Congratulations to the College of Engineering and Information Technology (COEIT) for being awarded a BreakingGround grant! Their project – the COEIT Undergraduate Student Voice & Experience Survey – will contribute to UMBC's continued commitment to fostering collective thriving and civic agency.

COEIT has launched a comprehensive undergraduate student climate survey, assessing student experiences around belonging, inclusion, and support across the college. The BreakingGround Award will support COEIT to deepen student capacity to make meaningful contributions to culture change within the college. Students will learn facilitation skills that support peer-led conversations around inclusion and belonging in the college through co-facilitator training that equips student leaders with foundational skills in inclusive dialogue and peer-centered facilitation. Trained student co-facilitators will assist in leading focus groups that gather richer, more nuanced student perspectives on challenges and improvements within COEIT. Student organizations will also host events for students to complete the survey and participate in reflections, offering engineering and computing students an opportunity to engage with civic agency as a practical, lived experience. Student-identified priorities will be shared with COEIT leadership and used to inform planning for the next phase of a multi-stage climate assessment extending to graduate students, faculty, and staff.

Jeanne van Briesen, Dean of the College of Engineering and Information Technology, said, "This award will enable authentic engagement of students with COEIT's efforts to understand and improve the climate of belonging for all." Similarly, Jess Myers, Associate Director of the Center for Women in Technology, has this to say about the project:

This project represents an important moment for COEIT - marking the first COEIT - specific undergraduate climate survey in nearly ten years and centering student voices through collective engagement and reflection. It reflects a shared commitment to listening, learning, and building community together, and invites students to play an active role in shaping the climate and future of their college.

The BreakingGround initiative provides grants of up to $2,500 to UMBC faculty, staff, and students who want to launch or strengthen educational and community-building projects. These projects should, as a part of their work, foster civic agency: the ability to initiate and make meaningful contributions to social change. For more information, visit this website: https://civiclife.umbc.edu/breakingground/