Browsing by Subject "student retention"

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    Identifying Factors Impacting First-year Persistence in Computer Graphics Technology
    (American Society for Engineering Education, 2015-06) McCrae, Eric; Fernandez, Eugenia; Department of Engineering Technology, Purdue School of Engineering and Technology, IUPUI
    The retention of students is a goal that all universities strive to achieve. With more and more emphasis placed on degree completion, retaining students becomes even more important. University faculty and staff continually try to identify what possible factors affect a student’s decision to remain in their chosen field of study. Faculty in the Computer Graphics Technology (CGT) program are concerned with what factors, if any, affect the persistence of students in the CGT program. The goal of this study was to determine if personal factors such as gender and being a first-generation student and/or academic factors such as admission status, semester course load, and academic grades are related to the first-year persistence of CGT students. Results indicate that first semester performance is a significant indicator of persistence. Gender, first generation student, and admission status were not found to be significant indicators. This points out the importance of efforts focused on students in their first semester of college.
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    Summer Industrial Projects Program (SiPP) Drives Engineering Technology Student Retention
    (American Society for Engineering Education, 2015-06) Durkin, Robert; Department of Engineering Technology, Purdue School of Engineering and Technology, IUPUI
    Engineering Technology education is experiential learning. It serves the hands-on engineering profession that combines knowledge of mathematics and science with the practical application of technology. Typical Engineering Technology (ET) programs prepare graduates to implement technology; evidenced by the nearly 60% of classes that include laboratory content. These laboratory exercises are constructed to simulate manufacturing process and product design problems. While labs are critical to gaining technology experience, they are not engineering projects. The first comprehensive engineering project a student attempts is the program’s capstone course; the Senior Design. The under-served component of Engineering Technology education is engineering projects. This paper describes a three-year NSF-funded summer program designed to improve student retention in Engineering Technology by exposing students to an industrial setting to gain practical engineering experience. Sophomore and Junior-level students were organized into teams and assigned to small or medium-sized manufacturing firms close to the university. Each team conceived and/or implemented a two-month manufacturing project that solved a design or process problem.