Collaborative Research: Research: Characterizing Engineering Student Mental Wellness and Its Role in Predicting Attrition

San Jose State University Foundation, San Jose CA

Investigators

Abstract

Both the need for increasing retention rates among engineers, and the correlation between mental wellness and general student success are well documented. However, there has been no comprehensive study exploring the relationships between mental wellness and engineering student success or retention. This studyss contribution is significant because analyzing how mental wellness issues affect students? persistence in engineering and cataloguing a list of mental wellness resources offered by engineering departments allows programs to identify and support at-risk students, increasing their ability to successfully retain and graduate a diverse class of engineers. The outcomes of this project are: 1) characterizations of mental wellness of various engineering student populations, including how prevalence of conditions changes throughout the program and any inequities across demographic groups; 2) characterizations of the relationships between Outcome 1 and intention to persist in engineering; 3) characterization of students? awareness of mental wellness resources available to them; 4) a list of needs or gaps in mental wellness resources for engineering students; 5) a model of engineering student success and retention that accounts for mental wellness, and 6) stakeholder-specific materials and trainings. The goal of this project is to study how student mental wellness factors into persistence for engineering students from all backgrounds. The specific research aims are: 1) to characterize the mental wellness of engineering students and its relationship to persistence, and 2) to characterize institutional practices and services related to mental wellness. The first aim is being accomplished through a mixed-methods, longitudinal study consisting of surveys and interviews with engineering students at both large research-oriented and smaller teaching-oriented engineering schools, and Minority Serving Institutions around the country. The survey is a compilation of validated instruments, and qualitative interviews will be used to explore in-depth themes that emerge from the survey. The second research aim is being accomplished through a survey with participating institutions to collect information on how and to what extent mental wellness resources and materials are incorporated into the engineering program. The education aim is to develop research-based, actionable resources for administrators, counselors, faculty, advisors, and students. This is being accomplished through the development of materials and interactive trainings disseminated to different groups of stakeholders. Each set of materials or trainings targets a specific group of stakeholders and is designed with guidance from mental health professionals. This study is significant because it is the first in-depth study of the relationship between mental wellness and retention specifically for engineering students. Educational materials created enhance intellectual infrastructure locally and nationally by providing the first research-based interventions of this kind. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.