Asee peer logo

Engineering Student Support 2.0: A Blueprint for Recruitment, Retention, and Success

Download Paper |

Conference

2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Portland, Oregon

Publication Date

June 23, 2024

Start Date

June 23, 2024

End Date

June 26, 2024

Conference Session

Engineering Management Division (EMD) Technical Session 1

Tagged Division

Engineering Management Division (EMD)

Page Count

16

DOI

10.18260/1-2--47292

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/47292

Download Count

99

Paper Authors

biography

Kumar Yelamarthi Tennessee Technological University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-0072-3909

visit author page

Kumar Yelamarthi received his Ph.D. and M.S degree from Wright State University in 2008 and 2004, and B.E. from University of Madras, India in 2000. He is currently the Associate Dean and Professor in the College of Engineering at Tennessee Tech University. In the past, he served as the Director for School of Engineering and Technology, and Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering and at Central Michigan University (CMU). He served as the chair for Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering programs, and Assistant to the Dean of College of Science and Engineering at CMU. His research interest is in the areas of Internet of Things, wireless sensor networks, edge computing, embedded systems, and engineering education. He has published over 175 articles and delivered over 100 talks in these areas. He has successfully raised several externally funded grants of over $4.5 Million from organizations such as NSF, U.S. Dept of Education, NASA, and the industry.

visit author page

biography

Elizabeth A. Powell Tennessee Technological University

visit author page

Dr. Beth Powell has a doctorate in Rhetoric and Composition from the University of Louisville. Her research is in engineering communication, and she works as the Assistant Director for the College of Engineering Student Success Center at Tennessee Tech Un

visit author page

Download Paper |

Abstract

The Clay N. Hixson Student Success Center within the College of Engineering at Tennessee Tech University has recently undergone a significant transformation, significantly enhancing its support for student success. With an overarching commitment to enabling student success, the Student Success Center has introduced a myriad of initiatives over the past three years, with a particular focus on recruitment, retention, and fostering student success. In the realm of recruitment, strategies such as a unified degree map, refined to ensure a consistent first-year course sequence, and a math bridge program for incoming first-year students have yielded impressive results. Recruitment efforts have led to a 10% increase in incoming first-year students, effectively expanding the reach of the College of Engineering. In terms of student retention, changes within the Student Success Center have brought about a substantial 10% improvement in first-to-second-year student retention. Periodic advisor caseload redistribution and advisor cross-training have allowed for timely support of students without overburdening advisors. An academic support program has also reduced the population of at-risk students from 19% to 13%. The Student Success Center's endeavors encompass an extensive range of activities, from refining the summer camps for high school students to conducting monthly advisor listening sessions and surveys to understand and meet student needs. Furthermore, the introduction of Niche areas for each academic advisor has not only fostered their professional growth but has also contributed to improved student success. This paper will delve into the comprehensive details of these initiatives. It serves as a valuable resource for institutions seeking to enhance their student support services, providing separate insights into the spheres of recruitment, retention, and, most importantly, student success within the College of Engineering at Tennessee Tech University.

Yelamarthi, K., & Powell, E. A. (2024, June), Engineering Student Support 2.0: A Blueprint for Recruitment, Retention, and Success Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--47292

ASEE holds the copyright on this document. It may be read by the public free of charge. Authors may archive their work on personal websites or in institutional repositories with the following citation: © 2024 American Society for Engineering Education. Other scholars may excerpt or quote from these materials with the same citation. When excerpting or quoting from Conference Proceedings, authors should, in addition to noting the ASEE copyright, list all the original authors and their institutions and name the host city of the conference. - Last updated April 1, 2015