Improving Freshman Retention Through An Introduction To Engineering Design Course

A freshman engineering design course at California State University, Chico is described. The primary motivation for creating the course was to encourage students to continue their study of Mechanical Engineering. The course appears to have significantly decreased the attrition of Mechanical Engineering majors. To date 79% of the freshman Mechanical Engineering majors who have taken the course have become sophomore Mechanical Engineering majors and 21% have changed majors or left California State University, Chico before becoming sophomores. The history leading to the design of the course as well as the course’s objectives, structure and requirements are described. The course involves teams of students designing, building and testing devices that participate in competitions. Examples of these projects are discussed.