A Study of Internships and Conferences on Retention and Graduation of Undergraduate Students

Tariq Khraishi; Kristine Denman; Elsa Castillo; Jenna Dole

doi:doi:10.11648/j.her.20200505.15

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A Study of Internships and Conferences on Retention and Graduation of Undergraduate Students

Tariq Khraishi, Kristine Denman, Elsa Castillo, Jenna Dole

Published in Higher Education Research (Volume 5, Issue 5)

Received: 24 September 2020 Accepted: 12 October 2020 Published: 21 October 2020

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Abstract

The issue of retention and graduation of STEM college students is an important one in the United States, which the federal government, and its agencies, have focused on addressing for many years. In this paper, the authors discuss the experiences of a National Science Foundation STEP (STEM Talent Expansion Program) award to the School of Engineering at the University of New Mexico (UNM). The objective of this project is in-line with the national goal of improving retention and graduation rates of STEM students (specifically engineering and computer science students). The setup of this STEP project is unique in the sense that it focuses its efforts and activity funding on internships and professional conference participation trips for early career engineering and computer science students. In addition to a background on the national STEP Program, the paper discusses the constructive elements of this project and the data that was collected to measure its impact. The methods of this research involved data collection and analysis, surveys, bivariate descriptive statistics with statistical significance, and multivariate logistic regression analysis. The findings supported the original hypothesis of this multi-year study concerning the anticipated positive effect internships and conference participations can have on the graduation and retention of engineering undergraduate students. Therefore, it is concluded that such activities be explored at other higher education institutions in order to improve their retention and graduation numbers.

Published in	Higher Education Research (Volume 5, Issue 5)
DOI	10.11648/j.her.20200505.15
Page(s)	199-208
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Career Development, Computer Science, Engineering, Internships, Mentoring, STEM, STEP, Retention, Undergraduates

References

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[3]	S. M. McKenzie, “Factors in engineering educational persistence: the correlation between identity and self-efficacy,” 2016. [Online]. Available: http://hdl.handle.net/10474/3126.
[4]	D. A. Major, S. D. Burleson, X. Hu, and K. J. Shryock, “Board 141: Engineering Identity as a Predictor of Undergraduate Students' Persistence in Engineering,” 2019. [Online]. Psychology Faculty Publications. 98. Available: https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/psychology_fac_pubs/98.
[5]	M. Meyer and S. Marx, “Engineering dropouts: A qualitative examinations of why undergraduates leave engineering,” J. of Engin. Edu, vol. 103, no. 4, pp. 525-548, Oct. 2014.
[6]	V. Tinto, “Research and practice of student retention: What next?,” J. of Col. Stud. Retent: Research, Theor., and Prac., vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 1-19, May 2006.
[7]	L. E. Bernold and J. E. Spurlin, and C. M. Anson, “Understanding our students: A longitudinal-study of success and failure in engineering with implications for increased retention,” J. of Engin. Edu., vol. 96, no. 3, pp. 263-274, Jul. 2007.
[8]	C. Moller-Wong, M. C. Shelly II, and L. H. Ebbers, “Policy goals for educational administration and undergraduate retention: Toward a cohort model for policy and planning,” Pol. Stud. Rev., vol. 16, no. 3-4, pp. 243-277, Sep. 1999.
[9]	L. K. Lau “Institutional factors affecting student retention,” Edu., vol. 124, no. 1, pp. 126-136, Sep. 2003.
[10]	S. E. Walden and C. Foor, “What’s to keep you from dropping out?’ Student immigration into and within engineering,” J. of Engin. Edu., vol. 97, no. 2, pp. 191-205, April, 2008.
[11]	J. A. Raelin, M. B. Bailey, J. Hamann, L. K. Pendleton, R. Reisberg, and D. L. Whitman, “The gendered effect of cooperative education, contextual support, and self-efficacy on undergraduate retention,” J. of Engin. Edu., vol. 103, no. 4, pp. 599-624, Oct. 2014.
[12]	R. M. Marra and B. Bogue, “Women engineering students’ self efficacy-A longitudinal multi-institution study,” presented at the WEPAN Conf., Pittsburgh, PA, 2006.
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[14]	C. M. Vogt, “Faculty as a critical juncture in student retention and performance in engineering programs,” J. of Engin. Edu., vol. 97, no. 1, pp. 27-36, Jan. 2008.
[15]	F. Dehing, W. Jochems, and L. Baartman, “Development of an engineering identity in the engineering curriculum in Dutch higher education: An exploratory study from the teaching staff perspective,” Euro. J. of Engin, Edu., vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 1-10, Mar. 2013.
[16]	V. Tinto, Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition (2nd Edition). Chicago, IL, USA: University of Chicago Press, 1993.
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APA Style

Tariq Khraishi, Kristine Denman, Elsa Castillo, Jenna Dole. (2020). A Study of Internships and Conferences on Retention and Graduation of Undergraduate Students. Higher Education Research, 5(5), 199-208. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.her.20200505.15

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ACS Style

Tariq Khraishi; Kristine Denman; Elsa Castillo; Jenna Dole. A Study of Internships and Conferences on Retention and Graduation of Undergraduate Students. High. Educ. Res. 2020, 5(5), 199-208. doi: 10.11648/j.her.20200505.15

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AMA Style

Tariq Khraishi, Kristine Denman, Elsa Castillo, Jenna Dole. A Study of Internships and Conferences on Retention and Graduation of Undergraduate Students. High Educ Res. 2020;5(5):199-208. doi: 10.11648/j.her.20200505.15

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@article{10.11648/j.her.20200505.15,
  author = {Tariq Khraishi and Kristine Denman and Elsa Castillo and Jenna Dole},
  title = {A Study of Internships and Conferences on Retention and Graduation of Undergraduate Students},
  journal = {Higher Education Research},
  volume = {5},
  number = {5},
  pages = {199-208},
  doi = {10.11648/j.her.20200505.15},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.her.20200505.15},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.her.20200505.15},
  abstract = {The issue of retention and graduation of STEM college students is an important one in the United States, which the federal government, and its agencies, have focused on addressing for many years. In this paper, the authors discuss the experiences of a National Science Foundation STEP (STEM Talent Expansion Program) award to the School of Engineering at the University of New Mexico (UNM). The objective of this project is in-line with the national goal of improving retention and graduation rates of STEM students (specifically engineering and computer science students). The setup of this STEP project is unique in the sense that it focuses its efforts and activity funding on internships and professional conference participation trips for early career engineering and computer science students. In addition to a background on the national STEP Program, the paper discusses the constructive elements of this project and the data that was collected to measure its impact. The methods of this research involved data collection and analysis, surveys, bivariate descriptive statistics with statistical significance, and multivariate logistic regression analysis. The findings supported the original hypothesis of this multi-year study concerning the anticipated positive effect internships and conference participations can have on the graduation and retention of engineering undergraduate students. Therefore, it is concluded that such activities be explored at other higher education institutions in order to improve their retention and graduation numbers.},
 year = {2020}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - A Study of Internships and Conferences on Retention and Graduation of Undergraduate Students
AU  - Tariq Khraishi
AU  - Kristine Denman
AU  - Elsa Castillo
AU  - Jenna Dole
Y1  - 2020/10/21
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.her.20200505.15
DO  - 10.11648/j.her.20200505.15
T2  - Higher Education Research
JF  - Higher Education Research
JO  - Higher Education Research
SP  - 199
EP  - 208
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2578-935X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.her.20200505.15
AB  - The issue of retention and graduation of STEM college students is an important one in the United States, which the federal government, and its agencies, have focused on addressing for many years. In this paper, the authors discuss the experiences of a National Science Foundation STEP (STEM Talent Expansion Program) award to the School of Engineering at the University of New Mexico (UNM). The objective of this project is in-line with the national goal of improving retention and graduation rates of STEM students (specifically engineering and computer science students). The setup of this STEP project is unique in the sense that it focuses its efforts and activity funding on internships and professional conference participation trips for early career engineering and computer science students. In addition to a background on the national STEP Program, the paper discusses the constructive elements of this project and the data that was collected to measure its impact. The methods of this research involved data collection and analysis, surveys, bivariate descriptive statistics with statistical significance, and multivariate logistic regression analysis. The findings supported the original hypothesis of this multi-year study concerning the anticipated positive effect internships and conference participations can have on the graduation and retention of engineering undergraduate students. Therefore, it is concluded that such activities be explored at other higher education institutions in order to improve their retention and graduation numbers.
VL  - 5
IS  - 5
ER  -

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Author Information

Tariq Khraishi

Mechanical Engineering Department, School of Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
Kristine Denman

New Mexico Statistical Analysis Center, Institute for Social Research, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
Elsa Castillo

Engineering Student Success (ESS) Center, School of Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
Jenna Dole

New Mexico Statistical Analysis Center, Institute for Social Research, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Tariq Khraishi, Kristine Denman, Elsa Castillo, Jenna Dole. (2020). A Study of Internships and Conferences on Retention and Graduation of Undergraduate Students. Higher Education Research, 5(5), 199-208. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.her.20200505.15

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ACS Style

Tariq Khraishi; Kristine Denman; Elsa Castillo; Jenna Dole. A Study of Internships and Conferences on Retention and Graduation of Undergraduate Students. High. Educ. Res. 2020, 5(5), 199-208. doi: 10.11648/j.her.20200505.15

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Tariq Khraishi, Kristine Denman, Elsa Castillo, Jenna Dole. A Study of Internships and Conferences on Retention and Graduation of Undergraduate Students. High Educ Res. 2020;5(5):199-208. doi: 10.11648/j.her.20200505.15

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.her.20200505.15,
  author = {Tariq Khraishi and Kristine Denman and Elsa Castillo and Jenna Dole},
  title = {A Study of Internships and Conferences on Retention and Graduation of Undergraduate Students},
  journal = {Higher Education Research},
  volume = {5},
  number = {5},
  pages = {199-208},
  doi = {10.11648/j.her.20200505.15},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.her.20200505.15},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.her.20200505.15},
  abstract = {The issue of retention and graduation of STEM college students is an important one in the United States, which the federal government, and its agencies, have focused on addressing for many years. In this paper, the authors discuss the experiences of a National Science Foundation STEP (STEM Talent Expansion Program) award to the School of Engineering at the University of New Mexico (UNM). The objective of this project is in-line with the national goal of improving retention and graduation rates of STEM students (specifically engineering and computer science students). The setup of this STEP project is unique in the sense that it focuses its efforts and activity funding on internships and professional conference participation trips for early career engineering and computer science students. In addition to a background on the national STEP Program, the paper discusses the constructive elements of this project and the data that was collected to measure its impact. The methods of this research involved data collection and analysis, surveys, bivariate descriptive statistics with statistical significance, and multivariate logistic regression analysis. The findings supported the original hypothesis of this multi-year study concerning the anticipated positive effect internships and conference participations can have on the graduation and retention of engineering undergraduate students. Therefore, it is concluded that such activities be explored at other higher education institutions in order to improve their retention and graduation numbers.},
 year = {2020}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - A Study of Internships and Conferences on Retention and Graduation of Undergraduate Students
AU  - Tariq Khraishi
AU  - Kristine Denman
AU  - Elsa Castillo
AU  - Jenna Dole
Y1  - 2020/10/21
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.her.20200505.15
DO  - 10.11648/j.her.20200505.15
T2  - Higher Education Research
JF  - Higher Education Research
JO  - Higher Education Research
SP  - 199
EP  - 208
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2578-935X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.her.20200505.15
AB  - The issue of retention and graduation of STEM college students is an important one in the United States, which the federal government, and its agencies, have focused on addressing for many years. In this paper, the authors discuss the experiences of a National Science Foundation STEP (STEM Talent Expansion Program) award to the School of Engineering at the University of New Mexico (UNM). The objective of this project is in-line with the national goal of improving retention and graduation rates of STEM students (specifically engineering and computer science students). The setup of this STEP project is unique in the sense that it focuses its efforts and activity funding on internships and professional conference participation trips for early career engineering and computer science students. In addition to a background on the national STEP Program, the paper discusses the constructive elements of this project and the data that was collected to measure its impact. The methods of this research involved data collection and analysis, surveys, bivariate descriptive statistics with statistical significance, and multivariate logistic regression analysis. The findings supported the original hypothesis of this multi-year study concerning the anticipated positive effect internships and conference participations can have on the graduation and retention of engineering undergraduate students. Therefore, it is concluded that such activities be explored at other higher education institutions in order to improve their retention and graduation numbers.
VL  - 5
IS  - 5
ER  -

Copy | Download