Innovation, Practice and Research in Engineering Education EE2012 1 GP131/abs107 Supporting transition, engagement and retention in first year engineering Caroline Crosthwaite (c.crosthwaite@uq.edu.au), Lydia Kavanagh Faculty of Engineering, Architecture & Information Technology, The University of Queensland, Australia Abstract: Over the last decade The University of Queensland implemented a comprehensive first year engineering program of curricular and extra-curricular activities to support the transition, engagement and retention of students. This includes small group ‘design and build’ projects beginning with an Orientation to Engineering Project Day, a comprehensive program of pre-arrival academic advising, and on line diagnostic testing of pre-requisite knowledge and skills. Dedicated physical (Engineering Learning Centre) and virtual (First year Hub) learning spaces are also provided. Quantitative and qualitative data on first year attrition, academic success and retention, the student experience, and student engagement is presented as evidence of the efficacy of this program. Introduction This paper outlines the experience of the last decade at The University of Queensland (UQ) in implementing and evaluating a comprehensive first year engineering program of curricular and extra- curricular activities based on accepted principles of good practice and research, and aiming to support the transition, engagement and retention of first year engineering students. National context Australia’s continuing engineering skills shortage coupled with lower than average national university degree completion rates for engineering, reportedly between 54% (King 2008) and 65% (Godfrey et al. 2011), has provoked re-examination of student demand, enrolments, retention, and success in engineering degrees across the country. As identified for the USA (Ohland et al. 2008) and confirmed by several Australian higher education reports (Krause et al. 2005, Marks 2007, Olsen et al. 2008), attrition from engineering degrees is lower than from degrees in all other discipline areas except medicine and health. Regardless of attitudes to attrition in other disciplines, the average loss of approximately 46% of the commencing engineering student cohort is viewed by industry and the profession as an unacceptable loss to the engineering workforce, particularly at a time when the global demand for engineering graduates is increasing, with an estimated shortfall of 20,000 engineers in Australia alone (King 2008). Many initiatives addressing engagement and retention in engineering programs have been implemented, most concentrated in the first year of study (Godfrey et al. 2011). Studies have shown that the first year student experience is critical in meeting ambitious national targets for increased participation in higher education (Krause et al. 2005, James et al. 2010) and successfully managing the desired growth. It is also imperative to successfully manage the experience in order to increase the cohort diversity, and adapt to the changing patterns of student engagement with teaching and learning (James et al. 2010). In Australian higher education, a comparison between students commencing in 2004 and 2009 (James et al. 2010) found that: ‘the 2009 students are more likely to believe the final year of school prepared them well for university and their university subjects are building on their schooling. They are also more satisfied with the advice they received on subject choices’ thereby reflecting efforts undertaken by universities and schools.