2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This methods full paper adapts a previous study in the literature to investigate transferability to different classroom contexts. Barriers to student success are complex: noncognitive and affective (NCA) factors are not related to talent or intelligence but are still shown to impact academic achievement. A previous study on a relatively low-effort intervention (and hence “light touch”) – sending strategically timed and personalized emails – demonstrated several achievement outcomes for underrepresented minority students in high-enrollment, introductory-level courses at a large public university. This project adapts and tests this intervention in the small class sizes (35 students) of the mechanical engineering department at a mid-size public university to investigate the effects on two NCA factors of interest: students’ perception of faculty caring and sense of belonging. Four instructors applied the intervention across a variety of 2nd and 3rd year classes in the spring 2025 quarter (N = 291 total students). After the first major assessment (a quiz or midterm around the 3rd or 4th week), low-performing students were randomly assigned to the treatment or control group. The treatment group (n = 41) received a personalized email about their individual score and methods to improve, while all other students received a generic email about overall class performance and available resources. The treatment was administered again after the second major assessment. The students’ NCA factors were assessed through surveys given at the beginning and end of the 10-week quarter. Final course grades were collected as another outcome of interest. For almost all student demographic subgroups and outcomes of interest, 90% confidence intervals for the treatment effect included the null result, indicating that the treatment may have had less effect than the original study. We present a reflection on these results and on context-specific study parameters such as smaller, upper-division courses to form recommendations for future work. Keywords: non-cognitive factors, belonging, caring, underrepresented students.