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We are assessing the impact of an intervention (a two-day voluntary workshop) on the specific factors of self-efficacy and student integration. This workshop, called the “ChemE Camp”, takes place just before the start of fall classes and includes team-building exercises, presentations from faculty about upcoming classes, a hands-on project, a lab tour, presentations from upper-level students and alumni about their experiences in the curriculum and in industry, information about academic advising and the career fair, and some recreational games. Students attending the camp learn more about chemical engineering courses and the profession and also have the opportunity to meet peers and interact with faculty and upper-level students. We hypothesized that the activities included in the camp would positively impact on students’ self-efficacy and social integration, factors which have been shown in other studies to significantly influence student experience and student success. The effects of the intervention were assessed using surveys administered to students at the start of the camp. These surveys included published subscales used in the study of self-efficacy and social and academic integration. The same surveys were administered to all second-year chemical engineering students at the beginning of the academic year (three days after the beginning of the camp) and the end of the academic year (approximately eight months later). Data collected from the previous three academic years indicate a statistically significant increase in the chemical engineering self-efficacy, coping self-efficacy, and social and academic integration ratings for students who attend the camp and these effects appear to largely be maintained throughout the sophomore year. Non-attendees enter the sophomore year with lower average ratings in these factors and show little change over the course of the year. Students’ intent to persist in the chemical engineering major was also assessed by these surveys, and while the camp attendees’ ratings showed almost no change from just prior to the camp to just after, their ratings exhibited a substantial, statistically-significant increase during the sophomore year. Non-attendees entered the year with a similar average rating to the attendees but showed a much more modest increase over the course of the year. We continue to collect data from both student survey responses and academic records, with the goal of eventually using path analysis to establish the relationships between the factors of self-efficacy and student integration and the outcomes of academic performance and persistence for second-year chemical engineering students. We currently have insufficient data to power such an analysis, but our available data suggest that the intervention is having a positive impact on these factors. 

As part of our study examining the factors that influence the academic performance and persistence of second-year chemical engineering students, we are assessing the impact of an intervention (a two-day voluntary workshop) on the specific factors of self-efficacy and social support. This workshop, called the “ChemE Camp”, is held just before the start of fall classes and includes team-building exercises, presentations from faculty about upcoming classes, a lab tour, presentations from upper-level students and alumni about their experiences in the curriculum and in industry, information about academic advising and the career fair, and some recreational games. Students who attend the camp can learn more about chemical engineering courses and the profession and also have the opportunity to meet peers and interact with faculty and upper-level students. It was hypothesized that the activities included in the camp would have a positive impact on students’ self-efficacy and social integration, factors which have been shown in other studies to significantly influence student experience and student success. To assess the effect of the intervention, surveys were administered to students at the start of the camp. These surveys included published subscales used in the study of self-efficacy and social and academic integration. These same surveys were also administered to all second-year chemical engineering students at the beginning of the academic year (three days after the beginning of the camp) and the end of the academic year (approximately eight months later). Data collected from the previous two academic years indicate a statistically significant increase in the chemical engineering self-efficacy, coping self-efficacy, and social and academic integration ratings for students who attend the camp. These effects appear to largely be maintained throughout the sophomore year and are distinct from the results observed for nonattendees. 

This paper describes the evolution of our assessment of a two-day workshop for rising chemical engineering (ChemE) sophomores into a more rigorous evaluation of the mechanisms behind its impact. In 2016, we implemented a voluntary two-day workshop (the "ChemE Camp") for rising chemical engineering sophomore students to try to improve their retention in our program. To assess the impact of the camp, we developed and administered surveys to camp attendees before the camp and to all ChemE students at the beginning and toward the end of the sophomore year. Student feedback about the camp was overwhelmingly positive, and the survey results indicated that students who attended the camp entered the sophomore year feeling more prepared for the curriculum and more comfortable with the ChemE major than those who did not. Camp attendees also reported a larger network of potential study partners than non-attendees and performed better in the Material and Energy Balances (MEB) course. To explain these observed effects, we enlisted the help of an engineering education researcher. After review of the relevant literature in learning theories, we decided to focus on the constructs of self-efficacy and social support. We then improved the design and rigor of our study and refined our surveys by introducing subscales from validated instruments of self-efficacy and social integration. Preliminary results suggest that the camp is having a positive effect on the self-efficacy, social and academic integration, and intent to persist of the students who attend, and data collection is ongoing to determine whether these effects are lasting. Here we describe our journey from the original development of the camp and assessment tools to our current research examining the factors that affect the achievement and persistence of ChemE sophomore students.