Increasing the Enrollment, Retention, and Satisfaction of First- Year Students in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, and Computer Science

摘要

In this paper we describe the design and implementation of a novel first-year course for undergraduate students interested in electrical engineering (EE), computer engineering (CE), and computer science (CS). Our primary goal is to realize significant improvements in several student outcomes, including: increased enrollment, retention, and satisfaction for all students- with even greater impact for students from under-represented groups. Our work is motivated, in part, by the recent downward trend in undergraduate enrollment in these areas: in the United States, from Fall 2001 to Fall 2007, enrollment declined 29.7% in EE/CE bachelor's degree programs and it declined 18.8% in CS bachelor's degree programs.