The effect of matriculation practices and first-year engineering courses on engineering major selection

Sixty-one sophomores were interviewed at six large public institutions to learn why they chose their institution and their engineering major. The institutions were categorized as either requiring a first-year engineering (FYE) program or allowing students to matriculate directly into a major. At these institutions, the first-year experience either required a common introduction to engineering course, required introduction to engineering courses that were not common to all majors or included an optional introduction to engineering course. The impact of the matriculation mode on selection of the institution and the presence or absence of a required first year course are studied. We find that cost of attendance is far more important than matriculation mode for most students choosing their institutions. Required and optional first-year courses, when taken, do tend to help students either affirm their prior choice of major or select an engineering major that suits their interests

The effect of matriculation practices and first-year engineering courses on engineering major selection

Sixty-one sophomores were interviewed at six large public institutions to learn why they chose their institution and their engineering major. The institutions were categorized as either requiring a first-year engineering (FYE) program or allowing students to matriculate directly into a major. At these institutions, the first-year experience either required a common introduction to engineering course, required introduction to engineering courses that were not common to all majors or included an optional introduction to engineering course. The impact of the matriculation mode on selection of the institution and the presence or absence of a required first year course are studied. We find that cost of attendance is far more important than matriculation mode for most students choosing their institutions. Required and optional first-year courses, when taken, do tend to help students either affirm their prior choice of major or select an engineering major that suits their interests

An Investigation of Engineering Majors: Graduates\u27 Enrollment Timelines and First-Year Students\u27 Perceptions and Exploration

The selection of a specific engineering major can substantially impact a student’s undergraduate experience and can also impact future career opportunities. This work is divided into complementary studies of Enrollment, Perception, and Exploration. Together, the three studies seek to answer six research questions related to (i) when and where students enroll in their graduation majors in different matriculation models, (ii) how students perceive both engineering in general and the engineering majors, and (iii) the impacts of a major exploration course on confidence in major choice, major changes, and fit and satisfaction in engineering in general and in the engineering majors. Primarily using the Attraction-Selection-Attrition Framework and the Student Integration Model, the Study of Enrollment investigates time to enrollment in graduation major and persistence using institutional records from multiple institutions. The results of this study indicate different patterns in enrollment in graduation major based on the institutions’ matriculation model. Generally, students at direct matriculation institutions enroll in their graduation major more quickly, but those students have more major changes than students at institutions with first-year engineering programs. Using a framework of Social Cognitive Career Theory and Expectancy-Value Theory, the Study of Perception uses free-response survey questions from a major exploration course to investigate changes in students’ perceptions of engineering in general and in the engineering majors. The results of this study show that students’ perceptions of engineering in general and their intended engineering majors are expanded during an optional major exploration course. Responses often become more specific at the end of the course compared to the beginning. Framed with the Attraction-Selection-Attrition Framework and the Student Integration Model, the Study of Exploration uses propensity score matching to create two matched groups to investigate the effects of a major exploration course on first-year engineering students’ confidence in major choice, major changes, and fit and satisfaction in engineering. The results of this study show significant differences in the frequency of major changes among students who enrolled in the major exploration course compared with those that do not. Other metrics, while not significant, have differences that are favorable for the major exploration course that highlight its value for helping students make a more informed major choice. The results of this work provide evidence that students are willing to change their engineering majors after matriculation. Students likely make changes to improve academic and social fit and integration and because of changes in perceptions of the engineering majors during their first year. Some changes in perception are likely the result of dedicated major exploration courses which also has a positive (but not statistically significant) impact on confidence in major selection as well as fit and satisfaction in engineering majors

The composition of first-year engineering curricula and its relationships to matriculation models and institutional characteristics

The preparation of technically excellent and innovative engineering graduates urges for a reform of the engineering curriculum to meet critical challenges in society (National Academy of Engineering, 2005). An examination of the current engineering curricula is needed to offer a baseline to further discuss if the curriculum reform meets the critical challenges. Meanwhile, concern about engineering retention prioritizes a review of the first-year engineering curricula. The existing literature does not include a nationwide examination of the first-year engineering curricula and introductory engineering courses. This study aspired to fill the gap by providing a detail description of the composition of first-year engineering curricula and introductory engineering courses of all ABET EAC-accredited programs. Furthermore, this study investigated the degree to which first-year engineering curricula and institutional characteristics varied by the matriculation policies of engineering programs. ^ To this end, this study analyzed the recommended first-year course sequences of 1,969 engineering programs and descriptions of 2,222 first-year engineering courses at all 408 U.S. institutions with ABET EAC-accredited programs. Keywords extracted from the engineering course descriptions were classified using a revised First-Year Engineering Course Classification Scheme (Reid, Reeping, & Spingola, 2013). In addition, institutional characteristics of 408 institutions grouped by matriculation models were examined. ^ There were five major findings. First, engineering courses took up 14-17% of total credit hours in the first year. Most first-year engineering courses were mandatory instead of elective or optional. Mathematics and science still formed the basis of the early engineering curriculum by accounting for more than half of the first-year credit hours. Second, the composition of first-year engineering curricula, the composition of first-year engineering courses, and the time when the first engineering course was required all varied by matriculation models. Third, topics related to engineering technologies and tools were listed most frequently in first-year engineering course descriptions, followed by topics related to design and the engineering profession. Topics related to global interest were seldom listed. Fourth, while first-year course composition varied by matriculation model, the most frequently listed topics were shared by programs with varied matriculation models, suggesting that content selection of first-year engineering courses was homogenous nationally. Lastly, institutions with different matriculation models had distinct characteristics, demonstrating the existence of relationships between institution-level and unit-level variables shown in the Model of Academic Plans in Context (Lattuca & Stark, 2009). ^ Findings of this study addressed fundamental questions of engineering education research, and had the potential to help program administrators and instructors with program and curriculum planning purposes