Initial Observations on Student Retention and Course Satisfaction Based on First-Year Engineering Student Surveys and Interviews

The College of Engineering at the University of Notre Dame will complete the third year of its new Introduction to Engineering course sequence at the end of the Spring 2003 semester. Retention statistics, student surveys and exit interviews conducted by faculty, engineering administrators and first-year student advisors have provided insight into the retention characteristics of first-year engineering intents. Some initial observations include the following: changes in the format and content of the material presented in the first semester appear to affect retention rates, particularly for women; women drop the course at a higher rate than men; and women appear both to enter engineering programs for reasons different than men and to express a lower level of confidence than men with respect to the technology-related skills and experiences they brought to the course. These observations have encouraged us to consider modifications to the course, continuing to focus on the primary goal of improving the quality of the learning experience, while also addressing student retention, particularly with regard to women. These observations have also encouraged us to refine our data collection to provide greater insight into how changes in the course structure and content affect retention.