Power Groups For Engineering Students: An In Depth Study Of Results

In 1995, the University of Wyoming implemented clustered scheduling for new engineering students, through Power Groups. Power Group students are scheduled in common sections of Calculus, Chemistry, English, Introduction to Engineering Computing, and Orientation to Engineering. For the 50 70 students who have elected to participate in Power Groups each of the past five fall semesters, academic performance is increased and they choose to remain in engineering longer than the students who are non-participants. Clustered scheduling is especially successful for students in underrepresented groups; female and ethnic minority students in the Power Groups have significantly higher GPAs and a higher retention in engineering majors. Clustered scheduling is a relatively low-cost, effective strategy for increasing the retention of engineering students.