Supplying the missing link with MECCA-A [minority students´ education]

Since the early 1970s the Purdue Minority Engineering Program (MEP) has conducted a relatively comprehensive program of recruitment, retention, and evaluation directed at improving this data by the successful graduation of African American, Mexican American, Puerto Rican, and American Indian students. Program components have included motivational recruitment, retention, and evaluation starting with students at grade seven and continuing through college graduation. The underlining philosophy has been that a comprehensive program is essential and that `one shot´ programs that focus on only one or two components will have little if any long range impact. To provide a synergistic context for the MEP program, a Multicultural Engineering Comprehensive Career Academy (MECCA) was envisioned and steps have been taken to make it a reality. The authors summarize MECCA, including the existing MEP programs, and focus on what are believed to be the three critical missing links-an Elementary Out-Reach Program, a Parent Involvement Program, and a Longitudinal Follow-up Evaluation Program