2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This paper is a work in progress (WIP). Low retention and graduation rates in engineering are well-known challenges to maintaining America’s technological competitiveness. These issues can be attributed to the fact that the transition from high school to college can be difficult for students in terms of academic, professional, and personal development. To address this issue, many engineering colleges have implemented programs such as first-year experiences, introduction to engineering courses, and bridge programs to facilitate the transition to college and improve student outcomes. This study aims to examine the impact of an engineering summer bridge program on engineering self-efficacy.

The level of a student’s self-efficacy is a powerful factor in the successful completion of an engineering degree. Self-efficacy is the belief in one’s ability to perform a specific task. It is task-based, not generalized. In the literature, it has been defined as: “a judgment about one’s ability to organize and execute the courses of action necessary to attain a specific goal” [15]). Belief in one’s ability to perform a task influences the choice of goals that a student will seek, the effort expended to reach these goals, and persistence when difficulties arise [15]. For example, students with high self-efficacy set more challenging goals and are more diligent in accomplishing these goals than students with low self-efficacy.

The Longitudinal Assessment of Engineering Self-Efficacy (LAESE) survey was used to measure changes in engineering self-efficacy. Quantitative data is obtained via pre- and post-assessment surveys for the summer bridge program student participants. The LAESE undergraduate instrument has been tested and validated on male and female engineering students. The summer bridge program was a residential program with a duration of 6 weeks. Pre- and post-surveys were administered during the first week of the program and the week after the end of the program, respectively. Statistical analysis was performed on the survey responses across sets of items called subscales that measure self-efficacy, coping self-efficacy, and career success expectations.

The results suggest overall positive changes in self-efficacy and points to areas for further research. The bridge program structure and components including administrative oversight, cohort socialization, courses, and experiential learning are discussed in relation to promoting self-efficacy. In the future, the study’s outcomes can be used to enhance the effectiveness of transition and outreach programs.