Improving Retention and Graduation of Female Engineering and Polytechnic Students With First-Year Interventions

Abstract

Prior research in student retention emphasizes that building students' connections with the institution and their peers is key. Students from underrepresented populations often lack these connections, making them more prone to dropping out or transferring majors, especially in high-pressure engineering and polytechnic programs. In this article, we discuss our study that analyzes data from a freshman-year class intended to introduce female students, one underrepresented demographic, to STEM fields and improve student retention rates. The class promoted students' interactions with female professors and peer mentors, student organizations, and speakers from industry presented as role models and mentors. Data gathered from this class include year-by-year demographics, graduation and retention rates, and curriculum composition across 11 years. Analysis of this data indicates that interactions with professors and peer mentors especially resulted in improved outcomes for female students taking the course, as compared with the general population of female students in the department.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Anne Lucietto

Anne Lucietto ([email protected]) is an associate professor in the School of Engineering Technology at the Purdue Polytechnic Institute; Holden Buckner is a graduate of the School of Mechanical Engineering; and Antonia Munguia is the director of recruitment, retention, and diversity at the Purdue Polytechnic Institute, all at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Holden Buckner

Anne Lucietto ([email protected]) is an associate professor in the School of Engineering Technology at the Purdue Polytechnic Institute; Holden Buckner is a graduate of the School of Mechanical Engineering; and Antonia Munguia is the director of recruitment, retention, and diversity at the Purdue Polytechnic Institute, all at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Antonia Munguia

Anne Lucietto ([email protected]) is an associate professor in the School of Engineering Technology at the Purdue Polytechnic Institute; Holden Buckner is a graduate of the School of Mechanical Engineering; and Antonia Munguia is the director of recruitment, retention, and diversity at the Purdue Polytechnic Institute, all at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.