Conference Session

FPD VIII: Crossing Bridges and Easing Transitions into the First Year

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bernard White, George Mason University; Eileen Patricia Mazzone, George Mason University; Vicki L. Dominick, George Mason University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

-week (July 11th through August 13th) Online Summer 2010 BridgeProgram. Finally, some reflections and plans for refining and broadening the academic concepts,skills, and support services for next year’s Online Summer Bridge Program are also presented. Afollow-up paper will be prepared on the effectiveness of the Online Summer Bridge Programafter we have had time to collect sufficient data and make comparisons of the academicperformances of the On-Campus versus Online Summer Bridge Program participants.Background Information on Summer Bridge ProgramsThe Virginia-North Carolina (VA-NC) Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation(LSAMP) Program received a five-year grant from the National Science Foundation during thesummer of 2007. The goal

Conference Session

FPD II: Increasing Engagement and Motivation of First-Year Students

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

George Roesch Johnson, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Engineering Professional Development

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

included a summary of the author’s mainpoints, a discussion of the author’s sources and finally their critical reflection on the material. Preand Post surveys of each student’s view of their future role in science and engineering wereconducted to determine any change in perception or attitude. Further weekly emails sent by thestudents were collected to determine their growing awareness and confidence in theirunderstanding of each week’s reading and discussion. In response to the reading assignments onmedia and learning, a few students generated their own digital documentaries of student life. Thefindings from pre and post class surveys, along with the final anonymous student evaluations,indicated that most students found the class helped them

Conference Session

FPD X: First-Year Design with Projects, Modeling, and Simulation

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Naomi C. Chesler, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Cynthia M. D'Angelo, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Golnaz Arastoopour, University of Wisconsin, Madison; David Williamson Shaffer, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

in developing theepistemic frame of many professions, especially those that require innovation, is some form ofprofessional practicum7,8, which is an environment in which a learner takes professional actionin a supervised setting and then reflects on the results with peers and mentors. Skills andknowledge become more and more closely tied as the student/learner learns to see the worldusing the epistemic frame of the profession. Cornerstone and capstone design courses inundergraduate curricula are examples of professional practica in engineering.Prior work has also shown that epistemic games—learning environments where students game-play to develop the epistemic frame of a profession—increase students’ understanding of andinterest in the

Conference Session

FPD IV: Improving Student Success: Mentoring, Intervening, and Supplementing

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dianne Raubenheimer, North Carolina State University; Jerome P. Lavelle, North Carolina State University; Monica Terrell Leach, North Carolina State University; Steven L. White, North Carolina State University ; Philip Albert Moses, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

of the institution. Formore than four decades researchers and practitioners have created an extensive body of literatureexploring retention. But while the field possesses infinite theoretical schemas, Tinto 7 suggeststhat complex theoretical principles are unbeneficial for practitioners who have to translateresearch into effective practice.In previous years retention was simply viewed as a reflection of a student’s lack of individualattributes, skills, and motivation. With this view students were expected to assimilate and “riseto the task” at their institutions. This view prohibited institutions from recognizing their intricaterole in providing a successful platform for students. Since then our institutions and theoristshave begun to

Conference Session

FPD VI: Presenting "All the Best" of the First-Year Programs Division

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kerry Meyers, University of Notre Dame; Benjamin Mertz, University of Notre Dame

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

study. In particular, the motivational factors that have previously beenidentified were found to be quite relevant to the current study. Prior work has primarily focusedon individual student interviews at a certain time in their academic career but has never linkedmotivations to persistence directly. The current study took a differing approach to prior work byreviewing individual student reflections from students entering an engineering program in thefall of 2007, as the class prepares to graduate this year (2011) their initial motivations werelinked to their educational persistence (or non-persistence).Methods:The primary source of data in the current study was student essays written for a class assignment.These qualitative reflections were

Conference Session

FPD VI: Presenting "All the Best" of the First-Year Programs Division

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Susan F. Freeman, Northeastern University; Richard Whalen, Northeastern University; Beverly K. Jaeger, Northeastern University; Stanley M. Forman, Northeastern University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

inthese projects, similar to those seen in hands-on service-learning environments. In addition,comparisons of students on non-service focused projects to those on actual service-learning orservice-oriented projects show they are significantly less affected in terms of concern for socialproblems or that non-profit work is a true venue for engineering work.Introduction and Background LiteratureService Learning and Service-Oriented Projects. Service learning as defined by the NationalService Learning Clearinghouse15 is “a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningfulcommunity service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civicresponsibility, and strengthen communities.” Building from this definition, we

Conference Session

FPD IX: Research on First-Year Programs and Students, Part II

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Casey Canfield, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering; Brittany Strachota, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering; Yevgeniya V. Zastavker, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

Page 22.1282.2scaffolding for learning, while students exercise autonomy by directing these open-endedprojects themselves. Over the course of the projects, students create one or more significantphysical deliverables to reflect their work. 2-9Central to an authentic PjBL experience are the constructs of student autonomy and self-directedlearning (SDL). These PjBL aspects are meant to encourage students’ initiative as well asresponsibility for and ownership of their own learning. Hence, SDL allows students to serve asagents of their own learning. Students are given a high level of choice in learning activities toencourage connections to their personal goals as well as intrinsic and attainment values.10 Incases where student choice is not

Conference Session

FPD II: Increasing Engagement and Motivation of First-Year Students

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Julie J. Parish, Texas A&M University; Kristi J. Shryock, Texas A&M University; Dimitris C. Lagoudas, Texas A&M University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

to introduce their missions and activities. The final area included in the curriculumconcerns career opportunities. Here, activities are prepared to help students better understand thebroad range of career options available in the aerospace industry and how to prepare for anemployment search. To support each of these topics, students are given both individual and teamassignments to engage them in critical thinking about aerospace engineering problems.Furthermore, each of these components is supplemented by a mentoring program session with anassignment that reflects the content of the component. Page 22.1287.3These three parts of the

Conference Session

First-year Programs Division Poster Session

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Fahmida Masoom, University of Wisconsin, Platteville; Abulkhair Masoom, University of Wisconsin, Platteville

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

students atvarying levels of math competency. At the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, many studentsbegin in the pre-engineering program if they enter college with a perceived low level of mathcompetency reflected by poor performance in the math placement test. Consequently, they endup spending several semesters taking remedial math courses before beginning the calculussequence and getting accepted in the engineering program. In an effort to understand and servestudents better, the effect of math competency on their success in engineering science coursesand possible retention in the program is being studied through a survey. The results of thissurvey are expected to provide us with a better insight into the math preparedness of our highschool

Conference Session

First-year Programs Division Poster Session

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lisa A. Pruitt, University of California, Berkeley

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

styles.Diversity and Teamwork:Embracing differences in personality (Myer-Briggs) and learning styles (Global vs. Sequential;Intuitive vs. Sensing, Active vs. Reflective; Verbal vs. Visual). Decision trees and methods formentoring. Group communication and conflict management tools. Development of a plan ofaction (formulation, negotiation, fulfillment, and review). Project lifecycles and rhythm ofaction for teamwork.K-12 outreach: Levels of learning (Bloom’s taxonomy). Teaching methodologies in the K-12domain and the public sector (societal service). The heart of the leadership module is centered upon the 8-step design process (Figure 1).The concept is presented in lecture as a standard format for the engineering design process. Oneweek of lecture is

Conference Session

FPD IX: Research on First-Year Programs and Students, Part II

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Xiang Gong, Beihang University, Beijing, Institute of Higher Education; Monica E. Cardella, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Qing Lei, Beihang University, Beijing

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

) covers the entire four years. This reflects two meanings. On the Page 22.346.7one hand, the importance of FEHPs has been continually manifested and emphasized, as it is notonly the first stage of the entire honors program, but it also takes the responsibility of gettinghonors students well motivated and prepared for future engineering study and work. The majordifference in first-year programs between Uni-US and Uni-CN (actually between mostuniversities in the United States and China) is that in the United States, there is at least aone-year period in which students take “general education” courses. However, there is no similargeneral education in

Conference Session

FPD VII: Innovative Curriculum Elements of Successful First-Year Courses

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gerald W. Recktenwald, Portland State University; David E. Hall, Louisiana Tech University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

20.5 61.5 my interest in electromechanical systems to …9 The manufacturing and fabrication experience in this 4.00 2.6 17.9 79.5 class has caused my motivation for school work to …10 The manufacturing and fabrication experience in this 4.08 0 10.3 89.7 class has caused my practical knowledge of the engineering profession to …11 The in-class exercises, such as programming, working 3.59 2.6 41.0 56.4 with breadboard circuits, fabrication has caused my motivation to study math, physics and chemistry to… Item 6 reflects students’ self-assessed knowledge of engineering design. A large majority(86 percent) felt that the class increased

Conference Session

FPD VII: Innovative Curriculum Elements of Successful First-Year Courses

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Chris Plouff, Grand Valley State University; Deborah Morrow, Grand Valley State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

with all ofthe program outcomes, ABET does not define lifelong learning or provide guidelines forassessing achievement of lifelong learning skills. Besterfield-Sacre et al.[2] identified keyattributes of lifelong learning as part of an NSF-funded Action Agenda study (listed on theEngineering Education Assessment Methodologies and Curricula Innovation website[3]). Theseattributes included the ability to: ● demonstrate reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills; ● demonstrate an awareness of what needs to be learned; ● follow a learning plan; ● identify, retrieve, and organize information; ● understand and remember new information; ● demonstrate critical thinking skills; and, ● reflect on one‟s own

Conference Session

First-year Programs Division Poster Session

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kirsten A. Davis, Boise State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

example), this paper focuses on the academic aspects.“The first college year is critical not only for how much students learn but also for laying thefoundation on which their subsequent academic success and persistence rest.”2Students regularly overestimate their knowledge and abilities3. As an anecdotal example, thereis the student who receives a D or F on an exam, but claims to have studied for hours (studyingwhat, we don’t know…), and another student with a similar grade who didn’t study at all becausethey thought they already knew the information well enough. Students also unreasonably expectthat their assignment and test grades should reflect not just their achievements, but also theamount of time and effort they expend4. We regularly have

Conference Session

FPD IV: Improving Student Success: Mentoring, Intervening, and Supplementing

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Frederick L. Smyth, University of Virginia; William H Guilford, University of Virginia; Brian A. Nosek, University of Virginia

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

BFigure 1: Example of one of the IATs delivered in this study. See the text for a detaileddescription. Page 22.718.3(standard deviation) of their response times to yield an effect size score similar to a Cohen’s d 22.The IAT has detected gender differences in STEM attitudes and predicted real-world STEMoutcomes such as calculus performance 10,14, and countries’ gender-gaps in teenagers’ scienceand math achievement 23.An example of the sort of IAT we employed can be experienced by entering the Demonstrationportal at https://implicit.harvard.edu/. The “Gender-Science” IAT is reflected in Figure 1. Thisonline 10-minute evaluation session is used

Conference Session

FPD XI: Assessing First-Year Programs, Experiences, and Communities

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Marie C. Paretti, Virginia Tech; Kelly J. Cross, Virginia Tech University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

Page 22.240.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2011 Assessing First-Year Programs: Outcomes, Methods, and FindingsAbstractFirst-year programs reflect a wide array of approaches, from general engineering programs todiscipline-specific introductions to the major spanning one or two semesters; many of theseprograms have published descriptions of their approaches to assessment and the effects ofvarious intervention strategies on student retention or specialized outcomes. Yet much of thiswork remains localized; little research to date has examined assessment across multiple programsto identify large-scale trends, locate similarities and differences in targeted learning outcomes,analyze methods of

Conference Session

FPD I: Attacking the Problems of Retention in the First Year

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Arturo A Fuentes, University of Texas, Pan American; Horacio Vasquez, University of Texas, Pan American; Robert A. Freeman, University of Texas, Pan American

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

and desired knowledge outcomes are described here. This step also allows forpre-assessment and serves as a benchmark for self-assessment in the Reflect Back step.Challenge 1 (shown in Figure 1)The first challenge is a lower difficulty level problem dealing with the topic. The student isprovided with information needed to understand the challenge. The steps shown below representthe remainder of the cycle, which prepares the students to complete the challenge. Note thatformative instructional events can and probably should occur in each step of the cycle. Thefollowing LC steps are to motivate and engage the students:  Generate ideas: Students are asked to generate a list of issues and answers that they think are relevant to the

Conference Session

FPD 3: Research on First-year Programs and Students, Part I

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Holly M. Matusovich, Virginia Tech; Brett D. Jones, Virginia Tech; Marie C. Paretti, Virginia Tech; Jacob Preston Moore, Virginia Tech; Deirdre-Annaliese Nicole Hunter, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

termed this approach “traditional engineering design”(TED) because it reflects a common pattern for such projects across programs in the U.S. In thispaper, we report the outcomes from interviews with PBL team members from U1 and designteam members from U2 to address the research question: How do first-year engineeringstudents in two different types of design approaches (PBL and traditional design) perceivethe role of facilitators, and how does this perception influence these students’ motivation?To address this question we examine how students describe the role of their facilitator for PBL,and correspondingly, their workshop leader in a TED environment. Based on this description,we consider how students’ experiences with facilitators impact

Conference Session

FPD IX: Research on First-Year Programs and Students, Part II

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rachelle Reisberg, Northeastern University; Joseph A. Raelin, Northeastern University; Margaret B. Bailey, Rochester Institute of Technology; Jerry Carl Hamann, University of Wyoming; David L. Whitman, University of Wyoming; Leslie K. Pendleton, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

programs.IntroductionThis study is part of a larger research project, supported by a National Science FoundationResearch on Gender in Science and Engineering program grant, designed to determine the effectof self-efficacy and other factors on the retention of women in undergraduate engineeringprograms. These data represent the initial pre-survey of the study completed in the 2009-2010academic year. Students completed a 96-item survey (not included in this paper due to theproprietary nature of some components). This survey was administered mostly in class and inwritten form at the start of their sophomore year; thus their responses were a reflection on theirfirst year experiences. Data will be gathered at two additional points in years two and three of thestudy

Conference Session

FPD VI: Presenting "All the Best" of the First-Year Programs Division

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Shelley Lorimer, Grant MacEwan University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

difficult to gauge whether or not this is detrimental to their grades. Examination of the literature regarding first year programs indicates that this activity is an essential part of an engineering education10.• StrengthsQuest – This educational activity is based on a personality assessment tool called StrengthsQuest that was developed by Gallup8. It came about as a result of participation of a faculty member in a leadership conference. There is a substantial amount of literature linking personality types of engineering students to their academic success9. At MacEwan, this tool was used as a reflective exercise for students in the introductory professional engineering courses (ENGG 100 and ENGG 101). At the same time

Conference Session

FPD 3: Research on First-year Programs and Students, Part I

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Diana Quinn, University of South Australia; Elizabeth J. Smith, University of South Australia; Syed Mahfuzul Aziz, University of South Australia

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

7% Socialising 6% Relaxing 6% Meeting place 4% Using desks 3% Reading 3% Lock-down rooms 2% Not using 11%General responses to What are the best aspects about studying the first year of engineering?generated responses that reflected the re-energized curriculum and the new Experience 1 Studio: The first year engineering space - the relaxed atmosphere at the uni The first year engineering space the interesting

Conference Session

FPD XI: Assessing First-Year Programs, Experiences, and Communities

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Shannon Ciston, University of New Haven; Maria-Isabel Carnasciali, Ph.D., University of New Haven; Jean Nocito-Gobel, University of New Haven; Cory Carr

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

, a scholarlyenvironment, and an ethos of relatedness among faculty, staff, and peers.” Another uniqueaspect of the work described in this paper is that we gauge the perceptions of students who haveparticipated in LLC program, as well as students who have not.Research in the area of engineering student specific LLCs is also somewhat limited, thoughprevious work has described LLCs for engineering students, finding that LLCs are effective forenhancing engagement, retention, and academic success.13-17 At Washington State University,student focus groups attribute positive gains to specific elements of the LLC including peer-facilitated study groups and seminars led by upperclassmen.14,15 Reflective essays were used toidentify common themes and

Conference Session

First-year Programs Division Poster Session

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ghada Salama, Ph.D., Texas A&M University, Qatar; Beena Ahmed, Texas A&M University at Qatar

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

complicating the situation. Furthermore as Qatar is a small country with limitedemployers, students realize that grievances can be continued into the workplace, if by chancethey or their family members end up working at the same company.Students also struggled in correctly using the provided forms to accurately reflect individualcontributions. The instructors asked the students to provide multiple assessments not only at theend of the project but also during it. This provided the students with the opportunity tofamiliarize themselves with the peer evaluation process. These results were analyzed and used inevaluating individual student performance. The peer evaluations were able to provide asomewhat better picture of the “inside story” on student

Conference Session

FPD IX: Research on First-Year Programs and Students, Part II

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jae Hoon Lim, University of North Carolina, Charlotte; Patricia A. Tolley, University of North Carolina, Charlotte; Kimberly Warren, University of North Carolina, Charlotte; Peter Thomas Tkacik, University of North Carolina, Charlotte

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

educationresearch.”48Contrasting research results regarding the importance of “social engagement” in the academicsuccess and retention of freshman engineering students is at least twofold. Empiricalinvestigations that present a significant variation between general education students andengineering students may suggest that engineering students possess a set of unique pre-collegiatecharacteristics that is different from those of their non-engineering counterparts.47 In this case, anew model should be proposed reflecting the unique characteristics of engineering students (e. g,quantitatively-oriented learning dispositions). Additionally, contradictory results from empiricalinvestigations could be based on the inconsistent use of different measures.48

Conference Session

FPD VIII: Crossing Bridges and Easing Transitions into the First Year

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Theodore Demetrius Caldwell, Michigan State University, Diversity Programs Office, College of Engineering; Kyle P. Foster, Diversity Programs Office, College of Engineering, Michigan State University; Tonisha Brandy Lane, Michigan State University; Rickey Alfred Caldwell Jr, Michigan State University; Claudia Elena Vergara, Michigan State University; Jon Sticklen, Michigan State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

facing all institutions with such summer bridge programs is the follow upafter the summer bridge; what happens to the bridge students in their subsequent first year ofuniversity studies?Our experience indicates that bridge students need a follow on program that reinforces thelessons embedded in the summer bridge and extends those lessons to develop good student andprofessional habits of mind during students’ first year. Our data reflects this same issue as westruggle to retain URM students in Engineering. Since Fall Semester 2002 of new freshmendeclaring Engineering as a major: Page 22.1681.2 · 6% placed into Intermediate Algebra. Of that 6

Conference Session

FPD 3: Research on First-year Programs and Students, Part I

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Malinda S. Zarske, University of Colorado, Boulder; Derek T. Reamon, University of Colorado, Boulder; Daniel Knight, University of Colorado, Boulder

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

-learning (SL) instruction, helps themtransfer knowledge from the classroom to real-world settings. Combining project-based learningand service-learning (PBSL) has the potential to foster skills needed for a more global engineer,including cultural awareness, community-mindedness, and greater flexibility in defining andsolving engineering problems. Practicing engineering in a community context, partnered with astrong emphasis on teamwork and reflection, PBSL programs may be effective approaches torecruit and retain more students, including women and minority students, into engineeringprograms and the engineering workforce.One goal of this project is to incorporate PBSL curricula into existing undergraduate engineeringdesign courses. This paper

Conference Session

FPD IV: Improving Student Success: Mentoring, Intervening, and Supplementing

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Colleen A. McDonough, Michigan State University; Daina Briedis, Michigan State University; Neeraj Buch, Michigan State University; Renée S. DeGraaf, Lansing Community College; Jon Sticklen, Michigan State University; Sarah J. Stoner, Michigan State University; Mark Urban-Lurain, Michigan State University; Claudia E. Vergara, Michigan State University; Thomas F. Wolff, Michigan State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

sessions, PAL Leaders are required to attend weekly staffmeetings with the PAL Coordinator. The staff meetings provide a venue for PALs to share theirobservations and experiences from classes and tutoring sessions, learn new skills, and assessareas for improvement. Administrative tasks are also discussed, including program advertisingand human resource issues. In order for students to experience the benefits of PAL, they mustfirst attend the tutoring sessions. The program must rigorously publicize the positive, uniqueattributes of the sessions to ensure that session nonattendance reflects a student’s consciouschoice rather than an unknowing one. It is the responsibility of PAL leaders to advertise through

Conference Session

FPD VIII: Crossing Bridges and Easing Transitions into the First Year

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Danny King, Indiana University Purdue University, Indianapolis; Laura Masterson, Indiana University Purdue University, Indianapolis

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

development of each cohort and a chance for students to reflect on their collegeexperience with each other.The Engineering Bridge Survey To gauge the importance of the different activities during the Engineering section of theSB program, students that attended this section in 2008, 2009, and 2010 were given a survey toshow which activities during the Bridge program were the most important to them. The fullsurvey is included in Appendix B. Students were asked to rate the importance of 22 differentactivities. In each case the students were asked these questions at least several months after theprogram itself, once they had some distance and perspective. The 2008 students were asked tocomplete the survey during the fall semester of 2009. The 2009

Conference Session

FPD VI: Presenting "All the Best" of the First-Year Programs Division

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Chris Smaill, University of Auckland; Gerard Rowe, University of Auckland; Lawrence J. Carter, University of Auckland

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

-used:“I wouldn't do peer marking any more often, as you'd start to affect attendance as peoplebecome complacent with peer marking. There also has to be time for the students to getfeedback and help with their other work.”Lecturer feedbackIn their Course Audit (a compulsory post-course teaching-team reflection document) thecourse lecturers observed that tutorial attendance in 2009 and 2010 hit an all-time high, upfrom the all-time low experienced in 2008. They speculated that this was most likely a directresult of the peer-marking exercises, or at least the associated 1% course credit! The lecturers Page 22.1146.9(both of whom consider tutorial

Conference Session

FPD XI: Assessing First-Year Programs, Experiences, and Communities

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Patricia R. Backer, San Jose State University; Emily L. Allen, San Jose State University; Janet Sundrud, San Jose State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

campuses (see Figures 1 and 2). While six-year graduation rates at theUniversity are disappointing, the rates for African American (38.7%) and Latino (39.9%) malesare truly dismaying and unacceptable. The retention and six-year graduation rate in the Collegeof Engineering is even lower than the university overall, particularly for African American andLatino students.As a result of an examination and reflection on the causes of the low retention and graduationrates, the College established the 15x12 Initiative, with the goal of increasing our graduation rate15% by the year 2012. We decided to focus on improving the effectiveness of our first-yearexperience (FYE) programs, as well to complete a major overhaul of our advising systems andmethods. This