2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Community-Based Strategies for Improved Retention In Engineering Programs

Presented at FPD: Complete Papers - Retention

This Complete Research Paper will share various evidence-based practices which focus on building community to improve student retention in engineering. At a small, private university in the midwest, first-year retention rates for first-year full-time students have significantly improved over the past four years. Various strategies have been implemented, most with a community-building-focused approach. The key strategies which have been implemented include a peer mentor program and an Math Accelerator program for incoming students. The peer mentor program focuses on bringing students together for fun social activities (rather than tutoring) in smaller groups. The Math Accelerator program targets students who do not place into calculus, and teaches them college success skills, along with giving them time and support to improve their math placement scores before the semester begins. This program allows students to move in earlier allowing them to start socializing and getting acclimated to University life. Further, the program uses the universities learning management software extensively giving these students an edge in learning the online course tools and procedures. This work will also look at math course placement and report how this factors into graduation success. Other initiatives and strategies include an expanded engineering living community, weekly community nights, expanded engineering-focus student groups (IEEE, ASME, SWE, NSBE, etc.), and a new dedicated engineering advisor. Additionally, there have been curriculum changes to aid in first-year success. This includes integrating new changes into our first-year orientation course, including peer mentor program participation and service requirements. Moreover, the first-year design course has undergone a significant overhaul to incorporate a year-long team-based project where students compete in a variety of robotics competitions aimed at integrating technologies from all of the majors within the school. This work will analyze retention numbers over the past four years by examining retention data as students matriculate through the university. Initial and recurring costs to implement each of these initiatives, along with the student impact, will be reviewed and discussed with the ultimate goal of sharing what may have the greatest influence on student retention.

Authors

Nathaniel Viewegh University of Indianapolis [biography]

Nathaniel Viewegh is an undergraduate student at the R. B. Annis School of Engineering at the University of Indianapolis, where he is pursuing degrees in Electrical Engineering and Physics. His research involves investigating optimizations, near-field enhancements, and surface plasmon resonances in computational models of plasmonic nanoparticles. Additionally, he explores the role of non-standard Lagrangians and gauge functions in nonlinear dynamics. Nathaniel plans to pursue a PhD in experimental physics.
Dr. Joan Martinez http://orcid.org/0009-0002-9753-9346 University of Indianapolis [biography]

Joan Martinez is an associate professor in the R.B. Annis School of Engineering at the University of Indianapolis. He received his Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from Western Michigan University. His research interest lies in developing data-driven models within the fields of engineering education, decision sciences, production systems and financial systems.
Abigail Hale University of Indianapolis
Dr. Stephen J Spicklemire University of Indianapolis [biography]

Has been teaching physics at UIndy for more than 35 years. From the implementation of "flipped" physics class to the modernization of scientific computing and laboratory instrumentation courses, Steve has brought the strengths of his background in physics, engineering and computer science into the classroom. Steve also does IT and engineering consulting.
Paul Talaga
Mr. James T Emery II University of Indianapolis [biography]

James Emery is the Laboratory Manager for Mechanical Systems at the R.B. Annis School of Engineering at the University of Indianapolis. Prior to coming to the University of Indianapolis James worked as a lead model maker at a scale model wind tunnel.
Dr. Kenneth Reid http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2337-7495 University of Indianapolis [biography]

Kenneth Reid is the Associate Dean and Director of Engineering at the R. B. Annis School of Engineering at the University of Indianapolis. He and his coauthors were awarded the Wickenden award (Journal of Engineering Education, 2014) and Best Paper award, Educational Research and Methods Division (ASEE, 2014). He was awarded an IEEE-USA Professional Achievement Award (2013) for designing the B.S. degree in Engineering Education. He is a co-PI on the ”Engineering for Us All” (e4usa) project to develop a high school engineering course ”for all”. He is active in engineering within K-12, (Technology Student Association Board of Directors) and has written multiple texts in Engineering, Mathematics and Digital Electronics. He earned a PhD in Engineering Education from Purdue University, is a Senior Member of IEEE, on the Board of Governors of the IEEE Education Society, and a Member of Tau Beta Pi.
Dr. Joseph B Herzog http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2441-6169 University of Indianapolis [biography]

Joseph B. Herzog is an Associate professor in the R.B. Annis School of Engineering at the University of Indianapolis. He chose to come to the University of Indianapolis because he is passionate about teaching, is excited about the direction of the new R.B. Annis School of Engineering, is glad to return to his engineering roots, and is happy to be close to his extended family. Previously he was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Arkansas. He is truly grateful for his time at the University of Arkansas, and enjoyed his department, students, and the campus. While in Fayetteville, he also served as a faculty in the Microelectronics-Photonics Program and the Institute for Nanoscience and Engineering. He received his PhD from the University of Notre Dame working in the Nano-Optics Research Lab with J. Merz and A. Mintairov. After this he was a Welch Postdoctoral Research Associate, researching plasmonic nanostructures at Rice University with Douglas Natelson in the Department of Physics & Astronomy. In the summer of 2017 he was a Fellow at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington, DC working with Jake Fontana on tunable subnanometer gap plasmonic metasurfaces as part of the Office of Naval Research Summer Faculty Research Program. At the NRL he worked in the Center for Biomolecular Science and Engineering, which is a division of the Materials Directorate at the NRL. His experience also includes working for Intel Corporation both in Hillsboro, OR and Santa Clara, CA; and he worked at the Berliner Elektronenspeicherring-Gesellschaft für Synchrotronstrahlung m.b.H. (BESSY - Berlin electron storage ring company for synchrotron radiation) in Berlin, Germany, researching ultra thick high-aspect-ratio microfabrication. His research focuses on experimental nano-optics, including plasmonics, nanofabrication, computational modeling, photonic crystals, and engineering education.

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