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Using Engineering Design as a Retention Tool for First-Year Engineering Students

Abstract

A common first-year engineering program has a unique role in defining the future path for incoming engineering students. A long-standing benefit of such programs is to provide students with the time necessary to make an educated decision about their choice of major. Often this is the first experience in the role of engineers in society and consequently what students use to determine whether to continue pursuing an engineering degree. For students at Michigan Technological University, this decision primarily occurs during their first or second year. Therefore, the contents of the first-year engineering courses make a crucial first impression.

The first-year engineering program at Michigan Tech consists of a two course sequence that was designed to give the students the engineering skills necessary to succeed at any engineering discipline while providing the opportunity to learn more about the different majors. From 2000 to 2006, students were scheduled for their engineering courses as part of a cohort with calculus and physics. While the material covered in the first semester was common throughout the sections, the design projects for the second semester course were selected by instructor preference. In this manner, students had the potential to be enrolled in a section where they had little to no interest in the project that was chosen. In the spring of 2006, students had the opportunity to select a cohort schedule based on their preference for design project. This study will compare the student populations before and after this course modification to determine the effectiveness of specialized design projects with regard to student choice and persistence in their engineering major.

Introduction

A major benefit of a common first-year engineering program is the time available for students to make a decision regarding their choice of major. Engineering students entering Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech) have the option of enrolling into a specific major (biomedical, chemical, civil, computer, electrical, environmental, geological, materials, or mechanical) or enrolling into the university as a general engineering student. The abbreviations used to describe the various majors can be found in Table 1. Regardless of major choice, all entering engineering students are enrolled into a cohort schedule that includes calculus, physics, and engineering classes.

Table 1.Engineering Program Abbreviations EBE = Biomedical Engineering EEN = Environmental Engineering ECE = Civil Engineering EGE = Geological Engineering ECM = Chemical Engineering EGN = General Engineering/Engineering Undecided ECP = Computer Engineering EME = Mechanical Engineering EEE = Electrical Engineering EMSE = Material Science and Engineering

It has been suggested that the first-year experience is important for student persistence in STEM fields. 1 The first-year engineering experience at Michigan Tech is comprised of two courses:

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Kemppainen, A., & Hamlin, A. (2009, June), Using Engineering Design As A Retention Tool For First Year Engineering Students Paper presented at 2009 Annual Conference & Exposition, Austin, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--4977