Approaches to improving retention being investigated by the SUCCEED Coalition

Summary form only given. The SUCCEED Engineering Education Coalition was established to effect curricular change that would significantly enhance the success of engineering students. Student retention data within the SUCCEED institutions indicated that effective transitioning of students into the university from high school community colleges or small colleges was critical to their success. A series of experiments are being conducted at these interfaces by the Coalition (e.g. student mentoring, pre-season programs, early exposure to engineering practice, developing effective learning skills). As an example, a high school-university transition program targeting minority students is being tested at 4 institutions. An overview of the approaches that SUCCEED is taking is presented and detailed results are given for selected projects. Since the conception of the SUCCEED Coalition, the African-American enrolment in SUCCEED institutions has increased by 45% and the number of degrees by more than 50%. The enrolment of women engineering students has increased by 12% with a corresponding 6% increase in the number of graduates.