Preparing Students for Success in Engineering Degrees: A Combined Strategy Between High School and University

摘要

A combined strategy for improving students' recruitment, academic performance and retention rate during the last year of high school and the first year of engineering programs, including Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Electronics Engineering and Software Engineering, was conducted in collaboration with high-school teachers, university teachers, and peer-mentors. The entire working group included four high-school teachers, eight university teachers, four third-year university students, and sixty six last-year high-school students. During the first year of the experience, the working group analyzed the main weaknesses of the students in terms of knowledge and skills needed for their entrance to engineering degrees. Specific activities were designed and put into practice. During the second year, a mentoring and peer-mentoring strategy was established with the goal of giving students better information and advising about university services and resources as well as about the subjects of and strategies for studying. With this two-year combined strategy, the academic performance of freshmen was substantially improved, with significant differences in comparison with the students who did not participate in the project.