Year: 2024
Type: conference-paper
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This full paper investigates factors that influence second-year persistence among undergraduate students in an engineering program, focusing on math placement, self-reported sense of belonging, and student demographics.Using quantitative data collected at a large R1 university over a five-year period, we use logistic regression analysis to examine relationships between students' characteristics and their continued enrollment in the engineering program in their second year.The findings reveal that math placement significantly impacts students' persistence and that first-generation status is a significant predictor of second-year retention.Surprisingly, student sense of belonging was not indicated as a significant predictor of second-year retention.Our study also noted a lack of significant difference between white students and underrepresented minority students in terms of second-year retention.Our study underscores the need for early academic interventions with respect to math placement and calls for further study to examine the strength of motivating factors related to persistence.
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--48626
Authors: David Gray, Olivia Ryan, James Newcomer, Hamidreza Taimoory
Institution: Virginia Tech
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W4401834348