Asee peer logo

Relation between Out-of-Classroom Engagement Activities and Student Performance

Download Paper |

Conference

2024 Fall ASEE Mid-Atlantic Section Conference

Location

Farmingdale State College, NY, New York

Publication Date

October 25, 2024

Start Date

October 25, 2024

End Date

November 5, 2024

Conference Session

Technical Sessions 2

Tagged Topics

Diversity and Professional Papers

Page Count

7

DOI

10.18260/1-2--49455

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/49455

Download Count

57

Paper Authors

biography

Sarath Chandra Kumar Jagupilla P.E. Stevens Institute of Technology (School of Engineering and Science)

visit author page

Prof. Jagupilla is a Teaching Associate Professor and Associate Chair for UG Studies in the CEOE department at Stevens Institute of Technology. He is also a licensed professional engineer, and a board certified environmental engineer. Dr. Jagupilla has over 20 years of teaching and research experience.

visit author page

author page

Elizabeth O'Connell Stevens Institute of Technology (School of Engineering and Science)

author page

Muhammad R Hajj Stevens Institute of Technology (School of Engineering and Science)

Download Paper |

Abstract

In this study, the relation between out of classroom engagement activities and student performances, measured through GPAs, for engineering undergraduate students in civil, environmental and naval engineering majors is assessed. Five different categories of events were identified– career development, community building, physical activity, academic support, and field trips. Attendance at each event was tracked and academic performance before and after each semester with activities was analyzed. In AY 2023–2024, the department hosted twenty-one undergraduate out-of-classroom activities. Among these, eleven were classified as career-related, three as department community development, one as physical activity, four as academic support events, and two as field trips. Out of the 249 students in the department, 199 attended at least one event. T-tests were used to identify statistically significant differences between attendance rates and performances among different cohorts of students. Senior students were more likely to attend events compared to juniors, sophomores, and first year students. There were no statistically significant differences between attendance rates of juniors, sophomores, and first year students. At the end of the Spring 2024 semester, students who attended at least one event had an average GPA that was significantly higher than those who did not attend any event. Furthermore, the average GPAs had a positive association with the number of events attended. These trends also held consistent when students were grouped as seniors, juniors, sophomores, and first year. Trends among groups such as participants in the co-op program and student athletes were also studied. Co-op and international students who attended at least one event appeared to have a higher GPA than those who did not attend any. However, these differences were not statistically significant, possibly due to small sample sizes. Student athletes, on the other hand, had almost the same average GPAs among those who attended events and those who did not. The data indicates participation in out of classroom engagement activities and student academic performances have a strong association. Tracking temporal trends over multiple years may provide valuable information that could aid in supporting increased student success.

Jagupilla, S. C. K., & O'Connell, E., & Hajj, M. R. (2024, October), Relation between Out-of-Classroom Engagement Activities and Student Performance Paper presented at 2024 Fall ASEE Mid-Atlantic Section Conference, Farmingdale State College, NY, New York. 10.18260/1-2--49455

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