2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This Work in Progress paper was motivated by understanding the unique challenges facing Generation Z (Gen Z) students who now cross the spectra of undergraduate and graduate college degree offerings. Of note is that members of Gen Z experienced the events of September 11, 2001; they lived through a recession and high unemployment; they are familiar with a world at war; their learning and formative years were interrupted by a pandemic; and they are the most racially diverse and technically savvy generation of all.

Research on this generation sets them apart in many ways from previous generations who influenced the development of college courses, program curricula and support infrastructure. Gen Z’s unique experiences, needs, loss of learning, and potential creates a clarion call for universities to assess how they are best supported and retained. This study addresses the creation, development and implementation of two pilot First Year Seminar (FYS) courses offered college-wide for engineering and computer science students in the 2024 fall and 2025 spring semesters as a high impact practice for student success.

Results are promising. Student focus groups, faculty focus groups, pre- and post-course surveys and mid-course progress surveys were conducted to provide insight into student development and design effectiveness. Institutional Research at Wright State University produced initial quantitative assessment comparisons during the 2025 spring semester on DFW rates (percentage of students earning a ‘D’ or an ‘F’ or withdrawing compared to the total enrollment), persistence, significance testing, and pre- and post-course learning outcomes.

The time is right in the development of this FYS Work in Progress study to solicit feedback from renowned researchers and colleagues through the ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition Work in Progress process to help guide a permanent, rich and impactful experience for a new generation of engineering and computer science scholars.