Novel Program for Engineering Student Retention

Since many students leave engineering without experiencing the excitement of engineering design, a two week program was initiated summer 2012 at the University of South Alabama for high-achieving incoming engineering students. The program introduced students to two highly popular areas: robotics and composite materials. The participants were exposed to a graphical programming tool, LabVIEWTM, which is widely used in engineering curricula, and used the tool to program LEGO MINDSTORM® robots. This combination provided immediate, visual, verification of project solutions. The students quickly gained skills and facility with both tools, creatively addressing the various assigned tasks. Preliminary assessments indicate that the program was highly successful in capturing the interest of the participants and should lead to increased retention of these students in engineering. Introduction Recruiting, teaching and retaining students in engineering programs is a national problem that has been addressed in many, varied ways. The University of South Alabama has implemented a novel program to improve retention in engineering, especially among high achieving students. A pilot program, Freshman Research Experience in Engineering (FREE), was conducted last summer with extremely successful outcomes. Funding for program instruction and materials was provided through Alabama NSF EPSCoR, so there were no costs to the participants. Students spent two weeks immersed in interdisciplinary engineering topics ranging from robotics to composite materials. LabVIEWTM programming was integrated into each topic. The students explored instrumentation, sensors, and control using Lego Robots. They also used LabVIEW to investigate material properties and behavior for metals, polymers, and composites. A series of short lectures introduced the topics and were followed by hands-on interactive laboratory sessions, culminating in an open ended design project. A companion thread for the program was critical thinking which is fundamental to excelling in an engineering curriculum. Following a brief exposure to basic concepts, the students took an on-line test to evaluate their critical thinking skills before beginning the workshop activities. The same test was administered as a post test, with more than a 10 % increase in their skills. The maximum increase was over 30%; interestingly, this was an underrepresented minority student, whose score dramatically improved from the lower end to the high end of the group. This suggests that these types of activities may be quite successful for underrepresented populations, and should be investigated further. The research activities were conducted in a team environment, hence the students had strong teaming experiences and are able to work more effectively and collaboratively in their engineering coursework. The students also interacted one-on-one with both undergraduate and graduate students majoring in computer, electrical, and mechanical engineering. Page 23932.2 Highly motivated, inquisitive incoming freshmen were identified for the program, based on ACT scores, high school GPAs and completed high school coursework (math, chemistry, and physics). Admissions decisions were based on academic achievement and interest (demonstrated through an essay). The program was offered to 60 students (27% of the incoming freshman engineering class) and 12 were accepted for the program. Due to cost constraints and unknown demand, the program did not include a residential component. While the initial assumption was that most of the participants would be from the local area, half of the students came from distant cities and stayed on campus or with relatives. Formal assessment of the program is underway. However, preliminary results are extremely positive, with both faculty and students highly satisfied with the program activities. FREE participants were genuinely excited about learning new things – and they were able to quickly pick up the concepts. In fact, they requested a challenging last task. Their parents were also exposed to their activities, through demonstrations on the final day. It was obvious that the program ignited interest in engineering. Initial data also indicates that FREE has a positive impact on student success and on student retention in engineering. The program will be expanded for coming summers. Summer Program FREE was designed to introduce students to two main engineering disciplines: electrical and computer engineering and mechanical and materials engineering. LabVIEW and the LEGO MINDSTORMS® platform were selected as tools for the program. LabVIEW is an especially useful tool, which engineering students repeatedly encounter during their undergraduate careers. LEGO Mindstorm robots give students an intuitive approach to programming, with immediate, visual results. Recruitment Funding for the program was identified late in the spring semester, so there wasn’t time to reach out to high school students who might be encouraged to major in engineering. It was decided to advertise the program during the summer orientation sessions for incoming students. Students with ACT scores of 28 or above (60 students / 27 % of freshman class) were individually contacted and given details of the summer program. Additional underrepresented students with high math scores or high school coursework in Calculus were also contacted about the program.