Work in progress - utilizing projects and innovative demonstrations in student recruitment

Abstract

The School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at the University of Oklahoma (OU) is currently experiencing a decline in new enrollments that is similar to the national trends for engineering disciplines. In an effort to increase the interest in ECE and engineering in general, outreach activities focused on advanced technologies and innovative demonstrations are being deployed. These recruiting techniques are modeled from successful programs such as Botball and FIRST Robotics that have approximately 200,000 combined student participants. Demonstrations that showcase advanced technologies have been performed at over twenty k-12 outreach events over the last year. This paper discusses this recruiting technique and the expected impact on future engineering enrollment.