event drew in over 200 guests and brought in over $5,000 dollars in donations. Big sponsors were also interested and indicated they would be making arrangements to invest in the foundation in hopes of drawing future engineers and also good standing in the community.

Text Books for ChemEs Recommendation Report

A student researcher that attended the inaugural event in 2013.

Recommended Proposal The Textbooks for ChemEs foundation can be seen as an organization looking to further student success and development. In terms of organizational reputation, Textbooks for ChemEs can draw huge sponsorship as it is dealing in producing engineers of high technical skill, which in turn means big companies will be interested. Community and world benefactors include Intel, Sandia National Labs, Cabot, Phillips 66, Chevron, and UNM itself among others. Hence the foundation can easily draw public support and may even end up expanding to other large schools of the university. Requirements for continuation of the program include professional accounting, scheduling, and sponsorship acquisition. Although Dr. Savior has made generous contributions it is imperative for the organization to seek out sponsors such as those listed above. They are the key benefactors, aside from the students, and will provide further attention to the program. Also establishing the regulations of the textbooks to be given out is important. Once the foundation has obtained the texts required to supply the students, keeping track of the books will be a huge task. Students should return textbooks to the foundation if they fail to complete the course. If a student is able to successfully pass the course they should have the choice to keep possession of the book or return it to the foundation. Textbooks that are returned and become out dated will need to be sold back to a provider immediately as textbooks lose their value quickly due to the frequent release of newer editions.

Text Books for ChemEs Recommendation Report The main goal of the foundation is to improve student success in the department. Therefore it should remain that students stay readily involved in the organization by volunteering for events. Events will also be a main contributor to the funds of the organization. As long as sponsors see the success rates and student involvement they should remain affiliated with the foundation. Sponsors will also be afforded the possibility to have their logo presented with the organization and throughout locations at the school of engineering at UNM. Recruiting events will also be merged with the schools annual career fair so that both students and companies may benefit; the idea is that a bigger career fair will bring more companies, more students and more interaction resulting in increased job opportunities for graduates. At the end of each semester students in the program will be evaluated. Simply reporting grades from each course while maintaining the students privacy will be sufficient for the program to evaluate its performance. The program can also track the progress of its students, without including any names, to observe success rates. Again it should be expected that providing the incentive of free text books for passing the course will improve academic performance and overall graduation rate. The decrease in student dropouts from the department should also be tracked before and after the installation of the program. It would also be interesting to note what students decide to do with their texts after they have earned them as I know I have kept most of my books for future reference. Maybe the notion that they are free will have a different effect on the students decision to keep or give back the book. The school of engineering should be afforded the opportunity to rate the programs standing among students and professors. The goal should be of course to make a positive impact on the department. If this is not accomplished, the structure and coordination of the program should be improved in the necessary fashion. Sponsors should also have the opportunity to review the programs performance to determine if future funding will be given. Therefore it is imperative to keep track of students success and the amount of aid they have received from the organization.

Text Books for ChemEs Recommendation Report

Contacts If any party would like to obtain further information on this report please visit or email: Chebooks.weebly.com. Dr. Savior: docsavior@unm.edu Primary director address here: (sgarci03@unm.edu) School of engineering: soe@unm.edu Department of Chemical Engineering: chne@unm.edu

Text Books for ChemEs Recommendation Report

Reflection

The rhetoric used in this report is based on observed trends in colleges, experimental college setting observations. Basically the report is supported by real world findings which can be further backed by statistical analysis. When facts and numbers are presented on this problem it becomes evident that financial support is necessary for a students success and future after college. Because we live in a capitalist society, money is the starting block for most endeavors and so the report and foundations goal was to provide students in chemical engineering an edge for success. I also used the idea of preventing failure to persuade the audience (sponsors) that the cause is worthy and has a good chance for success, for without failure there can be no success. The use of statistics were implemented as graphics to give a clear understanding of the main causes of college drop outs. Most people know that college is an increasing commodity making it more expensive and harder to afford especially to young adults. When they read the study combined with the statistical chart it gives a sense clarity on the issue. Then the issue can be addressed plainly by the foundation, although in a small fraction of the total cost of attending a college. The idea of a small incentive like free textbooks makes it appear likely that the program can work and I certainly believe it would succeed; anyone that has been in college knows that any penny saved is important and so it connects with most members and organizations of our community in that way. This report fits in nicely with technical writing because it is essentially a grant proposal. The assignment helps to develop our ability to research a problem we would like to address and also create a feasible plan of action. We worked on developing our idea for a non-profit organization all semester which was our cause. This report helps tie all of our work together as a supportive document to the purpose and importance of the organization. Personally I feel that technical writing should be more on the grant perspective by finding actual grants out there to write a proposal for. Im studying chemical engineering and have had to construct a design project that included incredible detail, from the price of construction to the lifetime cost of the design and further evaluation. However from an institutional perspective I suspect the class is structured on doing independent research on not such technical applications. Although we had the opportunity to make the assignment as technical as we wanted, it was more important for us to explore the different types of issues in our community. The course definitely

Text Books for ChemEs Recommendation Report gave me knew perspectives on the different types of literature and even media out there, and how they are targeted to a specific audience. Our class focused on understanding the rhetoric used to attract publicity for a certain cause or event. Looking back on the entire body of work for the semester I can see how each assignment helped us develop skills on writing different parts of the final report. We covered report cover letters, applications of images and graphics, and also research information. The open ended style of assignments also let us use our creativity to make our work unique. This style also let us bring our previously acquired knowledge on issues and problems to the course work. I also enjoyed the concept on not focusing on a specific percentage in terms of a grade, but the fact that the work was completed and in an acceptable format which allowed us to pass on to the next phase or assignment. This gave us the chance to go in and work with the professor individually on how to improve on our work, and relieved the pressure of failing in the course, which makes the class time itself more enjoyable.