Who leaves and who stays? Retention and attrition in engineering education

dc.creator	Elizabeth Godfrey
dc.creator	Tim Aubrey
dc.creator	Robin King
dc.date	2010-12-01T00:00:00Z
dc.date.accessioned	2015-07-20T22:36:32Z
dc.date.available	2015-07-20T22:36:32Z
dc.identifier	1750-0044
dc.identifier	1750-0052
dc.identifier	https://doaj.org/article/a97b98ab15c04ee4a45eef155c850daf
dc.identifier.uri	http://evidence.thinkportal.org/handle/123456789/22991
dc.description	At a time of high demand for engineering graduates, the mean graduation completion rate of engineering undergraduates in Australia has been identified as approximately 54% (with considerable variation across institutions and sectors). Such a proportion of non-completions has been viewed as an excessive loss to the qualified workforce of Australia. Broad brush, government-collected statistics do not, however, provide the level of detail required to understand who leaves, when and why they leave and where they go. This paper reports on a pilot study undertaken to precede and inform final decisions on research design and methodology for a multi institutional project seeking to understand and reduce student attrition from engineering degrees across Australia. The aim of the project is to produce guidelines on curriculum formulation and delivery strategies to reduce attrition from engineering programmes while meeting course outcomes.The pilot study was conducted at an institution which has a relatively diverse range of students (a high proportion of whom study part time) and engineering degree structures incorporating traditional and internship-based degrees. Results from a cohort analysis which tracked pathways to completion or non-completion of the degree for the cohorts from two specific entry years are presented. From this analysis, groups of students who "persisted over long periods", "switched to another degree" or "withdrew from the university" were identified and interviewed. Their experiences and stories formed an essential pathway to a better understanding of the dynamics of retention/attrition and factors which required further investigation before the multi institutional study began.
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	The Higher Education Academy
dc.relation	http://www.engsc.ac.uk/journal/index.php/ee/article/view/232/227
dc.relation	https://doaj.org/toc/1750-0044
dc.relation	https://doaj.org/toc/1750-0052
dc.rights	CC BY-NC-ND
dc.source	Engineering Education, Vol 5, Iss 2, Pp 26-40 (2010)
dc.subject	retention
dc.subject	attrition
dc.subject	engineering education research
dc.subject	Education (General)
dc.subject	L7-991
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	DOAJ:Education
dc.subject	DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject	Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
dc.subject	TA1-2040
dc.subject	Technology
dc.subject	T
dc.subject	DOAJ:General and Civil Engineering
dc.subject	DOAJ:Technology and Engineering
dc.subject	Education (General)
dc.subject	L7-991
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	DOAJ:Education
dc.subject	DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject	Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
dc.subject	TA1-2040
dc.subject	Technology
dc.subject	T
dc.subject	DOAJ:General and Civil Engineering
dc.subject	DOAJ:Technology and Engineering
dc.subject	Education (General)
dc.subject	L7-991
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
dc.subject	TA1-2040
dc.subject	Technology
dc.subject	T
dc.subject	Education (General)
dc.subject	L7-991
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
dc.subject	TA1-2040
dc.subject	Technology
dc.subject	T
dc.subject	Education (General)
dc.subject	L7-991
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
dc.subject	TA1-2040
dc.subject	Technology
dc.subject	T
dc.title	Who leaves and who stays? Retention and attrition in engineering education
dc.type	article