Examining the influence of engineering students’ course grades on major choice and major switching behavior

• Autores: Joyce B. Main, Kevin J. Mumford, Matthew W. Ohland
• Localización: The International journal of engineering education, ISSN-e 0949-149X, Vol. 31, no. 6 (Parte A), 2015, págs. 1468-1475
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The need for science and engineering workers has raised concerns regarding the persistence of undergraduate students inengineering. Since academic institutions ordinarily provide students with feedback on course performance through grades,understanding the role of course grades in influencing student major choice and major switching behavior is critical. This research identifies factors associated with switching majors within engineering, as well as examines how students’ expectations regardingfuture grades may influence major choice. The data include individual-level demographic characteristics and detailed transcriptrecords from 27,065 students in the Multiple-Institution Database for Investigating Engineering Longitudinal Development(MIDFIELD). Logit regression analysis on the likelihood of switching majors indicate that students who initially declare industrialor mechanical engineering are less likely than those who declare electrical to switch majors. Scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Tests(SATs), as well as introductory course grades in Calculus and Physics are associated with the likelihood of changing majors.Findings from the propensity score analysis show that students with higher grade point averages in introductory courses are morelikely to stay in their intended engineering major if they expect to receive relatively higher grades in their intended major’s upper-division courses. Research findings have broad implications for academic institutions and how grading distributions and practicesmay be associated with students’ switching behavior and major choice in engineering.