Conference Session

FPD2 -- Highlighting First-Year Programs

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kristin Wilhelm, University of Virginia; Benjamin Kidd, University of Virginia; P. Paxton Marshall, University of Virginia

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

made a lasting impact. Questions sought to address the maindesign project (building, working with clients and deadlines) and the less glamorous (in students’minds) but equally important class discussions and required paperwork. While personalrelationships developed and maintained with the students led us to believe that we would findthat the class was a hit because it was fun and creative, one of our main goals when creatingsurvey questions was to ensure that they were not ‘leading.’ To that end, the final survey was amix of open-ended short answer questions (Part I) and questions asking for answers scaled from(1) strongly disagree to (5) strongly agree (Part II). Of the forty students enrolled in the class,there were twenty one responses

Conference Session

FPD6 -- Early Intervention & Retention Programs

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cindy Foor, University of Oklahoma; Susan Walden, University of Oklahoma; Tyler Combrink, University of Oklahoma; Lindsey McClure, University of Oklahoma; Deborah Trytten, University of Oklahoma

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

being seven ages. ~William Shakespeare-All the World’s a Stage from As You Like ItWilliam Shakespeare’s As You Like It begins with a soliloquy called “The Seven Ages of Man,”that addresses human transitions from infancy to childhood to schoolboy to young lover andbeyond.1 With all due respect to Mr. Shakespeare, we are borrowing the metaphor of a stage andactors to frame an interpretation of the responses of 185 engineering and physics undergraduatesto the question: “What advice if any would you offer incoming students to the College ofEngineering?” Unlike Shakespeare who characterized his schoolboy as “creeping like a snail,unwillingly to school,” we found undergraduate engineering students to be eager for thetransition to

Conference Session

FPD9 -- Technology & Textbooks

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

S. Keith Hargrove, Morgan State University; Marie Dahleh, Harvard University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

needand desire to reduce the gap in student learning and real world problem solving asgraduates enter the workforce. The National Academy of Engineering has appealed toengineering programs to integrate theory and practice in the curriculum, and introducemore innovative learning methods that simulate industrial decision making in theclassroom and laboratory [1]. Hence, the challenge for engineering educators is the useof more innovative methods for instruction and learning to replicate real world problemsolving, and provide an environment for intellectual exchange of ideas and solutions in aclassroom setting. This is further reinforced by the Accreditation Board for Engineeringand Technology (ABET) to encourage the use of a cadre of tools and

Conference Session

FPD2 -- Highlighting First-Year Programs

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeffrey Connor, Virginia Tech; Vinod Lohani, Virginia Tech; Kumar Mallikarjunan, Virginia Tech; G. Loganathan, Virginia Tech; Jenny Lo, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

investigators for use in thefall of 2005. The goals of the experiment were to provide a hands-on experience of datacollection and analysis, demonstrate the concept of systems modeling in engineering, and havethe students solve the same problem in a number of different ways. These goals were in directsupport of the NSF/DLR grant objective of introducing topics in the freshman year that would beexpanded upon in upper level courses. A falling head experiment was chosen as the vehicle toaccomplish the goals. The problem was to consider an inverted and truncated cone (conicalfrustum) water reservoir with an orifice at the bottom. Analysis was made of the decreasingheight of water surface with an open valve as is summarized in Table 1.Table 1: Water Tower

Conference Session

FPD1 -- Implementing a First-Year Engineering Course

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dana Elzey, University of Virginia

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

one another, and thus did not form a coherent learning experience. As aconsequence, students looking to make connections between their interests and the world ofengineering were often disappointed. Also, the early stages of open-ended problem solving, in whicha problem or opportunity is identified and defined, were of necessity left out entirely.In response to these shortcomings, an experimental section of ENGR 162 was developed for testingin Fall 2002. Only one of thirteen sections would be taught using the new design, which wasdeveloped on the basis of an emerging educational reform initiative at UVA, known as EngineeringIn Context (EIC)1. The fundamental basis for the EIC approach is that the absence of realisticcontext in engineering

Conference Session

FPD8 -- Systems, Nanotechnology & Programming

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Helen Burn, University of Michigan; James Holloway, University of Michigan

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

industrial supporters, which exposed problems with student motivation in a required,first-year course in computing and programming. This paper describes the nature of aninstructional intervention designed by the lead instructor for the course aimed to increasestudents’ perception that computer programming and algorithmic thinking are (1) important and(2) useful to engineering majors. The conceptual framework for the study derives from Wigfieldand Eccles’10 expectancy/value model of student motivation. Multiple regression analysis ofstudent survey responses revealed that students in the treatment group were more likely thanthose in a comparable, untreated, group to believe it is important that engineering majors learn toprogram, which suggests that

Conference Session

FPD5 -- Placement & Early Success

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mwarumba Mwavita, Oklahoma State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

unprecedented level of national interest.The 2003 National Science Foundation report emphasized that Science and technology willcontinue to be the engines of the US economic growth and national security 1. The report furtherindicates serious problems lying ahead that may threaten U.S. long-term prosperity and nationalsecurity. Among various trends is a reduced domestic student interest in critical areas, such asengineering and the physical and mathematical sciences1. Future projections indicate thatemployment in engineering and science will increase by 51 percent or approximately 1.9 millionjobs by the year 2008. 2 Numerous studies have examined plausible explanations and factors contributing to dropoutrates among engineering students in many of the

Conference Session

FPD6 -- Early Intervention & Retention Programs

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Steven Bradley, Indiana University; Walter Bradley, Baylor University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

Table 1. High School vs. CollegeMany studies have determined that the most commonreason that outstanding high school students see theirGPA drop by ~1.0 during their freshmen year incollege1 is their lack of time management and studyskills.2-4 As Table 1 illustrates, learning in high schoolis primarily in class while a significant part oflearning in college is outside of class, requiring up to500% more outside study time than was required inhigh school. Furthermore, the much faster pace ofpresentation of material in college and the largerintervals between exams make the usual high schoolstrategy of procrastinating and then cramming untenable.Poor time management and study skills are particularly damaging to retention in engineering,where the

Conference Session

FPD7 -- Service Learning

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lorelle Meadows, University of Michigan; Samantha Jarema, University of Michigan

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

Page 11.185.2the capacity to function in a team environment, communication skills and the broad educationnecessary to understand their impact in a global and societal context. With the dawning of the21st century, and the movement toward a global social consciousness, the engineer can no longeroperate in a vacuum, but must embrace the professional skills which were previously lacking intraditional education and move beyond the cold stereotype to solve problems of global andsocietal importance 1. It is the responsibility of our educational institutions at the highest levelsto engage students in an educational program that redefines engineering in this context, byincreasing the relevance of undergraduate education to modern engineering

Conference Session

FPD6 -- Early Intervention & Retention Programs

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carrie Slater, Virginia Tech; Whitney Edmister, Virginia Tech; Bevlee Watford, Virginia Tech; Jean Kampe, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

the CoE.As reported in the January 2005 issue of the ASEE’s Prism, Virginia Tech was awarded a five-year $2 million NSF STEM Talent Expansion Program (STEP) Grant to increase its number ofgraduates in engineering and computer science.1 As part of the efforts to that end, the peermentoring programs were expanded during the fall semester 2005 to include all interested first-year students admitted to the CoE. Building on the success of the initial CEED programs, theprojected increase was to serve 400 students with the creation of two new peer-mentoringprograms, General Undergraduate Engineering Support Teams (GUEST) and Network forEngineering Transfer Students (NETS). With the implementation of GUEST and NETS, thenumber of first-year students

Conference Session

FPD2 -- Highlighting First-Year Programs

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Marc Christensen, Southern Methodist University; David Willis, Southern Methodist University; Scott Douglas, Southern Methodist University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

. Page 11.71.2© American Society for Engineering Education, 2006 A Modular Approach for Combining First-Year Design Experiences Across Engineering DisciplinesAbstract: We describe a joint effort to integrate engineering design in the first-yearcourses across the curricula of multiple departments at the host institution. A modulardesign approach allows for student interaction and teaming across two different designexercises, and early exposure of students from each engineering discipline is emphasized.Survey results indicate that the intervention is helpful in promoting engineering designand inter-discipline awareness for the students.1. IntroductionRecent data collected from U.S. colleges and universities indicate that

Conference Session

FPD8 -- Systems, Nanotechnology & Programming

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Youssef Allam, Ohio State University; David Tomasko, Ohio State University; John Merrill, Ohio State University; Bruce Trott, Ohio State University; Phil Schlosser, Ohio State University; Paul Clingan, Ohio State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

spend the first four weeks benchmarking a generic chip design with experiments todetermine performance on various features. They also use this period of time to design their ownchip by using knowledge gained from the benchmarking activities to produce a chip that willoutperform the generic design. Figure 1 shows the currently used generic chip design. Thedeadline for the student teams to submit designs for external photolithography processing is thefourth lab session. 1. PDMS Lab-on-a-Chip 2. Staging wells (sample introduced) 2 3. Channels with capillary valves 2 4. Detection well 3 5. Waste well 3 6. Team logo

Conference Session

FPD9 -- Technology & Textbooks

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mark Urban-Lurain, Michigan State University; Jon Sticklen, Michigan State University; Neeraj Buch, Michigan State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

correctness of their answers were positively correlated with their performancein other parts of the course. In both courses, it appears that students with lower GPAs whoparticipated in PRS questions benefited as much as or more than other students, suggesting thatusing PRS may help students who are at-risk academically.IntroductionPersonal Response Systems (PRS or “clickers”) are hand-held transmitters that allow students torespond to questions in class, with their responses recorded on the instructor’s computer. Thesesystems allow instructors to move away from didactic lecture formats towards more activelearning strategies that encourage student participation and are consistent with research on activelearning 1. Perhaps one of the best-known

Conference Session

FPD7 -- Service Learning

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Thompson, Purdue University; William Oakes, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

-learning model with first-year students.Purdue University’s First-Year Engineering ProgramPurdue University’s Department of Engineering Education has responsibility for all of theapproximately 1650 first-year engineering students. All engineering students are required tocomplete a common first year core of classes shown in Table 1 before matriculating to theirrespective engineering major. Minimum grade levels are established for matriculation to themajor of their choice. The department includes ten tenure track faculty and four academicadvisors. This department has the responsibility for all of the academic advising for first-yearstudents and primary teaching responsibility for the engineering lectures, seminars, help andassistance courses as well

Conference Session

FPD8 -- Introductory Courses

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Darryl Morrell, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

offered in the context of a multi disciplinary engineering program, rather than as part of adiscipline specific engineering program or as a freshman level service course.1.2 Course Design ChallengesMany of the challenges in the design of the course stem from issues faced by all engineering Page 12.458.2freshmen. A significant fraction of students do not yet employ a systematic approach to problemsolving; most of the students cannot clearly articulate their problem solving approach. Students 1 Table 1: Student learning objectives. 1. The student employs a

Conference Session

FPD4 -- Hands-on & Real-World Studies

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Larry Bland, John Brown University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

experience. Akey element of modifying the course to include global issues was to maintain current objectives,introduce them from a global perspective, and not overload this introductory course for either thestudent or the professor. This paper will describe the original course content, changes that weremade to incorporate global/cultural issues, course assessments and lessons learned.Original contentThis course is a two-hour lecture/discussion class that teaches basic engineering concepts and thedesign process. The original course contained elements that have been common to manyengineering programs across the nation. Course objectives are to understand: 1) what isengineering? 2) what is the role of ABET and how does this impact educational

Conference Session

FPD 2: Retention

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Anant R. Kukreti, University of Cincinnati; Kristen Strominger, University of Cincinnati - School of Energy, Environmental, Biological and Medical Engineering; Urmila Ghia, University of Cincinnati

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

Professorships, two national ASEE teaching awards, and is internationally recognized in his primary research field.Ms. Kristen Strominger, University of Cincinnati - School of Energy, Environmental, Biological and MedicalEngineering Kristen Strominger is the STEM Program Coordinator working under Anant Kukreti on the NSF Type 1 STEP Project in the School of Energy, Environmental, Biological and Medical Engineering at the Uni- versity of Cincinnati (UC). Kristen completed her master’s degree in Higher Education, Student Affairs at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida previous to beginning her position at UC in July 2012. She plans, designs, evaluates and modifies programs supported by the NSF Type 1 STEP Grant in the

Conference Session

FPD 6: Transitions and Student Success, Part II

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stacy Holander Gleixner, San Jose State University; Katherine Casey, SJSU College of Engineering; Jared T. Tuberty, San Jose State University; Sanela Latic; Patricia R Backer, San Jose State University; Emily L. Allen, San Jose State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

classroom. However, these students have a lowerpositive “perception of the work engineers do and for the engineering profession”. 1 A majorcomponent of the EXCEED project is to emphasize the social relevance of STEM careers.Extensive research has documented the need for integrating student success practices into thefirst year to increase student success in science and engineering. Research indicates that high-impact practices significantly increase student retention among all students, but especiallyunderrepresented students.2,3,4,5,6,7 These activities often provide students with an identifiablepeer group and make the campus feel more intimate. Several studies have also reported that highimpact practices improve retention rates in STEM fields.8,9

Conference Session

FPD 4: First-Year Engineering Courses, Part I: Multimedia, Large Classes, and TAs

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Farshid Marbouti, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Kelsey Joy Rodgers, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Hyunyi Jung, Purdue University; Alena Moon, Purdue University; Heidi A. Diefes-Dux, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

undergraduate instruction. Atlarger research institutions, graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) serve to teach most of thelaboratory and discussion sections.1 There has also been a movement towards usingundergraduate teaching assistants (UTAs) in an instructional capacity, specifically forintroductory courses as they provide structure for courses with large numbers of students.2-4These TAs are in a unique position by serving as both students and teachers simultaneously.A significant portion of research regarding TAs has focused on training and supporting TAs.5-7One of the problems is that many teaching assistants reported being assigned to undergraduatecourses with no prior training.8 In the case of GTAs, they are assumed to have the contentknowledge

Conference Session

First-Year Programs (FPD) Poster Session

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stephen Zahorian, Binghamton University; Mike Elmore, Binghamton University; Kyle J. Temkin, Binghamton University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

declining interest of US students in the STEM disciplines relative toother choices available to students. Within engineering and computer science, educators arecoping with large increases in undergraduate enrollment in some disciplines (for example,mechanical engineering) and large declines in enrollment in others (for example electricalengineering and computer science after the “dot com” collapse 1). Over a period of four academicyears, Binghamton University has held a student survey designed to rank the factors whichinfluence choice of major. This work examines the results of these surveys, as collected from apool of approximately 300 freshman engineering-intended majors, each year. Three factors wererated by students as most important in their

Conference Session

FPD 7: First-Year Engineering Courses, Part II: Perceptions and Paradigms

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Janaki Isabella Perera, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering; Brendan Thomas Quinlivan, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering; Yevgeniya V. Zastavker, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

Undergraduate Engineering Education in First-Year Engineering, Physics, and Mathematics CoursesAbstractExamining the perceptions of first-year undergraduates and their instructors can provide insightinto these students’ experiences and shed light on the emerging issues of student attrition andlack of preparedness for the workforce.1-3 Students’ perceptions about introductory courses havebeen examined in previous work.4 On the other hand, as the high rate of university studentdropouts has frequently been attributed to the poor quality of teaching in first-year undergraduatecourses, this study aims to investigate the perceptions of faculty members instructing first-yearundergraduates.5Our analysis results in several emergent themes, which

Conference Session

First-Year Programs (FPD) Poster Session

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James J. Pembridge, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Univ., Daytona Beach; Matthew A Verleger, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Univ., Daytona Beach

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

mechanics, and solid mechanics).At a small private institution in the Southern region of the United States there is currently acorequisite requirement of Calculus I for students taking Physics I, but a perceived lack ofmathematical ability has indicated that the Calculus I course should be a prerequisite for PhysicsI and subsequently Calculus II as a prerequisite for Physics II. The physics courses primarilyutilize differentiation and integration of algebraic and elementary trigonometric functions taughtin the calculus courses. Descriptions of these courses can be seen in Table 1.Literature has identified math and physics aptitude as a predictor of academic success incollege[1, 2]. Within these studies math and physics aptitude was represented by

Conference Session

First-Year Programs (FPD) Poster Session

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Silverstein, University of California, Los Angeles

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

, more than half switched to a different, non-engineering, STEM major.This paper describes the course. The Background that led to this course is contained atAppendix 1.For the past 5 years I have taught an upper-division undergraduate course in engineering careerskills and ethics at UCLA. (see Appendix 2, Syllabus of ENG185 “The Art of EngineeringEndeavors” .) As part of the class, students write a short, ungraded biography which describestheir reasons and preparation for their engineering studies. In addition, students take a survey(also ungraded) that further illuminates their preparation and interests relative to engineering andan engineering career (Appendix 3.) Based upon the information I collected and the experience Igained talking to and

Conference Session

FPD 5: Transitions and Student Success, Part I

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elizabeth Anne Stephan, Clemson University; Christine C Murphy, Clemson University Academic Success Center

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

to 8 activities in a semester. This list includes workshops, guest speakers, andactivities designed to help students improve study skills or explore different majors. Once anactivity has been completed, the person in charge of the activity will sign under the "Verified"location, and the students will turn in the worksheet in class. An example of the worksheet isshown in Table 1.Table 1. Example of bonus opportunities in Fall 2012. Page 23.658.2Two very popular activities are the "CoES Student Organizations Fair" and "Alumni and MajorMix and Mingle." In the Organizations Fair, the various clubs and organizations in the collegeare allowed to

Conference Session

FPD 7: First-Year Engineering Courses, Part II: Perceptions and Paradigms

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Thalia Anagnos, San Jose State University; Burford J. Furman, San Jose State University; Ping Hsu, San Jose State University; Patricia R Backer, San Jose State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

design workand teamwork was done outside of class. Projects included disassembling a household object anddescribing the components, and designing a penny launcher, a rubber band-powered flyingmachine, and a balsa-wood bridge. These projects all used materials that students could easilyfind around the house or at a local grocery store, making the projects easily accessible. On theother hand, many were similar to projects students had done in high school science courses.Assessments showed gains in student knowledge about, and positive attitudes towards,engineering as a career9. Gains were significant in knowledge areas (ranging from 1 to 1.6 on afive point scale for most areas); however the changes in attitudes were very modest (1 to 5percentage

Conference Session

FPD 8: Engineering Math Issues

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Heath A Schluterman, University of Arkansas; Kellie Schneider, University of Arkansas; Adrienne L. Gaines, University of Arkansas

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

alternative to the Precalculus course. E-Mathis modeled after a similar course developed at Wright State University [1]. The course coversmany of the topics from the Precalculus course (in the context of engineering applications) aswell as topics heavily used in sophomore-level engineering courses (including derivatives andintegrals). To date, over 370 students have taken the course, and an additional 66 students areenrolled this spring.In this paper, we discuss the evolution of the E-Math course structure since its implementationincluding our work with the Department of Mathematical Sciences in having the courserecognized as a prerequisite to the Calculus I course. We evaluate the retention rates andprogression through the math sequence of students

Conference Session

FPD 9: First-Year Engineering Courses, Part III: Research, Sustainability, and Professionalism

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Leonardo Bedoya-Valencia, Colorado State University, Pueblo; Ding Yuan, Colorado State University - Pueblo; Jane M. Fraser, Colorado State University, Pueblo

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

teaching engineering students about sustainability, sustainabledevelopment, and sustainable design is also evident on the basis of the number of paperspresented at the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) annual conference thatincluded these keywords in their titles, which increased from 1 to 3 papers in the 1998–2002period to 27 papers in 2009 to 36 in 2012. Page 23.726.2Additionally, the Code of Ethics for the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE)states that engineers have an ethical obligation to hold paramount the health, safety and welfareof the public in the performance of their professional duties (NSPE website at

Conference Session

First-Year Programs (FPD) Poster Session

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elizabeth Anne Stephan, Clemson University; Edward Randolph Collins Jr. P.E., Clemson University; Chris Porter, Clemson University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

high academic standards,inclusiveness, collaboration and a drive to excel.

Located in a college-town setting, Clemson boasts a 17,500-acre forest, a 295-acre botanicalgarden and a lakefront setting. Undergraduate enrollment is managed to ensure small classes, an18-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio, and high retention and graduation rates. Clemson scores abovethe national average on student engagement and satisfaction surveys, and has earned nationalrecognition for living-learning communities, Creative Inquiry, writing across the curriculum andparticipation in community service1.Clemson University is divided into five colleges. The engineering program is housed in theCollege of Engineering and Science, which is comprised of 15 schools and

Conference Session

FPD 8: Teaching Design in the First Year

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeffrey Scott Bates, University of Utah

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

exposure to engineering design and createrealistic expectations for a major and a career in engineering.Introduction Within the College of Engineering at the University of Utah, there are eight majorsoffered. While the retention rate of students in the program has not been low, there are barriersin place that do not allow for an easy transition between departments. Furthermore, otherresearch universities across the US have implemented first-year engineering courses to helpstudents gain a better understanding of engineering and design at an earlier point in theiracademic programs.1-9 These universities have reported higher retention rates because not onlyhave students gained more realistic expectations of engineering, but they have also

Conference Session

FPD 9: First-Year Projects

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Thomas Shepard, University of St. Thomas; Broderick W. Carlin, University of St. Thomas

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

which involve students from multipleengineering disciplines as well as classes which are shorter than the more common four creditintroduction to engineering class. At the University of St. Thomas introduction to engineering isa 1 credit course which has both electrical (~20%) and mechanical engineering students (~80%)and is comprised of a 100 minute lecture and a 100 minute lab that meet each week during a 14week semester. The curriculum is heavily geared towards project-based and hands-on learningwith a goal of exposing students to many facets of engineering.There are many works out there which show that students, and specifically first-year engineeringstudents, learn by doing and retention can be improved by incorporating hands-on projects