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1. Board 84: Associations Between Veteran and Non-veteran Student Perceptions of Social Responsibility

   https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--32442  

   Kulesza, Stacey; Liang, Jia; Fitzsimmons, Eric; Zacharakis, Jeff; Hood, Jeffrey (June 2019, 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition)

   null (Ed.)

   This research addresses the global initiative to increase diversity in the engineering work force. The military Veteran student population was identified as one of the most diverse student groups in engineering; however, discontinue and dismissal rates of Veteran students in engineering are significantly higher than traditional engineering students in the United States. These Veteran students hold identifiable traits that are different than traditional engineering students who are under the age of 24 and financially dependent on their parents. While great leaps have been made in engineering student retention, most has focused on these traditional students. This research seeks to fill this gap by specifically addressing the retention of Veteran students using the concept of social responsibility. Social responsibility is generally considered to be acting to benefit society. It is a common ideal promoted in the military (e.g., service before self in the U.S. Air Force fundamental and enduring values). It is also embodied in the engineer’s creed (i.e., engineers using their professional skills to improve human welfare) and revealed by the literature as a major factor that attracts many students from historically underrepresented groups into engineering. Therefore, the objective of this research is to explore the associations between Veteran student retention, social responsibility, and demographics. A survey instrument was developed based on a model for assessing first-year engineering student understanding of social responsibility. The survey was updated to include demographics specific to the Veteran student cohort (e.g., military branch, prior job attributes, and university transfer credits) and questions specifically linking military service and engineering. The survey was piloted, followed by a focus group to clarify survey questions; it was then revised and launched in October 2018 to all students who self-identify as Veterans and all first-year students in the college of engineering at a 4-year land grant institution. Approximately 48% of the Veteran student cohort and 52% of the first-year cohort responded to the survey. This paper will discuss the Veteran and first-year student perceptions of social responsibility in engineering based on results from the instrument. The results of this research will be used to design an intervention, likely in the first-year when most Veteran students discontinue or are dismissed, to increase Veteran retention in engineering programs. 

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2. Work in Progress: Investigating the role of social responsibility on veteran student retention

   Tucker-Kulesza, S.; Liang, G.J.; Fitzsimmons, E.; Zacharakis, J. (June 2018, ASEE Annual Conference proceedings)

   The United States veteran student cohort presents the potential to increase representation of underrepresented groups in engineering program across the country. Unfortunately, discontinued and dismissal rates among veteran students are significantly higher than traditional engineering student attrition. Additionally, there is a lack of data-driven research to understand and quantify retention of veteran students in engineering. The objective of this research is to increase veteran student retention by investigating associations between retention, social responsibility in the military and in engineering, and demographics. Social responsibility is generally understood as acting to benefit society. When practicing engineering, it is the responsibility of engineers to evaluate the implications of their calculations and designs for society’s safety, welfare, and the environment. All military branches promote social responsibility through core values, putting the welfare of others before themselves and working for the greater good of society. There is a common theme between the core ideals of the military community and why many students select engineering to pursue after a successful military career. This work in progress paper will discuss the preliminary survey to measure social responsibility attitudes in veteran and first year students at Kansas State University. The developed survey was reviewed by an expert advisory panel of veterans prior to pilot testing with an identified group of veteran and first-year students. The research team anticipates launching the full survey next fall. The goal of this research is to determine if concepts of social responsibility positively influence veteran student retention. The results of this research will be used to design an intervention, likely in the first-year, which will increase veteran retention in engineering programs. 

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3. Facilitating Veteran and Adult Students’ Learning and Retention in Engineering: Faculty-Student Partnership – A Model of an Evidence-based Practice

   Bullington, K. E.; Dean, A. W.; Jovanovic, V.; Tomovic, C.; Landaeta, R. (January 2021, 2021 CoNECD)

   A model for facilitating veteran students’ learning and retention is presented based on andragogy - the science of adult learning. Adults are independent self-directed learners who accept responsibility for their own learning. Adults can be skeptical and challenge new information but are particularly motivated when the information presented is applicable and relevant to their careers. With a growing number of veterans entering higher education and the challenges associated with retention, it is important to understand and incorporate the basics of andragogy in curriculum and course development to facilitate veteran and adult students’ learning and degree completion. STEM education, and in particular engineering education, continues to be a major focus in K-12 and higher education. Funded by the NSF, this S-STEM project proposes interventions to retain and graduate students with academic promise and strong financial need. The researchers for this project seek to develop innovative, reliable, and replicable ways in which to affect the learning and retention of engineering students, with a focus on veteran students and adult learners. Drawing on the lessons of andragogy, in this paper, faculty share the processes implemented, content derived, and preliminary data from a faculty-student partnership in the development of a mid- to near-degree completion seminar as a model of an evidence-based practice that is affecting student learning and retention. 

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4. Learning Communities: Impact on Retention of First-year Students

   https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--34899  

   Darbeheshti, Maryam; Schupbach, William; Lafuente, Ariel; Altman, Tom; Goodman, Katherine; Jacobson, Michael; O'Brien, Shani (June 2020, 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference)

   This completely evidence-based paper focuses on the impact of the “Engineering Learning Community” on the retention rate of the first-year students. The Engineering Learning Community (ELC) was launched in 2016 and works to increase student collaboration from day one, and to increase interest in engineering through an introductory design course for first year freshman students. ELC students not only take this design course but are matriculated into common first year Math and English courses. These attributes are thought to enhance the student’s ability to overcome the hurdles of their first year and improve their interest in completing a four-year degree at the Engineering College. Since then, three cohorts of ELC students have been observed through the lens of retention, and this study is intended to show how the ELC is affiliated with retention. The results from this study indicate that first year GPA is strongly related to first year retention at the Engineering College, and that students participating in the ELC are observed to have a higher GPA at the end of their first year when compared to the rest of the students in the Engineering College. In addition, interviews with ELC members further demonstrate the influence of a cohort-style learning community on first-year students’ experiences in higher education. 

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5. Learning Communities: Impact on Retention of first-year students

   Darbeheshti, Maryam; Schupbach, William; Lafuente, Ariel; Altman, Tom; Goodman, Katherine; Jacobson, Michael; O'Brien, Shani (July 2020, Zone 1 Conference of the American Society for Engineering Education)

   This completely evidence-based paper focuses on the impact of the Engineering Learning Communities” on the retention rate of the first-year students. The University of Colorado at Denver has recognized the need to increase retention rates at the Engineering College and has created a Learning Community to aid in this effort. The Engineering Learning Community (ELC) was launched in 2016 and works to increase student collaboration from day one, and to increase interest in engineering through an introductory design course for first year freshman students. ELC students not only take this design course but are matriculated into common first year Math and English courses. These attributes are thought to enhance the student’s ability to overcome the hurdles of their first year and improve their interest in completing a four-year degree at the Engineering College. Since then, three cohorts of ELC students have been observed through the lens of retention, and this study is intended to show how the ELC is affiliated with retention. The results from this study indicate that first year GPA is strongly related to first year retention at the Engineering College, and that students participating in the ELC are observed to have a higher GPA at the end of their first year when compared to the rest of the students in the Engineering College. 

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