Evaluation of the 2017 National Summer Transportation Institute Hosted at Rowan University

Abstract

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in partnership with state highway agencies (State DOTs) offers an annual program known as the National Summer Transportation Institute (NSTI). This program is typically held in most states across the nation and aims to increase awareness of the potential career opportunities in the transportation industry among middle and/or high school students. The program focuses on minority, female, and underrepresented groups of middle and/or high school students. In this paper, a discussion of the outcomes of the NSTI program, hosted by Rowan University in the summer of 2017, and the degree to which the program met its goals will be presented. To fulfill these goals, faculty from the Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) department and Center for Research and Education in Advanced Transportation Engineering Systems (CREATEs) at Rowan University prepared a comprehensive academic and enhancement curriculum. This curriculum included a variety of activities that aimed to introduce three modes of transportation (i.e., air, land, and water) along with relevant safety concepts to high school students. To assess the degree to which the goals of the program were achieved, several evaluation forms were prepared and distributed to the participating students on daily activities, field-trips, and end of the program evaluation. Based on the analysis of the evaluation forms, it was found that the curriculum utilized was successful at achieving the goals of the NSTI program. The evaluation results also indicated that the participating students enjoyed the various sessions and activities, thus, suggesting that the management of the program at Rowan University was successful.