Evolving Engineering Education: A Strategy to Improve Student Performance

Craig M. Harvey; Sarah Cooley Jones; Elizabeth Michelle Melvin; Roberto Champney

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Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: July 12, 2024
Conference Session: First-Year Programs Division Technical Session 1: Evolving First Year Programs
Tagged Division: First-Year Programs Division (FYP)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/47366

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Paper Authors

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Craig M. Harvey P.E. Georgia Southern University

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Dr. Harvey, P.E. is the Dean of Engineering and and Computing for the Paulson College of Engineering and Computing. Previous to this he was the Associate Dean of Engineering and Professor of Industrial Engineering at Louisiana State University (LSU). Dr. Harvey teaches and conducts research in the area of industrial and human factors engineering. He research has ranged from investigations into engineering design process, medical product usability, health care productivity, construction safety, and control room management. Dr. Harvey has worked with the Federal Aviation Administration, the United States Air Force, Roche Diagnostics, Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Louisiana Department of Economic Development, and the National Science Foundation on projects. Before joining the academic community, Dr. Harvey was a consultant of business process reengineering for KnowledgeWare where he worked with Whirlpool and Ford Motor Company. Before that, he was the manager of business process reengineering for the Student Loan Marketing Association where he was responsible for the reengineering involved in the implementation of a $55 million document imaging project. As well, Dr. Harvey served seven years active duty and 13 years in the reserves for the United States Air Force working both in facility design/construction and retired from the Air Force Reserve in 2007. Dr. Harvey has a total of over 50 technical publications in human factors engineering. Dr. Harvey is a senior member of the Institute of Industrial Engineers and Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

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Sarah Cooley Jones Louisiana State University and A&M College

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Elizabeth Michelle Melvin Clemson University

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Elizabeth M. Melvin is currently a Lecturer in the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department at Clemson University. She earned her BS in chemical engineering from The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH in 2002 and her MS and PhD from NC State in 2008 and 2010. Dr. Melvin held a number of positions in industry with companies such as Dow Corning (now Dow), Johns Manville, and Hospira. Her passion is helping students succeed in engineering and getting the next generation of students interested in pursuing engineering degrees.

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Roberto Champney

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Abstract

Improving student performance is an evolving element in engineering education and this full evidence-based practice paper will discuss some practices that contribute to student performance. A student entering an engineering college in the 1980s may have heard the phrase, “Look to the left, look to the right, only one of you will become an engineer.” While some of us may have heard that phrase when entering college, today the aspirational objective should be, “Look to the left, look to the right, all three of you have the opportunity to graduate as an engineer.”

Several factors are creating challenges in meeting this aspirational objective: student preparation, student demographics, and student to college adaptation [1][2][3][4][5].

Student preparation is one of the most challenging elements a college can face. Incoming student population preparation is changing. Over the last 5 years, students that are entering engineering are less prepared in the state of Louisiana because over 20% of all the math and science classes taught are short of adequately prepared teachers [4][6].

The student demographics is also changing. The percentage of first-generation students has increased over 17% since 2012. Underrepresented minorities have increased over 8% and Pell grant recipients has also increased over 8%. These changes in student make-up are positive as engineering expands and diversifies its student population [1].

Strategically, the Louisiana State University College of Engineering (CoE) decided that programs must be implemented to give students the best opportunity for success. As a college, in the heat of the pandemic and with industry support, several programs were developed including a summer academic (calculus) bridge course, peer mentoring programs, and structured first-year student tutoring within the college.

Bridge to Engineering Excellence (BEE) was started as an online program the summer of 2020 to prepare incoming first-year engineering and computer science students for differential and integral calculus, build connections with current successful engineering students, and introduce student success skills. Big Sibling Mentoring is a peer mentoring program that builds relationships between freshmen and upperclassmen with similar backgrounds through a formal program. The goal is to provide students with insight that improves the transition to college and to ultimately increase CoE retention and graduation of students. EXcellence in Calculus/STEM for Engineering Leadership and Diversity (EXCELD) is a student peer tutoring program that was established in the college for freshman-level math and science courses.

The implementation of these programs for CoE majors at LSU are impacting the retention of students and creating a connected community of students. This paper will present more of a case study assessment of the three programs designed to help engineering students reach success.

Citation
Format

Harvey, C. M., & Jones, S. C., & Melvin, E. M., & Champney, R. (2024, June), Evolving Engineering Education: A Strategy to Improve Student Performance Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/47366

TY - CPAPER
AB - Improving student performance is an evolving element in engineering education and this full evidence-based practice paper will discuss some practices that contribute to student performance. A student entering an engineering college in the 1980s may have heard the phrase, “Look to the left, look to the right, only one of you will become an engineer.” While some of us may have heard that phrase when entering college, today the aspirational objective should be, “Look to the left, look to the right, all three of you have the opportunity to graduate as an engineer.”

Several factors are creating challenges in meeting this aspirational objective: student preparation, student demographics, and student to college adaptation [1][2][3][4][5].

Student preparation is one of the most challenging elements a college can face. Incoming student population preparation is changing. Over the last 5 years, students that are entering engineering are less prepared in the state of Louisiana because over 20% of all the math and science classes taught are short of adequately prepared teachers [4][6].

The student demographics is also changing. The percentage of first-generation students has increased over 17% since 2012. Underrepresented minorities have increased over 8% and Pell grant recipients has also increased over 8%. These changes in student make-up are positive as engineering expands and diversifies its student population [1].

Strategically, the Louisiana State University College of Engineering (CoE) decided that programs must be implemented to give students the best opportunity for success. As a college, in the heat of the pandemic and with industry support, several programs were developed including a summer academic (calculus) bridge course, peer mentoring programs, and structured first-year student tutoring within the college.

Bridge to Engineering Excellence (BEE) was started as an online program the summer of 2020 to prepare incoming first-year engineering and computer science students for differential and integral calculus, build connections with current successful engineering students, and introduce student success skills. Big Sibling Mentoring is a peer mentoring program that builds relationships between freshmen and upperclassmen with similar backgrounds through a formal program. The goal is to provide students with insight that improves the transition to college and to ultimately increase CoE retention and graduation of students. EXcellence in Calculus/STEM for Engineering Leadership and Diversity (EXCELD) is a student peer tutoring program that was established in the college for freshman-level math and science courses.

The implementation of these programs for CoE majors at LSU are impacting the retention of students and creating a connected community of students. This paper will present more of a case study assessment of the three programs designed to help engineering students reach success.

AU - Craig M. Harvey P.E.
AU - Sarah Cooley Jones
AU - Elizabeth Michelle Melvin
AU - Roberto Champney
CY - Portland, Oregon
DA - 2024/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Evolving Engineering Education: A Strategy to Improve Student Performance
UR - https://peer.asee.org/47366
ER -