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This IUSE: Engaged Student Learning project will conduct a study of nontraditional students in engineering (NTSE) to better understand how to support their co-curricular activities so that they are better able to persist with engineering as a discipline. Nontraditional students (NTS) are increasing both as a proportion of undergraduates and in overall numbers. This is especially the case within engineering as people in the workforce return to complete their degrees or are looking to finish school on a part-time basis. Online offerings across higher education institutions has further accelerated this trend. However, there is little research into engineering students that possess characteristics associated with nontraditional students. Engineering as an educational enterprise has been designed to support a traditional four-year residential degree (e.g. group projects, study halls) and NTS are disadvantaged. Prior work has demonstrated better effectiveness for teaching and pedagogy if co-curricular activities are supported and if proper awareness and access to student support mechanisms are in place students are more likely to be successful. Therefore, we need to understand the efficacy of support structures for nontraditional characteristics. The need for this proposed work is critical within engineering as the discipline traditionally has a low persistence and retention rate and this is also the case for NTSE. This work is especially pertinent in the current climate where NTS are additionally burdened due to COVID-19 – there is less support in time of greater need.
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Using Prompted Reflective Journaling to Understand Nontraditional Students in Engineering
This research paper is a study of the support needs of nontraditional students in engineering (NTSE). Nontraditional students in engineering are one segment of the student body that has traditionally not been a part of the conversation in engineering education– those students who do not go through a typical four-year college degree largely at a residential campus. It is only by better understanding the range of issues that NTSE face that we will be able to design interventions and support systems that can assist them. Recent work in engineering education particularly argues that co-curricular support is a critical factor in student success as it effects curricular progress but there has been no work looking specifically at co-curricular support for NTSE and their retention and persistence. The population of NTSE is increasing across campuses as more students take on jobs to support their education and as those in the workforce return to complete their education. It is imperative that higher educational systems understand how to serve the needs of these students better. Although there are a range of ways in which nontraditional students (NTS) are defined, the NCES has proposed a comprehensive definition that includes enrollment criteria, financial and family status, and high school graduation status. Overall, the seven characteristics specifically associated with NTS are: (1) Delayed enrollment by a year or more after high school, (2) attended part-time, (3) having dependents, (4) being a single parent, (5) working full time while enrolled, (6) being financially independent from parents, and (7) did not receive a standard high school diploma. We ground our research in the Model of Co-Curricular Support (MCCS) which suggests it is the role of the institution to provide the necessary support for integration. If students are aware and have access to resources, which lead to their success, then they will integrate into the university environment at higher rates than those students who are not aware and have access to those resources. This research study focuses on answering one research question: How do NTSE engage with co-curricular supports as they progress through their degree programs? To answer this question, we recruited 11 NTSE with a range of nontraditional characteristics to complete prompted reflective journaling assignments five times throughout the Fall 2021 semester. Qualitative results showcase the nuanced lives of NTSE as they pursue their engineering degrees. In particular, results indicate students interact with faculty, classmates, and friends/peers the most, and only interact with advising when required. Students rarely reach out to larger student support for help or are involved with campus or other events happening. Classmate and friend/peer interactions are the most positive, while interactions with faculty had the largest negative outcomes.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2044347
- PAR ID:
- 10398928
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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