2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The COVID-19 pandemic presented unprecedented challenges in education and significantly impacted learning. During 2020 and 2021, education pivoted to an online format, and many students struggled in this environment. Mathematics was one of the subjects most affected by online learning. At a large R1 university in the mid-Atlantic region, more engineering students than ever before entered their first year, placing in Pre-Calculus instead of Calculus 1, and were classified as pre-math-ready. Being ‘math ready’ and placing into Calculus 1 is critical for engineering students due to the engineering curriculum's reliance on mathematics and the barriers related to the subject. This study shares the experiences of 15 first-year engineering students who were behind in math during the 2022-2023 academic year. Most participants were in their sophomore year of high school, taking Algebra, when the pandemic shifted everything online. The following year, their junior year, the participants navigated Pre-Calculus, and we highlight the participant's varying learning experiences. We found that students faced three type of transitions: 1) COVID Transition, 2) Transition to the University, and 3) Transition into Engineering and couple the transitions with Schlossberg’s Transition Theory to present our findings. We found that students had various experiences that impacted their math readiness and subsequent transition to the university and into engineering. Additionally, students utilized different supports and strategies to help them through each transition. By recognizing students' varied backgrounds, preparation, and experiences transitioning into engineering, the field can adapt to create a curriculum that meets the needs of all students. Due to the enrollment cliff, engineering programs no longer have the luxury of weeding out students and must update their practices to support pre-math-ready students in engineering.