Background The introduction of a mentoring program at the University of Notre Dame in which upperclass engineering students serve as a resource to first‐year students was the focus of this study. A retrospective survey was administered to classes of sophomores and juniors. Purpose (Hypothesis) The survey was focused on impressions of the first‐year engineering experiences motivated by a desire to assess the new program. This assessment was used to address research questions relating to students' comfort approaching faculty/upperclass students and transition. Design/Method The survey was first administered during January 2006, prior to program introduction, and again in January 2008, after the program was in place for two years. Responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression models for statistically significant differences. Results Findings indicate: (1) students are more comfortable approaching upperclass students than faculty for advice in many situations, (2) no measurable student benefit could be concluded as a result of the mentoring program introduction, (3) gender differences exist in terms of a student's comfort with their decision to stay in engineering, and (4) gender was not a statistically significant factor in predicting adjustment to engineering. Conclusions Results support continued focus on increasing academic confidence in women and men entering engineering programs to support the adjustment to engineering. The affinity of students for obtaining advice from more experienced students rather than faculty suggests that support programs such as mentoring should aide that adjustment, yet it is clear that the success of such programs is sensitive to conditions that are not easily controlled.
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the implementation of entry-level printers in small businesses and education to identify corresponding benefits, implications and challenges. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from four small businesses in northeast Ohio through survey- and interview-based feedback to develop an understanding of their use of entry-level 3D printing. Three businesses are representative of typical manufacturing-related small companies (final part fabrication-, tooling- and system-level suppliers) and the fourth company provides manufacturing-related educational tools. Corresponding learning from implementation and outcomes are assessed. Findings – Adoption of 3D printing technology was enabled through hands-on experience with entry-level 3D printers, even with their shortcomings. Entry-level 3D printing provided a workforce development opportunity to prepare small businesses to eventually work with production grade systems. Originality/value – This paper details industry-based findings on venturing into commercializing 3D printing through first-hand experiences enabled by entry-level 3D printing.
She also has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and an M.S. in Materials Science with a concentration in Metallurgy. Additionally Dr. Matusovich has four years of experience as a consulting engineer and seven years of industrial experience in a variety of technical roles related to metallurgy and quality systems for an aerospace supplier. Dr. Matusovich's research interests include the role of motivation in learning engineering as well as retention and diversity concerns within engineering education and engineering as a profession.
During the fall of 2014, a quantitative study of first-year engineering student discipline selection was conducted at four dissimilar institutions in the Midwest: (1) an Urban Public, (2) a Private, (3) a Large Land Grant, and (4) a Large Urban. At all four institutions, an on-line survey was conducted at the start and at the end of the semester. The questions related to how interested students are in engineering (as compared to other academic majors), how certain they are that engineering is the best field of study for them, which discipline of engineering they are most interested in studying, and how certain they are of that engineering discipline choice. Collectively, there were over 3,300 student responses from across the four institutions studied. The data illuminated some differences between the institutions. However, a common result across all 4 institutions was a decrease in interest in engineering over the fall semester which may be accounted for by a "polarizing" effect in which the students that were more neutral in terms of certainty of engineering and their engineering discipline at the start of the semester shift over the course of the fall semester to the extremes, both high certainty and low certainty.
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