2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Board 143: Challenges Faced by Students Transitioning from High School to College

Presented at Multidisciplinary Engineering Division (MULTI) Poster Session

The COVID pandemic has caused significant disruptions in the educational system. At the university level, students are struggling with deficiencies in math knowledge and with the lack of skills needed to succeed in college. According to the 2022 report from the American College Testing (ACT), only one in five students graduating from high school are prepared to take university level courses in math and science. The ACT composite results fell to the lowest values since 1991. This generation of students is more distressed, disengaged, digitally distracted, and discouraged, compared with other cohorts.

The purpose of this project is to identify the challenges faced by students transitioning from High School to College after the COVID pandemic. Specifically, we are interested in understanding the transition of first-generation students as they experience their first semester in college. We believe that the COVID pandemic has caused significant shifts in the struggles and needs of incoming students. For the analysis, first semester students enrolled in an engineering program in the mid-Atlantic region were tasked to write a reflective essay that summarizes the challenges faced in their first four weeks in college. A thematic analysis of the qualitative data is being used to analyze the reflective essays.

This “work in progress” paper will summarize the main results of the study. Based on the analysis, we plan to propose interventions to assist students in their transition from high school to college. This project is of interest to institutions seeking to improve the retention of students in their engineering programs.

Authors

Mrs. Anika Coolbaugh Pirkey http://orcid.org/https://0000-0002-5349-3561 West Virginia University [biography]

Anika Pirkey is currently a Teaching Assistant Professor with the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at West Virginia University (WVU). Her research background combines computational and experimental studies to address questions in both cancer immunology and first year engineering education. Prior to joining the CBE Department, her teaching and education research focused on promoting engineering problem solving, critical thinking, and metacognition skills through applied engineering mathematics for algebra and trigonometry students in the First Year Engineering Program. Within the CBE Department, Pirkey is the primary instructor for the Biomedical Engineering Senior Design curriculum.
Daniel Augusto Kestering http://orcid.org/https://0009-0000-0790-8861 West Virginia University
Dr. Lizzie Santiago West Virginia University [biography]

Lizzie Y. Santiago, Ph.D., is the Director of the Fundamentals of Engineering Program in the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources at West Virginia University. She holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and completed postdoctoral training in Neural Tissue Engineering and Molecular Neurosciences. She teaches freshman engineering courses and supports the outreach and recruiting activities of the college. Her research interests include neural tissue engineering, stem cell research, attrition and university retention, increasing student awareness and interest in research and engineering, STEM education, critical thinking skills, self-regulation, and recruitment and retention of women and minorities.

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