Correlating Course Attendance with Factors of First-Generation Status, Gender, and Economic Status
- Conference
- Location
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Indianapolis, Indiana
- Publication Date
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June 15, 2014
- Start Date
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June 15, 2014
- End Date
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June 18, 2014
- ISSN
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2153-5965
- Conference Session
- Tagged Division
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Engineering Technology
- Page Count
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13
- Page Numbers
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24.321.1 - 24.321.13
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--20212
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/20212
- Download Count
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434
Paper Authors
Jason K. Durfee P.E. Eastern Washington University
Jason Durfee is a Professor of Engineering & Design at Eastern Washington University. He received his BS and MS degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Brigham Young University. He holds a Professional Engineer certification. Prior to teaching at Eastern Washington University, he was a military pilot, an engineering instructor at West Point and an airline pilot. His interests include aerospace, aviation, computational fluid dynamics, professional ethics, and piano technology.
William R. Loendorf Eastern Washington University
William R. Loendorf is a Full Professor, Emeritus of Engineering & Design at Eastern Washington University. He obtained his B.Sc. in Engineering Science at the University of Wisconsin - Parkside, M.S. in Electrical Engineering at Colorado State University, M.B.A. at the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management, and Ph.D. in Engineering Management at Walden University. He holds a Professional Engineer license and has 30 years of industrial experience as an Engineer or Engineering Manager at General Motors, Cadnetix, and Motorola. His interests include engineering management, technological literacy, improving the competitiveness of American companies, and real-time embedded systems.
Doris M. Munson Eastern Washington University
Donald C. Richter Eastern Washington University
DONALD C. RICHTER obtained his B. Sc. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from The Ohio State University, M.S. and Ph.D. in Engineering from the University of Arkansas. He is currently a Full Professor at Eastern Washington University. He holds a Professional Engineer certification and worked as an Engineer and Engineering Manager in industry for over 20 years before teaching. His interests include engineering education, project management, robotics /automation and air pollution dispersion modeling.
Terence Geyer Eastern Washington University
Terence Geyer is the Program Director of Applied Technology in the Department of Engineering & Design at Eastern Washington University. He obtained his B.S. in Manufacturing Technology and M.Ed. in Adult Education in a specially combined program of Technology and Education at Eastern Washington University. His interests include collecting and re-manufacturing older technologies.
Martin William Weiser Eastern Washington University
Martin Weiser is an Assistant Professor in the Engineering and Design Department at Eastern Washington University. He earned his BS in Ceramic Engineering from the Ohio State University and his MS and PhD in Materials Science and Mineral Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. He then joined the Mechanical Engineering department at the University of New Mexico where he taught Materials Science, Thermodynamics, Manufacturing Engineering, and Technical Communication. Martin then joined Johnson Matthey Electronics/Honeywell Electronic Materials where he held positions in Technical Service, Product Management, Six Sigma, and Research & Development. He is an inventor on a dozen patents and patent applications and has published over 30 papers and book chapters on topics including ceramic processing, Pb-free solder development, experimental design, and biomechanics. His current research focuses on rocket propellant characterization, fin flutter, and heat transfer.
A. Hossain Eastern Washington University
Dr. Hossain is an Associate Professor in the Department of Engineering and Design at Eastern Washington University, Cheney. His research interests involve the computational and experimental analysis of lightweight space structures and composite materials. Dr. Hossain received M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Materials Engineering and Science from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, South Dakota.
Hani Serhal Saad Eastern Washington University
B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Marquette University
PhD. in Mechanical Engineering, Washington State University
Abstract
Correlating Course Attendance with Factors of First-Generation Status, Gender, and Economic StatusAbstractA few years ago, members of our Engineering & Design Department began a study to determinethe effects of class attendance on student success. Today’s engineering and technology studentshave grown up in a very different environment from the students of 20 years ago. They accessinformation and engage in social contact through digital media and they often have almostinstant access to this digital media through portable, wireless devices. There is a thought thatwith this greater connectivity they may not respond in the same manner to the teaching methodsof past generations of students. More specifically, the students of today may not feel the sameneed to be physically present in their classes in order to be successful. Initial results presented atthe American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) Annual Conference and Exposition in2012 determined attendance correlates with student success and the correlation changes duringthe progression of a student throughout their undergraduate experience. Results presented at theASEE 2013 Conference indicated that an instructor’s attendance policy did not significantlyaffect overall attendance rates of students that earned high grades in a course but did affect thestudents that earned lower grades. This current paper discusses if there is a significantrelationship between student attendance and the following three factors: status as a first-generation college attendee, gender, and economic status. Four different instructors havegathered attendance data since 2008 for approximately 20 classes per year ranging fromfreshman to senior students in programs of Mechanical Engineering, Mechanical EngineeringTechnology, Manufacturing Technology, Design Technology, Construction Management,Applied Technology, and a service course to the general student body. Additionally, the studyprovides the ability to track an individual student over their entire undergraduate education. Acorrelation between student attendance and the student characteristics of first-generation status,gender, and economic status exists and this paper will discuss this in detail.
Durfee, J. K., & Loendorf, W. R., & Munson, D. M., & Richter, D. C., & Geyer, T., & Weiser, M. W., & Hossain, A., & Saad, H. S. (2014, June), Correlating Course Attendance with Factors of First-Generation Status, Gender, and Economic Status Paper presented at 2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Indianapolis, Indiana. 10.18260/1-2--20212
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