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Persistence, Engagement, and Migration in Engineering Programs
Abstract
Records from the Multiple-Institution Database for Investigating Engineering Longitudinal Development indicate that engineering students are typical of students in other majors with respect to: persistence in major; persistence by gender and ethnicity; racial/ethnic distribution; and grade distribution. Data from the National Survey of Student Engagement show that this similarity extends to engagement outcomes including course challenge,faculty interaction, satisfaction with institution, and overall satisfaction. Engineering differs from other majors most notably by a dearth of female students and a low rate of migration into the major. Noting the similarity of students of engineering and other majors with respect to persistence and engagement, we propose that engagement is a precursor to persistence. We explore this hypothesis using data from the Academic Pathways Study of the Center for the Advancement of Engineering Education. Further exploration reveals that although persistence and engagement do not vary as much as expected by discipline, there is significant institutional variation, and we assert a need to address persistence and engagement at the institutional level and throughout higher education. Finally, our findings highlight the potential of making the study of engineering more attractive to qualified students.Our findings suggest that a two-pronged approach holds the greatest potential for increasing the number of students graduating with engineering degrees: identify programming that retains the students who come to college committed to an engineering major, and develop programming and policies that allow other students to migrate in. There is already considerable discourse on persistence, so our findings suggest that more research focus is needed on the pathways into engineering, including pathways from other majors.
... Although a commonly used measure of success in engineering is eight-semester persistence, as highlighted in several studies by [44][45][46][47], later research using MIDFIELD revealed a systematic majority measurement bias associated with that metric [48], suggesting that a six-year graduation metric is more appropriate. Many scholars investigating undergraduate persistence have employed six-year graduation rates as a metric [49][50][51]. ...
... The persistence landscape in engineering is inherently tied to the characteristics of individual campuses. Ohland et al. [46] note that persistence differs significantly between institutions due to factors such as campus culture, policies, and institutional selectivity [53]. These differences can arise due to the cultural fabric of an institution [54] and policy differences [55] in addition to differences in their student populations [2,56]. ...
... Other curriculum-focused studies using MIDFIELD have focused on relating co-op participation to macroeconomic factors [73] and to academic and demographic variables [74]. Following a significant study of various outcomes for all engineering disciplines aggregated [46], various papers characterized student demographics and outcomes in specific engineering disciplines [75] - [77]. Other studies using MIDFIELD have focused on the experiences of specific populations such as women engineering students disaggregated by race/ethnicity [45], non-traditional students [78], Black transfer and non-transfer students [79], and rural students [80]. ...
... The more women believe in their abilities and can visualize themselves as successful engineering students and professionals, the higher the persistence and retention rates [2], [4], [8], [11], [15], [17]. In fact, one study showed that 90% of students who graduated from an engineering program had declared engineering as their major prior to attending the institution, regardless of gender [12]. In other words, students rarely transfer into an engineering program from another major. ...
... In other words, students rarely transfer into an engineering program from another major. If a student does not come to the institution in mind, they will rarely change to an engineering program, often due to perceptions of engineering being too hard for most students [12]. This highlights the need for creating a sense of self-efficacy in young women to pursue engineering. ...
... This also emphasizes the need of supporting a vision as a professional engineer in each student, to retain them within the engineering program. Students come to the program wanting to be engineers, but the rigorous coursework and other challenges can cause them to leave the program for other studies, often transferring to other STEM programs [12]. Unfortunately, women in engineering programs often face gender isolation, bias from professors and lack of role models within the engineering profession which add to the challenges every engineering student faces in their academic studies [2], [6], [15], [17]. ...
... Further research may examine how these dispositional interests guide major selection for students who struggle to choose a discipline. At present, undecided students are highly unlikely to later enroll in a STEM major (Hall et al., 2011;Ohland et al., 2008). The current study suggests that some STEM majors are a reasonable fit for undecided students. ...
... The insights from this study are particularly relevant for undecided students who have not yet declared a major. Undecided students rarely end up choosing a STEM major, in part due to limited knowledge of STEM careers (Hall et al., 2011;Ohland et al., 2008). Our results suggest that some STEM disciplines are well-aligned with the average interests of undecided students (e.g., biochemistry and pharmaceutical sciences). ...
A good fit between students’ interests, academic major, and subsequent career is critical for occupational success and satisfaction. Substantial work has examined how individual differences in interests are linked with academic and career choices. However, less is known about the role of interest in student performance. To investigate how interests are related to academic outcomes, the current work combined psychological and institutional data in a sample of N = 8,326 students enrolled in 249 different majors. Study 1 identified five major clusters that reveal diversity in interests across STEM and non-STEM majors. These patterns suggest that the common STEM vs. non-STEM dichotomy may misrepresent differences and similarities in interests across majors. Study 2 used interests and institutional data to predict student GPA. The results clarify previous findings about the role of interests in performance and highlight the importance of person-environment fit.
... The importance of student engagement in the first year of engineering education cannot be understated, as it plays a critical role in fostering students' engagement [1]. Ohland [2] discusses the complexities of engagement and its influence on student perseverance and satisfaction within the engineering discipline. The study presents evidence for the imperative of integrative educational practices that are sensitive to the challenges unique to early engineering education. ...
... These findings underscore the importance of tailored educational strategies and support mechanisms that cater to the unique challenges faced by novice engineering students. These findings advocate for a pedagogical shift towards reinforcing engagement to enhance the educational landscape for emerging engineering professionals [1], [2]. ...
... thoroughly, is between their first and second years in college [3]. The sophomore year is a pivotal time that can determine whether the aspiring engineer meets their graduation goal or leaves their major altogether [4,5]. More specifically, when compared with other academic fields and disciplines, engineering students switch majors more often than nonengineering majors [5]. ...
... The sophomore year is a pivotal time that can determine whether the aspiring engineer meets their graduation goal or leaves their major altogether [4,5]. More specifically, when compared with other academic fields and disciplines, engineering students switch majors more often than nonengineering majors [5]. ...
As engineering educators attempt to develop solutions to increase student retention and graduation rates and decrease student departures from their majors during the first two years of study, findings from a summer bridge program at a large minority-serving institution (MSI) show promise for practices that could potentially help to mitigate these issues. Summer bridge strategies have been shown to be effective in assisting in college students’ transition from first to sophomore year. This study comprises a case study of a chemical engineering summer bridge program in which undergraduate peer facilitators introduced sophomore-level chemical engineering material and energy balance course material to their peers. The goal of this study was to understand the types of discourse methods used during problem-solving sessions by peer facilitators and how students’ learning experiences were impacted. Data for this study were collected via video observations and a post-program open-ended survey. Authors found that peer facilitators created an environment where students felt encouraged and supported and could relate to facilitators and course materials in new ways. This work further illustrates promising practices of using peer facilitators that need further attention, along with the potential for how engagement and learning could be enhanced by the more formal preparation of peer facilitators.
... Research on engineering student pathways and success has demonstrated that differences in student outcomes can be attributable to institutional differences (Ohland, Sheppard, Lichtenstein, Eris, Chachra, & Layton, 2008;Ohland et al., 2011), as well as differences in disciplinary cultures (Ohland & Lord, 2020;Main, Johnson, Ramirez, Ebrahiminejad, Ohland, & Groll, 2020). For example, Zhang, Anderson, Ohland, and Thorndyke (2004) found that high school GPA, SAT scores, gender, race/ethnicity, and citizenship all influenced engineering student graduation rates. ...
... In their study, differences in engineering student success based on race/ethnicity also varied by institution, yet some patterns were noticeable across multiple institutions. In general, engineering has the highest persistence rates compared to all other majors but also attracts the fewest students from other majors (Ohland et al., 2008). Despite engineering having a relatively large persistence rate that varies by institution, these studies do not shed light on migration patterns across different engineering disciplines or departments. ...
... Previous research has shown that there is a relationship between students' sense of belonging and their engagement at their institution 6 . This relationship extends to their academic success, illustrating the importance of co-curricular engagement in students' academic performance 6 . ...
... Previous research has shown that there is a relationship between students' sense of belonging and their engagement at their institution 6 . This relationship extends to their academic success, illustrating the importance of co-curricular engagement in students' academic performance 6 . In addition to academic achievement, there are many other reasons for pursuing various engagement opportunities. ...
... Student engagement happens in educational settings daily. One study, which utilizes the NSSE to look at the engagement of engineering students, describes student engagement to be students taking part in activities that are educationally effective [4]. This study found that the engagement of engineering majors and other majors was similar [4]. ...
... One study, which utilizes the NSSE to look at the engagement of engineering students, describes student engagement to be students taking part in activities that are educationally effective [4]. This study found that the engagement of engineering majors and other majors was similar [4]. ...
... This large database of student records has yielded groundbreaking research on student pathways by a small interdisciplinary team of researchers. The team has shown that while individual engineering programs may have poor graduation rates, a multi-institutional view reveals that engineering programs as a whole graduate a larger fraction of students than other groups of disciplines [1]. The team has also shown that women and men have similar graduation rates in engineering, likely a result of efforts to make engineering education a welcoming environment for women and the high academic credentials of the women who do study engineering [2]. ...
... The team has also designed a variety of metrics that have provided researchers and practitioners with an improved understanding of student pathways [11]. The quality of the data source and the research team is attested by these substantial findings, multiple best paper awards, and other recognitions [1,5,6,11,12,13]. An overview of MIDFIELD and research using it can be found in [14]. ...
... The lack of representation and retention of racialized students in Engineering programs is wellresearched [4][5][6][7][8][9]. Students in racial minorities have often reported experiencing biased interactions from their peers [10]. ...
... The key pillars of this action plan include increasing Black student representation through STEM outreach activities in Black communities and securing funding to improve the accessibility of Black students to the programs through dedicated undergraduate scholarships, graduate fellowships, or need-based bursaries. It also states a commitment to 7 broadening the training curricula for current and future Faculty to address issues related to anti-Black racism in the University environment and the workplace. McGill's Engineering Action Plan also vows to improve the Black student experience by pursuing dedicated funds to support Black student organizations like the National Society of Black Engineers. ...
This article aims to delve into the Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI) issues prevalent in the engineering disciplines in Canada and Spain, shedding light on the common obstacles faced by underrepresented individuals and highlighting potential strategies to foster a more inclusive and diverse engineering community in these nations. Two strategic lines have been identified: (a) facilitating university education access to underrepresented and minority groups, and (b) Accompanying and guiding such students during university training, setting them up for successful future careers. The article also shows the sets of strategies employed in Canada and Spain, clearly distinguishing the approach taken in the two countries. While in Canada, there is a more decentralized approach wherein the universities device their strategies and agenda to address EDI issues, in Spain there is a stronger and direct involvement of the government to ensure a comprehensive, system-wide approach to tackling EDI issues in academia.
... Engagement is defined as a measure of students' involvement, connection, and commitment to academic and social activities in school [11]. Research proposes a correlation between student engagement and retention [1]. Simmons et al. [2] suggested that out-of-class engagement has an impact on students' development, which can sometimes be overlooked by faculty and administrators. ...
... Attrition rates in electrical engineering and computer engineering are typically higher than all other engineering fields, with often more than half dropping out [73,74]. Computer science is similar; one study found a 38% attrition rate in computer science, with this number varying by institution from about 30% to 60% [75,76] These numbers are particularly pronounced for minorities in STEM, such as Black and Hispanic students [77,78]. ...
It is argued that logic, and in particular mathematical logic, should play a key role in the undergraduate curriculum for students in the computing fields, which include electrical engineering (EE), computer engineering (CE), and computer science (CS). This is based on 1) the history of the field of computing and its close ties with logic, 2) empirical results showing that students with better logical thinking skills perform better in tasks such as programming and mathematics, and 3) the skills students are expected to have in the job market. Further, the authors believe teaching logic to students explicitly will improve student retention, especially involving underrepresented minorities. Though this work focuses specifically on the computing fields, these results demonstrate the importance of logic education to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) as a whole.
... Foundations of identity begin to form as students decide to continue pursuing an engineering major [2]. Unlike other majors, engineering has a low rate of migration into the major [3], making retention a major concern. In the process of developing interventions to increase retention rates in STEM fields, the research surrounding students' experiences in these fields has grown substantially. ...
... Research in engineering education has long established that women and gender-diverse students face additional challenges in engineering industry and educational contexts [4], [5], [6]. Women are underrepresented in engineering undergraduate programs as well as in industry, comprising only 16% of engineers in the US labor force [7]. ...
... Some of the strongest signals of who can be an engineer are conveyed within the classroom environment through interactions with instructors and peers [13], [14], [15]. In particular, students' experiences in the first two years in "gateway" courses most strongly influence student academic outcomes [16], particularly for women and shape decisions to stay in engineering majors or to leave [17], [18], [19]. As a result, these classroom environments offer a prime opportunity for interventions to support women more equitably in engineering by addressing the signals about who belongs in engineering. ...
... Faculty members play a pivotal role in fostering this motivation by employing engaging teaching methods, creating interactive and dynamic learning environments, and demonstrating a genuine passion for the subject matter [3,5]. The ability of faculty to connect with students on a personal and intellectual level enhances motivation, as students are more likely to be inspired when they feel a sense of relevance and enthusiasm from their instructors [6]. Effective engagement involves recognizing and catering to diverse learning styles, incorporating real-world examples, and encouraging active participation. ...
... Therefore, we control for these indicators of fit. Broadly, previous studies of engineering majors show gender similarities in satisfaction (Amelink and Creamer 2010) and intention to persist in the major (Lord et al. 2009;Ohland et al. 2008), and research finds that women have higher GPAs on average among majors in engineering and physics (Stearns et al. 2020) and other STEM fields (Sonnert and Fox 2012). Yet these patterns may differ in particular university contexts. ...
Previous research has shown that gendered societal expectations are adopted by students as seemingly personal and individualistic self‐assessments and preferences, which then lead to gender‐normative choices about college majors and careers. This study examines one seemingly objective mechanism, which millions use each year for guidance on college majors and careers. We examine two Career Assessment Tools (CATs) with deep institutional presence: O*NET and Traitify. Analyzing an exemplar case of engineering majors, we find that CATs are less likely to recommend engineering occupations to women, even after controlling for GPA, satisfaction with the major, and planned persistence. Even in our sample of engineering majors, CATs apparently use small differences in students' gender‐normative self‐expressive preferences to drive sharply different occupational recommendations, thereby solidifying pathways toward gender‐segregated occupations and reinforcing men's dominance of engineering. If women similar to our study participants take CATs, they are likely to be steered away from engineering occupations or majors. More broadly, CATs illustrate how taken‐for‐granted, seemingly neutral technologies can reinforce gender segregation.
... Students withdraw from engineering programs for several reasons, but academic performance is one of the main predictors at all educational levels [13]. Existing research links academic success to different factors such as a lack of mentoring, classroom climate, student selfefficacy, academic performance, social environment, demographics, and expectations [2,14,[28][29][30]. ...
High academic failure and dropout rates in engineering courses are significant worldwide concerns attributed to various factors, with academic performance being a critical variable. This article provides a methodology to estimate the performance risk of students in engineering schools. Risk analysis is a strategy to evaluate academic success, which provides a set of methods to analyze, understand, and predict student outcomes before enrolling in specific majors or challenging college courses. This article develops a methodology to estimate fragility curves for students entering an engineering course. The fragility function concept, borrowed from the earthquake engineering field, estimates the likelihood of success in a course, given relevant student metadata, such as the grade point average, thus comprehensively addressing student performance variability. A student academic success prediction model enables instructional designers to make informed decisions. For example, fragility curves can help achieve two goals: (i) assessing the population at risk for a course to take actions to improve student success rates and (ii) assessing a course's relative difficulty based on its fragility function parameters. We demonstrate this methodology through a case study comparing the relative difficulty of two engineering courses, Statics and Solid Mechanics, at a university in Colombia. Given that Statics serves as a prerequisite for Solid Mechanics, deficiencies in the former can significantly impact student performance in the latter. The case study results reveal that Solid Mechanics poses a higher risk of academic failure than Statics, underscoring the importance of a strong foundation in prerequisite courses.
... Some studies have mainly focused on the causes and factors of leaving a scientific discipline: (Le Pair 1980;Seymour and Hewitt 1997;Ohland et al. 2008;Marra et al. 2012;Pramanik et al. 2019). According to these studies, factors, and motivations for changing disciplines are very diverse. ...
Choosing the right field of study is a crucial moment that can determine an academic's professional future. While it is typically recommended for those at the start of their scientific career to carefully select their field of study, studies in the field of field migration have shown that it often involves the transfer of knowledge and ideas between different fields. This research focuses on understanding the migration patterns of faculty members at the University of Tehran during the period from 1980 to 2022, specifically examining interdisciplinary shifts among academics. Data on faculty members’ academic backgrounds was collected, and 309 individuals with dual degrees were identified. VOS viewer and Node XL were used to illustrate their field mobility. With disciplines classified based on the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED). The classification of disciplines was based on the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED). The findings revealed that 74% of faculty members migrated to a completely different scientific field, while only 26% engaged in intra-field migrations. This indicates that most individuals crossed rigid boundaries between broad scientific fields rather than opting for neighboring fields within the same discipline. The study concludes that the pattern of field migrations highlights the artificiality of field borders and reflects researchers’ desire to foster communication and collaboration across various disciplines underscoring the importance of increased interdisciplinarity in scientific endeavors.
... One of the significant characteristics of students who persist in engineering is their gender [4], [12]. Dell et al. [13] explicitly stated and confirmed that women leave engineering programs at higher rates than men. ...
... Women's continued underrepresentation in the engineering workplace remains yet to be fully understood. Women are pursuing engineering majors in increased numbers [1] and persevering in these programs at rates comparable to men [2]. Despite advances in the recruitment and retention of women in engineering, the percentage of women working in the field has remained constant [1]. ...
... Diversity in the engineering faculty workforce is essential for promoting engineering innovations [1,2], generating diverse problem-solving approaches [3,4], recruiting and graduating a varied body of engineering students [5]- [7], and providing role models for traditionally underrepresented engineering students [5,8]. However, despite the ongoing emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the engineering field, certain faculty groups, such as women and racially minoritized faculty, remain consistently underrepresented [9]- [11]. ...
Despite the widely acknowledged benefits of diversity and inclusion within the engineering field, underrepresentation of certain faculty demographics persists. Asian faculty, while not traditionally classified as minoritized, also confront issues such as stereotype threat. The existing literature offers limited evidence on the unique adversities faced by, and strategies used by, Asian faculty. This study seeks to fill this research gap by investigating the signaling strategies Asian researchers utilize to counteract discrimination. Grounded in a composite theoretical framework integrating statistical discrimination theory and signaling theory, this study uncovers that Asian engineering faculty strategically use low prevalence words in their scholarly publications to demonstrate competence and counter discrimination. Our findings enhance our understanding of the adversities and coping strategies of Asian engineering faculty, thus providing valuable insights into fostering a more inclusive, equitable, and supportive academic environment.
... Anticipated Outcomes: There is significant evidence in the engagement literature linking increased student engagement with increased academic achievement, and hence retention [1]. Often benefits are even greater for low socioeconomic (SES) students who often lack the social capital of their more privileged peers [2]. ...
... However, there is much to be learned by considering a longer period of time. There are more and more studies that have opted for longer-term tracking of cohorts, such as [9,10,11]. We chose to follow students who start in engineering to graduation, or to transfer out of engineering. ...
... Forty-one percent of biomedical engineering degrees in 2017 were awarded to women while less than 15% of electrical and computer engineers identified as female (Chesler et al. 2010;Potvin et al. 2018;Yoder 2017). With women pursuing engineering majors at a completion rate comparable to men (Lord et al. 2009;Ohland et al. 2008;Potvin et al. 2018), research suggests the engineering divide could be attributed to social and cultural beliefs held by students before they begin their college careers (Potvin et al. 2018). This draw to helping others we identified coincides with Potvin's (2018) analysis of female engineer interests favoring bioengineering/biomedical engineering major (pp. ...
Due to the impact of biomedical technologies on human wellbeing, biomedical engineering presents discipline-specific ethical issues that can have global, economic, environmental, and societal consequences. Because ethics instruction is a component of accredited undergraduate engineering programs in the US, we developed an ethics assignment that provided biomedical engineering students with a framework for ethical decision-making and challenged them to critically reflect on ethical issues related to contemporary medical devices. Thematic analysis performed on student reflections (n = 73) addressed two research questions: (i) what considerations do biomedical engineering undergraduates describe when asked to critically reflect on ethical issues related to contemporary medical devices; and (ii) how do students describe their participation in bioethical discussions? Students described design, economic factors, and empathy most frequently as considerations. Further, students reported confidence in their ability to engage in ethical discussion upon assignment completion. Overall, our analysis builds understanding of student attitudes and engagement to help inform future ethics curriculum development.
... Literature suggests that this disparity in engineering major preference persists from perceptions formed prior to entering college [3]- [5]. In addition, because of cited difficulties in changing majors once in college, it is critical to attract students to these majors during high school [4]. The current gendered landscape in engineering led us to ask, what can be done in the pre-college curricula to change students' perceptions of traditional engineering majors? ...
... The National Academies Gathering Storm committee concluded several years ago that the primary driver of the future economy, security of the United States (US) as a nation, and concomitant creation of jobs would be innovation-largely derived from advances in science and, particularly, in engineering [1]. It has been estimated that close to 50% of the students who begin their education in engineering do not follow through to the completion of an engineering degree [2]- [5]. Some studies have further documented that the propensity for engineering students to attrit is particularly high during their first two years of college [2], [4]. ...
... Data collection began during Fall of 2019 and at the time of this study, all participants had completed their 3rd academic year and engaged in 6 semesters of data collection. To understand changes in interest and subsequent enrollment decisions, the first three years of an engineering program are the most appropriate to focus on as most enrollment changes happen during the middle years [45]. Table 1 lists participants' pseudonyms, some self-reported demographic information, majors, and minors. ...
... With engineering education heavily influenced by the engineering community, these ineffective teaching methodologies persist because many professors believe that "I learned this way and now I am a successful engineer, so it must work" [9]. This results in engineering educational experiences that concentrate too narrowly on content and discount broader personal development [10]. ...
... Because curricula are dynamic, we can think of the metrics here as implied or forecasted. Students often do not follow the curriculum as described [13], such as retaking courses multiple times [20] or switching majors [21]. These behaviors are captured to an extent by the instructional complexity metric. ...
... For the last several decades, engineering educators have been striving to both understand and improve the rate of student persistence in engineering. As it stands, only approximately 55% of the students who enroll in engineering programs persist to graduation [1], [2]. Research has revealed that persistence is based on a wide variety of predictors from pre-college math preparation [3] to engineering school climate [4], engineering identity [5] and more. ...
... These research questions are motivated by the need to understand more about student participation in CECA activities over their undergraduate careers and the potential impact of that involvement. This study fits within the body of research that seeks to characterize the impact of such experiences on student development (Burt et al., 2011;Doig, 2019;Evans, 2013;Knight & Novoselich, 2017;Krause et al., 2015;Lutz & Marie, 2021;Ohland et al., 2008;Ro & Knight, 2016). The literature suggests that higher student engagement in CECAs may lead to more professional skill development and student identity formation as future engineers (Bergen-Cico & Viscomi, 2012;Burt et al., 2011;Elias & Drea, 2013). ...
The purpose of this study is to explore the self-reported professional competencies gained by engineering students involved at different rates and types of co/extra-curricular activities (CECAs) between their grade 12 and junior years of undergraduate engineering education. The contribution of this work is in using longitudinal data to understand how student engagement and learning outcomes might evolve to inform potential co-curricular programming changes. We analyzed data from an annual professional development survey from 970 students from 2016-2019. Findings show that higher engagement may not necessarily lead to higher skill acquisition for all students per unit of time, particularly in engineering-focused facets of professional skills. Co-curricular spaces are prone to be dominated by certain demographic profiles, and students are likely to engage in nontechnical work and clubs, as compared to co-curricular projects and research experiences. We conclude that future work should attempt to specify the "goldilocks" level of involvement, understand barriers to participation, and robustly characterize the nature of learning and students' recognition of their learning through CECAs.
... International students at U.S. institutions are less engaged in some areas and more engaged in others and the differences change over the years of undergraduates' studies [34]. Differences in students' team experiences can affect STEM persistence [35,36]. Meeting often in study groups increases persistence in STEM majors, and students without successful team experiences are less likely to develop those affiliations [37]. ...
This descriptive study reports norms for team process and outcome measures for various populations. We collected the data using the Comprehensive Assessment of Team-Member Effectiveness (CATME) Team Tools system. We observed gender differences for Task Conflict and Psychological Safety with small effect sizes. We observed differences on multiple team process variables with a range of effect sizes based on reported race/ethnicity, with some effect sizes approaching moderate (d > 0.5). We discuss possible explanations for systematic differences, but report no evidence that can support any particular explanation. Instructors should know that such differences exist to consider how those differences might affect their interpretation of peer evaluation data.
... The lack of representation and retention of racialized students in Engineering programs is well researched [4][5][6][7][8][9]. Students in racial minorities have often reported experiencing biased interactions from their peers [10]. ...
This article delves into the issues of equity, diversity, and inclusiveness (EDI) in the engineering disciplines in Canada and Spain and presents the challenges faced by underrepresented individuals and ways to promote an inclusive and diverse environment. Two strategic lines are identified: (a) facilitating university education access to underrepresented and minority groups and (b) guiding such students during university training to set them up for successful future careers. Accordingly, this article shows how the strategies mentioned above are implemented in some selected Canadian and Spanish universities, clearly distinguishing the approach taken in the two countries. In Canada, there is a more decentralized approach to addressing EDI issues, wherein the universities devise their agendas independently. In Spain, on the other hand, there is a stronger and more direct involvement of the government to ensure a comprehensive, system-wide approach to tackling EDI issues in academia. This article helps education policymakers to devise and implement pragmatic strategies for achieving EDI and the relevant UN-defined sustainable development goals.
... Earlier research has shown that engineering is particularly distinct from other groups of majors in that it attracts very few students after matriculation [19]. Other research [20] suggests that the most likely explanation is that the structure of engineering curricula generally requires a commitment prior to enrolling in college including targeted high school preparation. ...
... Unfortunately, when compared to other majors, students enrolled in engineering majors usually switch to other disciplines more frequently, especially after their first semester in college [2]. This is likely because engineering is frequently seen as difficult and demanding, which could be a reason for the dropout rate near 50% [3]-an alarmingly low persistence rate [4]. Additionally, the engineering persistence rate is highest in the sophomore and junior years as compared to after their first year [10]. ...
This work-in-progress study will examine the impact of COVID-19 on sophomore to junior year and junior to senior year engineering students’ persistence and whether their persistence varies by gender, financial need, and race/ethnicity— thus extending our prior work that examined the impact of COVID-19 on first-year student persistence to their sophomore year (Authors, 2022). Specifically, we will use social capital theory as the lens to examine student persistence prior to and during COVID-19 disruptions. The study will leverage institutional data to examine persistence rates prior to and during COVID-19 at a large Hispanic serving institution (HSI) in the Southwest and a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) also in the Southwest. Specifically, we will follow four cohorts of students (approximately 3500 students per cohort at the HSI and approximately 400 students per cohort at the HBCU) for three semesters: (a) fall 2018 sophomore students, (b) fall 2019 sophomore students, (c) fall 2018 junior students, and (d) fall 2019 junior students. The sophomore and junior students’ persistence will be tracked over a period of three semesters – thus the pre-COVID-19 cohorts (i.e., fall 2018 cohorts) did not have their education disrupted over this time frame (fall 2018 to fall 2019) by COVID-19 while the COVID-19 cohorts (i.e., fall 2019 cohorts) did have their education disrupted in spring 2020. We will compare persistence rates using descriptive statistics of students from the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 cohorts. Because of the size of the sample, we will be able to break down the results further by gender, financial need, and race/ethnicity. This study represents the preliminary descriptive analyses for a planned study that will examine persistence during COVID-19 using a survival analysis. Extending our prior study of first-year to second-year persistence in engineering, this paper will seek to answer the following research questions: (1) What impact did the COVID-19 pandemic have on the persistence of undergraduate engineering students at the two universities? (2) Do demographic variables (i.e., gender, financial need, and race/ethnicity) of engineering students differentially relate to their persistence pre- and mid-COVID-19 at the two universities? The results will be situated in the existing literature, recommendations will be made for further research, and implications will be discussed.
This chapter explores the journey of a black, neurodiverse immigrant woman in the technology and engineering field. It begins by questioning the motivational phrase, “Don't be afraid to take up space,” and explores the author's understanding of fear and safety in the workplace. During a pivotal job interview, she expresses a desire to fail without being labeled a failure, revealing the intense pressures faced by women. Diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder at 35, the author reflects on the additional challenges posed by her neurodiversity. The chapter then describes the transformative experience of working in a supportive environment where she is encouraged to experiment, learn, and find her voice. This chapter includes the stories of other Black women in Technology and Engineering and concludes with a call to action for women of color in Technology and Engineering and their leaders.
The educational literature provides a roadmap for instructors and institutions that want to close equity gaps in coursework pass rates and degree outcomes for underrepresented minority (URM) students which include students who identify as Black, Hispanic, and/or Native American. It is to transition teaching methods from Transmission, telling students how to do things, to Inquiry, which has been shown to improve teaching and learning outcomes by incorporating students’ prior knowledge, ideas, and life experiences into the learning process, including unique questions, backgrounds, and connections they make to course content. In contrast to Inquiry, the ubiquitous Transmission method is mainly relied upon by instructors teaching large, gateway undergraduate engineering courses where the instructor is the keeper of the static knowledge that matters to students and students report they rely on their instructors to learn and are not developing their own learning methods and expertise. Inquiry encourages students to engage, identify their questions and misconceptions, design experiments and use evidence in the process of improving their understanding. By adopting Inquiry as the primary teaching method in engineering, instructors facilitate and guide students in the learning process, clarifying student prior knowledge, incorporating student questions and misconceptions, and eliciting student ideas about how they learn.
This paper presents findings from our research partnership, consisting of a psychometrician who is also Curriculum Advisor of Computer Science at Baskin Engineering at UC Santa Cruz and two faculty members in Computer Science and Engineering . We met weekly over the course of the academic year 2021-2022 to explore and refine our own understandings of what it means to teach and assess with Inquiry, and to develop practical examples to demonstrate Inquiry teaching as applied to engineering content. During our meetings, we unpacked evidence of equity gaps, explored methods for teaching that close them, and innovated practical examples of engineering content that illustrate pre and post differences, teaching before and after making the transition. Our efforts allowed us to design the Inquiry Teaching and Learning (ITL) framework as it relates specifically to the challenges engineering instructors face and offers a suggested pathway forward for faculty and programs that intend to transition from Transmission to Inquiry teaching, improve student learning to better resemble the thinking and work of engineers, and reduce persistent and historic equity gaps in engineering education.
By using institutional outcomes and pass rate data from our large, high stakes, foundational computer science course, CSE12 or Computer Systems and Assembly language, we were able to measure the efficacy of Inquiry teaching for improving student achievement by comparing results to previous course offerings before this pedagogical transition. The data analysis and course outcomes comparison suggest a significant reduction in the equity gap between URM and non-URM students because of the transition to Inquiry. We present the evidence of this and propose Inquiry and the ITL framework as what is needed to foster a new teaching mindset for faculty, undergraduate tutors, and teaching assistants that will improve student learning and close equity gaps between student subgroup populations.
Background
Researchers have shown that students leave undergraduate engineering programs during the first 2 years. Justifiably, many studies have tried to tackle engineering student persistence and attrition, especially during the first year, and then developed interventions to address the challenges. Although those interventions have improved freshmen retention in some institutions, less has been published on the impacts of these interventions on the sophomore student experience.
Purpose
To contribute to the knowledge base about all engineering students, we examined the experiences of sophomore engineering students and explored how these experiences might be related to their identities as engineers.
Design/Method
We conducted this study using photovoice, a methodology in which participants submit photographs to describe their experiences and give recommendations on improving their experiences and resolving their concerns. Participants submitted three sets of pictures (at the beginning, middle, and end of the semester) and participated in focus groups to aid in illuminating their experiences. We analyzed data using thematic analysis.
Results
We inductively determined three themes: on the frame, out of focus, and prefigures. These themes illustrate the experiences of sophomore engineering students, enabling us to see what interest, competence, and recognition as engineers looked like from their perspectives.
Conclusions
Participants grappled with the tension between their personal, social, and engineering identities. Photovoice empowered them to author and illustrate that they could exist beyond the murky middle.
A routine critique of programmatic accreditation in the academic discipline of sport management is the tangible return from investment in specialized accreditation. As the sole accrediting body offering programmatic accreditation in the field of sport management education, the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA) provides members with a systematic outcome-oriented approach to assist in the development of holistic sport management undergraduate and graduate degree programs. A strategic emphasis on professional competencies’ (e.g., Common Professional Components) and student outcomes’ assessment positions COSMA to be of unique value to accredited programs, specifically in the area of curriculum development. Utilizing direct student feedback, this study examined student perceptions of a sport management undergraduate curriculum at a COSMA-accredited institution. Results indicated that undergraduate students found COSMA-accredited sport management courses to be enjoyable, relevant, and of practical value. Findings are illustrative of the significance of programmatic accreditation through COSMA to the sampled institution in both systematic curriculum development and student perceptions of quality.
Background
The Journal of Engineering Education ( JEE ) is a leading academic journal that serves to cultivate, disseminate, and archive scholarly research in engineering education. Bibliometric analysis has been gaining considerable interest from the scientific community in recent years. However, to the best of our knowledge, bibliometric analysis was not employed to analyze the publications of JEE .
Purpose
In recognition of JEE 's 111 years of publication, this paper uses bibliometric analysis to provide a retrospective journal overview. This study analyzes the publication characteristics, influence, and collaborative relationship of JEE . It also provides data for the development of future research.
Method
A total of 1251 articles of JEE were retrieved from Scopus database for our bibliographic analysis using VOSviewer (Van Eck and Waltman, Scientometrics 2010; 84(2):523–538). The search was performed in mid‐November 2021 using the term “ Journal of Engineering Education ” in the “Publication Titles” field, yielding 1379 documents between 1969 and 2021. We excluded editorials and notes and only included articles, reviews, and conference papers.
Results
JEE has increasing contribution and influence within empirical engineering research publications regarding the quantity and the quality/citations of its published articles. The top contributing institutions are mainly from the United States. Major themes identified include knowledge acquisition and skill development, diversity and inclusion, engineering research and assessment, engineering learning mechanisms, and instrument and measurement.
Conclusions
Emerging technologies and challenges provide new research topics and directions for JEE . Additionally, this study uncovers certain research gaps that JEE— to increase contributions and influence—can identify as growth areas.
Source: 2007 American Society for Engineering Education Conference From the era of Sputnik through to the present, concerns about preparing sufficient numbers of engineers to meet the demands of industry and national security have gained national attention. From 1975 through 1999, attrition from science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs has continued to where the U.S. has slipped from third to fourteenth place among twenty countries worldwide in the proportion of twenty-four-year olds who hold STEM degrees. This research contributes to the body of literature relating to how environmental effects of classroom instruction, departmental culture, and institutional structure influence students' decisions to major in engineering. Implications of Findings Our data suggest that students' decisions whether or not to major in engineering are malleable. This provides both challenge and opportunity for those seeking to increase the numbers of undergraduates who complete degrees in engineering. If our initial analyses are borne out through further study, we believe that important but relatively minimal changes in classroom instruction as well as institutional structure and outreach could tilt the odds of students' declaring an engineering major in favor of doing so. Method and Background This study is part of the Center for the Advancement of Engineering Education (CAEE)—a longitudinal study of undergraduate engineering education involving five partner institutions. Data in this study is from two of the partner institutions that are part of the Academic Pathways Study (APS) research element of CAEE. There is a significant difference between these two institutions in terms of institutional focus and academic offerings—one (Coleman) offers a broad range of alternatives to majoring in engineering while the other (Mountain Tech) does not.
In this paper we develop an analytical framework we refer to as "Becoming an Engineer" that focuses upon changes occurring over time as students traverse their undergraduate educations in engi- neering. This analytical framework involves three related dimen- sions that we track over time: disciplinary knowledge, identifica- tion, and navigation. Our analysis illustrates how these three dimensions enable us to understand how students become, or do not become, engineers by examining how these three interrelated dimensions unfold over time. This study is based on longitudinal ethnographic data from which we have developed "person-centered ethnographies" focused on individual students' pathways through engineering. We present comparative analysis, spanning four schools and four years. We also present person-centered ethno- graphic case studies that illustrate how our conceptual dimensions interrelate. Our discussion draws some educational implications from our analysis and proposes further lines of research.
Various benefits of the Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) for the future of engineering education are discussed. EPICS is built around the concept of long-term partnerships between student teams and not-for-profit organizations in the community. EPICS create new opportunities to integrate what are often disparate components of the curriculum in order to better prepare the students. EPICS provides a time scale that bridges semesters and years to weave connections between content knowledge and design skills. The EPICS unique curricular structure enables each EPICS team to maintain a long-term relationship with its community partner and to successfully design and deliver products having significant technical complexity.
U.S. engineering education needs to evolve if the country is to maintain its preeminence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. This paper, building on both national engineering student data and findings from the Academic Pathways Study, conjectures and reports on analyses of what mat- ters to future generations of engineers. The paper compares the current generation of college students, Generation Net, with pre- vious generations, explores motivations and choices along the engineering pathway (pre-college to the workforce), examines students' knowledge and skills relative to faculty practices, and concludes with three scenarios of engineering education and the workforce, including the consequences of stasis or change.
This document is a descriptive account of the major features of the postsecondary academic experience and attainment of traditional-age students during the period 1972-2000, with an emphasis on the period 1992-2000. To provide this account, the report draws on three grade-cohort longitudinal studies that were designed and carried out by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), and within those studies, high school and (principally) college transcript records: (1) The National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972; (2) The High School and Beyond Longitudinal Study of 1980 Sophomores; and (3) The National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988. A glossary (variables used, in order of first appearance in the tables) is also included. Appended are: (1) Principal Features of the NCES Grade-Cohort Longitudinal Studies; (2) Decision Rules for Data Entry for the NELS: 88/2000 Postsecondary Transcript Study; (3) Technical Issues; and (4) Standard Errors for Selected Tables.
A pilot offering of an integrated freshman engineering curriculum took place at North Carolina State University in the 1994-95 academic year under the sponsorship of the National Science Foundation SUCCEED Coalition. In each semester the students took a calculus course, a physics course, and a one-credit engineering course, taught by a multidisciplinary team of professors. The instruction involved just-in-time presentation of fundamental material in the context of engineering problems and systems, hands-on experimentation and computer-based data analysis within most class sessions engineering design projects in each semester, extensive cooperative (team-based) learning, both in and out of class, and training in a variety of problem-solving, study, and communication skills. The paper outlines the curriculum structure and instructional approach, sketches the outcomes for the first year (detailed assessment and evaluation results will appear elsewhere), discusses obstacles to implementation of such integrated curricula, and suggests necessary conditions for overcoming the obstacles.
This second in a two-part series of papers on the methodology of research on college impact is concerned with problems in collecting data and in measuring environmental attributes of colleges. While any method of data collection is subject to certain unique types of systematic errors, the investigator has available several techniques for detecting such errors or for minimizing their efforts on his conclusions. Although the most popular methods for environmental assessment have utilized student perceptions, inferences concerning the observed "effects" of such measures are ambiguous in view of the possibility that the student's perception of his institution can itself be influenced by institutional impact. One possible solution to this problem is to base environmental measures on directly observable events rather than on perceptions.
Engineering, education to workplace, is not just about technical knowledge. Rather, who becomes an engineer and why says much about the profession. Engineering has a “diversity” problem. Like all professions, it must narrow the gap between practitioners on the one hand, and their clientele on the other; it must become “culturally competent.” Given the current composition of the engineering faculty and the profession's workforce more generally, it behooves engineering education to diversify while assisting current and future practitioners in becoming culturally competent. Programs that work to diversify engineering are reviewed, with research and evaluation-based findings applied to education and workforce practice.
The concept of student engagement, now prominent in the engi- neering education and higher education communities, has a long intellectual history. Yet only recently has attention focused on the role that faculty play as designers of educational environments to support student engagement. Drawing from examples and data from the Engineering Change study (which evaluated the impact of the new EC2000 accreditation standards on engineering pro- grams and student learning), the Academic Pathways Study of the Center for the Advancement of Engineering Education, and studies underway at the United States Air Force Academy, we explore the role of faculty, as the institutional agents who are most proximal to the student experience, in developing, facilitating, and sustaining high levels of student engagement.
An Introduction to Engineering course at the University of Florida was converted from a lecture-based offering to a laboratory format in a project sponsored by the Southeastern University and College Coalition for Engineering Education (SUCCEED) (NSF Cooperative Agreement No. EID-9109853). The revised course rotates student groups through laboratories in each of the undergraduate engineering disciplines. Majors and non-majors receive a grade for this one credit course which meets three hours per week. The laboratories employ active learning and a smaller class size to achieve two objectives: 1) to better inform students about the nature of engineering and its specific disciplines and 2) to improve the retention of these students in engineering. The achievement of the first objective has been shown in our earlier work.1,2 This paper focuses on the achievement of the latter objective, which is shown by a longitudinal study to be dramatically improved. The magnitude (a 17% improvement in retention for the general population and greater for women and minorities) is surprising for a single course, but reasons are suggested which might explain such a large effect.
In researching undergraduate engineering persistence, defined as declaring an engineering major, at a private research university, we had an unexpected finding: students who do not initially express an interest in engineering at admission were migrating into engineering. In fact, over 25 percent of engineering majors who entered the university as freshmen in 2003 had intended to study a non-engineering major. In this paper, we describe the engineering education research being undertaken as part of the Academic Pathways Study that led to our recognition of this group. Our research prompted further question-asking that challenges some of the traditional metaphors used to describe persistence and attrition in undergraduate education.
Faculty and administrators are more likely to take responsibility for student learning and development if they believe that assessment data represent their students and identify specific actions for improvement. An earlier study found that NSSE scalelets provide dependable metrics for assessing student engagement at the university, college, and department levels. Building on the earlier study, the findings of the current research indicate that the NSSE scalelets have greater explanatory power and provide richer detail than the NSSE benchmarks.
Presents an interview with George Kuh, who has been a leading proponent of focusing attention on the nature of the undergraduate experience--particularly the degree to which students are meaningfully engaged in a variety of educationally purposeful activities that enhance their learning and success. (GCP)
This longitudinal study is an investigation of the impact on student retention of a First-Year Engineering Projects (FYEP) course at a large public research university. Student retention was measured at the third, fifth and seventh semester for student takers and non-takers of a first-year, team-based design/build course. Retention data were analyzed across eight years for 5,070 students, representing 2,128 students who took the FYEP course (42%) and 2,942 students who did not take the course (58%). Significant retention gains were found for all student takers. The authors compare these results with reported retention data from other engineering institutions and discuss possible causes and ramifications of the findings.
This chapter discusses the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System as a tool for collecting data to be used in benchmarking studies.
We recount some of the most significant and colorful findings of our four-year study of gender issues in the undergraduate computer science program at Carnegie Mellon. We also discuss the subsequent dramatic increase in the number of women in the program. We conclude with recommendations for the most generally useful and effective actions departments can take to attract and retain female students.
Fewer students leave engineering studies when education programs link concepts to real-world practice.
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