The Multicultural Engineering Program (MEP) at The University of Alabama was established in May 1987 through a joint grant from the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. With the establishment of UA's MEP, improvements in the areas of student recruitment and retention have remained a high priority. UA's MEP is designed to meet the needs of students by aiding them in overcoming barriers to their academic and career success. The primary purpose of UA's MEP is to set students on a firm foundation by taking them from where they are both academically and personally to where they need to be to become competent, self-assured, and successful in their academic and career pursuits. As a founding member institution of the Southeastern Consortium for Minorities in Engineering (SECME) in 1976, UA has continued its long term commitment to the pre-college effort.