A short-term assessment of a multi-faceted engineering retention program

A set of formative tools have been designed to assess the short-term progress of a multi-faceted program aimed at improving the overall graduation rate from 37 to 67 percent over a five-year period at a College of Engineering. The holistic program consists of a set of academic and non-academic components designed to improve first- and second-year retention rates to 80 and 90 percent, respectively. Using selective performance indicators, each program component is assessed to determine its impact on the program´s short-term progress. The assessment shows that the student support offered by the program components has a positive impact on the number of enrolled engineering majors. Following one year of implementation, the program is approximately half way towards reaching its target retention rates. The program has also unexpectedly and positively impacted student recruitment and campus-wide retention efforts. A key lesson learned through project implementation is that strategic assessment of activities is crucial not only to determine the extent to which the desired objectives have been met but to also refine the program components to achieve the desired retention goals. Furthermore, the efforts which focus on first-year students should not overlook the fact that parental/guardian consent may be required as part of assessment activities.