2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

In light of the recent ASEE Mindset Report and related research and scholarly discussion about the necessity of the difficult series of math courses required for an engineering degree and the negative impact it has on underserved populations of students, this work-in-progress research begins to explore the effects of math courses on students who do not enter collegiate engineering programs with the traditionally expected math readiness. This case study narrative inquiry highlights trends for this type of student during year one – when retention is the lowest - as part of a larger study that will follow students through their entire collegiate career. While “traditional” engineering students come into most engineering programs ready to start math coursework at the calculus level, some students who elect to pursue an engineering degree do not have the test scores, math course experience, or general math confidence to enter at that level. In universities that offer test-optional admission or have minimal admissions criteria for engineering students related to math, these strict math requirements take an early toll on many students who enter programs at a lower math level, often resulting in their departure from the program. This study, framed in self-efficacy theory, aims to help better understand these students’ experiences, what causes them to leave, and what struggles they face in an effort to generate solutions that address these issues and improve retention. Through analysis of participant interview and interaction data, personal narratives are derived to help explain and explore the participant's lived experiences. This study aims to shed light on how challenging math coursework can impact self-efficacy and retention for students who enter engineering programs below a calculus level and provide research-backed suggestions for improving the experience these students have during their college journey, thus increasing retention in engineering programs. Early findings suggest that positive faculty-student interactions, a sense of belonging, and the ability to feel success (instead of defeat) in early mathematics coursework are key contributors to what improves self-efficacy for students who struggle in math-specific courses.