Correlation Between Academic Credit-use Policies and  Student Persistence in Multidisciplinary  Vertically Integrated Project (VIP) Courses

J. Sonnenberg-Klein; Edward J. Coyle; Randal T. Abler

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Conference: 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Publication Date: June 23, 2018
Start Date: June 23, 2018
End Date: July 27, 2018
Conference Session: Multidisciplinary Engineering Programs
Tagged Division: Multidisciplinary Engineering
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 16
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--30227
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/30227
Download Count: 582

Paper Authors

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J. Sonnenberg-Klein Georgia Institute of Technology orcid.org/0000-0002-6069-3166

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Assistant Director, Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) Program, Georgia Institute of Technology; Doctoral student in Education at Georgia State University, with a concentration in Research, Measurement and Statistics; Master of Education in Education Organization and Leadership, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Bachelor of Science in Engineering Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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Edward J. Coyle Georgia Institute of Technology

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Edward J. Coyle is the John B. Peatman Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, directs the Arbutus Center for the Integration of Research and Education, and is the founder of the Vertically-Integrated Projects (VIP) Program. He is a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar and was a co-recipient of both the National Academy of Engineering’s 2005 Bernard M. Gordon Award for Innovation in Engineering and Technology Education and ASEE's 1997 Chester F. Carlson Award. Dr. Coyle is a Fellow of the IEEE and his research interests include engineering education, wireless networks, and digital signal processing.

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Randal T. Abler Georgia Institute of Technology

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Abstract

In the Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) Program, undergraduates earn academic credit for their participation in long-term, large-scale, multidisciplinary project teams that are created at the request of faculty to assist them with their research and other innovative activities. The students contribute their disciplinary skills to the project, collaborate with students from other disciplines, and learn and practice many professional skills. A key to launching and maintaining productive VIP teams is having students participate for multiple semesters, sometimes up to six semesters. This allows students to develop deeper expertise and take on increasing levels of responsibility. Academic departments have established a range of credit-use policies for VIP courses, with some departments incentivizing multiple semesters of participation, with different incentives and varying thresholds for each policy. Beyond curricular policies, the number of semesters students participate in VIP may be affected by matches/mismatches between students and their instructors’ departments, as well as student academic rank in their first semester of VIP. This study describes policies for the four academic units with highest enrollments in VIP at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and examines the number of semesters students (N = 869) participate in VIP by policy, by academic rank, and by matches-mismatches between student and instructor departments. In a secondary analysis, persistence rates are compared for a degree program before and after an incentivizing credit-use policy was established (N = 45). Results show correlation between higher persistence and two policies: 1) allowing all VIP credits to count as in-major electives after a minimum number are earned; and 2) allowing students to fulfill a design sequence requirement through VIP, with no additional planning/requirements beyond the normal design sequence. The study employed chi-square analysis for all but one analysis, because assumptions for analysis of variance were not met. These findings will be of use to existing and prospective VIP Programs, as well as institutions and departments seeking to increase student persistence in undergraduate research.

Citation
Format

Sonnenberg-Klein, J., & Coyle, E. J., & Abler, R. T. (2018, June), Correlation Between Academic Credit-use Policies and Student Persistence in Multidisciplinary Vertically Integrated Project (VIP) Courses Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--30227

TY - CPAPER
AB - In the Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) Program, undergraduates earn academic credit for their participation in long-term, large-scale, multidisciplinary project teams that are created at the request of faculty to assist them with their research and other innovative activities. The students contribute their disciplinary skills to the project, collaborate with students from other disciplines, and learn and practice many professional skills. A key to launching and maintaining productive VIP teams is having students participate for multiple semesters, sometimes up to six semesters. This allows students to develop deeper expertise and take on increasing levels of responsibility. Academic departments have established a range of credit-use policies for VIP courses, with some departments incentivizing multiple semesters of participation, with different incentives and varying thresholds for each policy. Beyond curricular policies, the number of semesters students participate in VIP may be affected by matches/mismatches between students and their instructors’ departments, as well as student academic rank in their first semester of VIP. This study describes policies for the four academic units with highest enrollments in VIP at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and examines the number of semesters students (N = 869) participate in VIP by policy, by academic rank, and by matches-mismatches between student and instructor departments. In a secondary analysis, persistence rates are compared for a degree program before and after an incentivizing credit-use policy was established (N = 45). Results show correlation between higher persistence and two policies: 1) allowing all VIP credits to count as in-major electives after a minimum number are earned; and 2) allowing students to fulfill a design sequence requirement through VIP, with no additional planning/requirements beyond the normal design sequence. The study employed chi-square analysis for all but one analysis, because assumptions for analysis of variance were not met. These findings will be of use to existing and prospective VIP Programs, as well as institutions and departments seeking to increase student persistence in undergraduate research.
AU - J. Sonnenberg-Klein
AU - Edward J. Coyle
AU - Randal T. Abler
CY - Salt Lake City, Utah
DA - 2018/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Correlation Between Academic Credit-use Policies and Student Persistence in Multidisciplinary Vertically Integrated Project (VIP) Courses
UR - https://peer.asee.org/30227
DO - 10.18260/1-2--30227
ER -