Impacts Of A Combined Living Learning Community On Attitudes And College Engagement Of Engineering Freshmen

Preparation for a diverse workforce of engineering graduates suited for professional practice or graduate school is a major challenge to engineering educators. Immense challenges occur during student’s first year in higher education where high attrition typically occurs among prospective engineering students. A living-learning community model was developed for engineering students at Washington State University combing residential and academic learning community features as a means for improving retention and academic success in engineering. Living-learning community freshmen shared four classes, lived in a common residence hall, and engaged in facilitated group activities. Self-reporting surveys were used to document attitudes and activities of both learning community and control students at the start and end of their first semester. Results indicated that the living-learning community offers significant benefits toward achieving important goals of these students and produces more positive attitudes about engineering.