What is PACE?

The Project to Assess Climate in Engineering (PACE) is a long-term, multi-site research project looking at climate in undergraduate engineering programs with a focus on persistence and retention. PACE is funded primarily by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and has recently been re-funded for an additional three years. PACE had a supplemental grant from the Engineering Information Foundation. The PACE study consists of both qualitative research, including interviews and focus groups, and quantitative research, in the form of a climate survey. The PACE team is currently working on analyzing interview and survey data, working with schools on implementing change based on PACE results, re-administering the climate survey, and will be starting new focus groups. PACE is headquartered at the Center for Workforce Development at the University of Washington.

PACE Outcomes

The PACE team and PACE schools are currently working together to implement changes in order to make engineering programs more welcoming and inclusive for undergraduate students. The PACE outcomes are as follows:

	The PACE climate survey was administered in 2008 resulting in data from a sample of over 10,000 engineering undergraduate students from 22 schools.
	The PACE survey data has been analyzed to create an overview of results for schools, as well as reports for individual schools.
	The PACE Schools are using these results to implement new programs and initiatives that aim to improve climate and create a more inclusive environment, especially for female and ethnic minority students.
	PACE interview data is being analyzed to help bolster quantitative findings and create more nuanced and contextualized results that can be used by PACE schools and the engineering education research community.
	The PACE climate survey is being re-administered to collect additional data and assess changes in climate within the PACE schools.
	Focus groups will be conducted after the completion of the secondclimate survey to help understand the state of climate and the impact of interventions in undergraduate engineering.
	PACE results have been featured in various journal articles, professional presentations, newsletters, and magazines.

News and Updates »

PACE Schools: Please submit your Human Subjects applications to your IRB to get approval to field the survey in Spring 2012! Contact the PACE team with any questions.

PACE Participants

Each of the following schools has contributed to PACE data collection efforts through at least one of the PACE projects.

Arizona State University
Boston University
California State University, Los Angeles
Clemson University
Howard University
Michigan Technological University
New Jersey Institute of Technology
New Mexico State University
North Carolina State University
The Ohio State University
The Pennsylvania State University
Purdue University
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Texas A&M University
Texas Tech University
University of Maryland
University of Michigan
The University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at El Paso
Virginia Polytechnic Institute
Worcester Polytechnic Institute