Research Initiation: Student Experience and Pathways to Success of "Non-Traditional" Students in Chemical Engineering

Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University, Blacksburg VA

Investigators

Abstract

Chemical Engineering and related programs such as Biochemical and Process Engineering are the only engineering fields that focus on molecules and their transformations. Chemical engineers have a vital role to play in the coming decades in fields including manufacturing, energy, food production, water purification, advanced materials, and many others. In 2022, chemical engineering was the 6th largest engineering major by degrees awarded in the US, and jobs for chemical engineers are predicted to grow in the next 10 years. To meet this growing need, we will need to recruit and educate more students in chemical engineering and related fields. This project will investigate how the unique experiences of non-traditional college students, such as transfer students, part-time students, older students, and veterans, impact their academic performance and progress toward bachelor's degrees in chemical engineering. This project will provide key insights that will be used to support the success of non-traditional students in these disciplines. Most engineering programs in US universities were designed for traditional students that enter a 4-year college immediately after high school and then progress sequentially through the coursework. Chemical engineering coursework in particular is highly sequential, and there are many potential challenges and barriers that make it difficult for students to successfully complete their degrees. This is true for traditional students and the challenges can be even larger for non-traditional students. This project will identify the challenges, barriers to success, and possible advantages experienced by non-traditional students in chemical engineering as well as the potential benefits they bring to the field. The results of the project will be used to improve the recruitment and retention of non-traditional students, expanding the number and quality of engineering graduates to support US industry and manufacturing. This project will create structured mentorship to support the PI in initiating an engineering education research program aimed at understanding how the differing experiences of students pursuing non-traditional educational paths (e.g. transfer, part-time, and older students) impact their academic performance and progress toward bachelor’s degrees in chemical engineering (CHE) and related fields. The research and mentoring activities are designed to help the PI develop the necessary expertise to conduct engineering education research. This collaborative study will result in an enhanced understanding of the experiences of students pursuing traditional and non-traditional pathways in CHE and related fields. The work will determine (1) how a student’s background and academic path affect their readiness to initiate a degree program in CHE; (2) how the experiences of non-traditional students in CHE programs differ from students following a traditional path; and (3) what specific challenges and advantages non-traditional students encounter when navigating the curricula of chemical engineering and related programs. The project involves a combination of quantitative and qualitative assessments (surveys and semi-structured interviews) administered over an 18-month period starting with student entry into CHE programs at Virginia Tech, the University of Virginia, and Virginia Commonwealth University. The assessment instruments will be developed and interpreted in the context of a conceptual model that incorporates student background in the form of “transfer” capital, the early and late college environments, and outcomes such as student retention and academic success. The proposed research will provide key insight into the experiences of non-traditional CHE students that can be used to guide curricular changes and student success initiatives. The results of the research will be shared with collaborators at partner universities, and will also be disseminated broadly via journal publications, conference papers, and conference presentations, and we anticipate that the results will also provide insights that can be used by similarly sized engineering programs such as mining, materials science, and biomedical engineering. 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.