Undergraduate Students’ Attrition in Engineering: A Literature Review from 1980 to 2011

• In Event: Characteristics of Students in Professional Education Programs

Abstract

To gain a better understanding of the causes of high attrition rates in undergraduate engineering, this literature review examines 38 empirical studies conducted between 1980 and 2011. Based on this analysis, four important factors contributed to engineering undergraduate students’ migration to non-engineering disciplines. These factors include: high school math background, college academic ability, instructional and institutional environment, and self-efficacy. Specifically, high school cognitive variables, college cognitive variables, institutional environment and self-efficacy were analyzed in this review. Based on these finding, recommendations for improving undergraduate engineering students’ retention are proposed, such as mentoring programs, academic assistance programs and college transition programs.

Authors

• Xiushan Jiang, The Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets

• Stacey Vicario Freeman, Arizona State University; UC-Irvine