Retention in a First Year Program: Factors Influencing Student Interest in Engineering

Student retention continues to be a challenge in engineering education. US Academic institutions are reporting student retention rates in engineering that varies in the range of 40-60%. Engineering programs are recognizing the fact that students capable of completing an engineering degree are switching from engineering to pursue non-engineering disciplines. Several studies, including one presented by our research group, have identified the lack of interest in engineering as a field of study, the lack of interest in pursuing an engineering discipline being offered at an academic institution, and academic difficulty, as the self-reported leading reasons for switching from engineering to pursue a non-engineering degree. Furthermore, Seymour and Hewitt have presented evidence that both "persisters" and "nonpersisters" are academically similar. If lack of interest is the leading reason for the switch, a question to ask is, which factors and/or events trigger this change of interest in pursuing engineering? The purpose of this study is to understand how the first semester experience influences student's decision to continue a degree in engineering. Particularly, we are interested in understanding which factors and/or events trigger a change of interest in pursuing engineering. The authors studied 73 first semester engineering students enrolled at a large land grant university in the midAtlantic region. An entrance survey administered during the second week of classes provided an insight on student's level of interest in pursuing engineering, the reason to pursue an engineering degree, and whether a student have chosen an engineering discipline to pursue. Several surveys administered at strategic time points during the semester were used to track level of interest in pursuing engineering and to identify key events that can be consider as precursors to leaving engineering. Reflection essays were also employed to understand how the first semester experience affects student's perception of engineering as a career of choice. An analysis of entrance surveys indicated a high level of interest in pursuing an engineering degree in most students surveyed. Key events, such as their first calculus test, triggered indecision in some of the students. Early results identified a group of students at risk of leaving engineering during the first semester of college. Key events identified as precursor to leaving engineering are discussed, as well as the implications for potential intervention programs to address increasing student interest as well as academic success in engineering.