Implementation and Effects of a Bridge Program to Increase Student Learning and Retention in Engineering Programs

An engineering bridge program was implemented and utilized to assist pre-engineering students at Texas Tech University (TTU) by offering an optional one week course to strengthen their math and problem solving skills, while also providing mentoring and academic support opportunities to the students throughout the academic year following the course. The program has been in effect for over six years, and has had an approximate total enrollment of over 700 students during that time. Enrollment in the bridge program is offered to incoming students that have scored in the range of four to seven on the math placement exam (MPE), and the course is specifically designed to strengthen the student’s understanding of trigonometry and related problem solving. The goal of the research is to determine whether the bridge program has an immediate effect on improving grades in math and engineering classes, and to determine whether the program has a long-term effect on the students by retaining them within the engineering program. The results of the research, based as a comparison between students that did and did not enroll in the bridge program, showed that the students enrolled in the bridge program brought their performance levels up to approximately the same level as the entire engineering college itself, indicating that the program was successful in increasing performance of the target students. Additionally the program showed that students enrolled in the bridge program stayed within an engineering major after their first year at approximately the same rate as the entire engineering college.