Entry pathways, academic performance, and persistence of nontraditional students in engineering by transfer status

Beyond pipeline and pathways: Ecosystem metrics

“…An example of a pathways model with multiple entry points is illustrated in Figure . Thus, compared to a pipeline approach, a pathways approach offers a more comprehensive understanding of the multiple entry points for traditional and nontraditional students (McNeil, Ohland, & Long, ) and allows for analysis of articulations between 2‐ and 4‐year institutions. Moreover, the pathways lens allows for a more robust understanding of transfer students and students who change majors.…”

From Deficit Thinking to Counter Storying: A Narrative Inquiry of Nontraditional Student Experience within Undergraduate Engineering Education

“…Yet, if they cannot complete the engineering degree, they may be unaware of opportunities within majors outside of engineering, uninterested in other majors, or lack adequate resources to change majors and continue (McNeill & Ohland, 2015, p. 5). Others examining MIDFIELD data (McNeill et al, 2014;McNeill & Ohland, 2016) reported that the academic outcomes of nontraditional students (i.e., those age 24 or older at first matriculation), measured as mean engineering grade point average (GPA), mean final cumulative GPA, and six-year engineering graduation rate, were on par with or better than those of their traditional counterparts.…”

“…Because MIDFIELD contains few categories that reflect nontraditional student characteristics (see McNeill & Ohland, 2015;McNeill & Ohland, 2016, for discussions of current MIDFIELD limitations and plans for its upcoming expansion), researchers who explore nontraditional student outcomes in engineering using MIDFIELD data often define nontraditional students through age and/or enrollment status only. McNeill and Ohland (2016), who disaggregated MIDFIELD data related to student transfer status as well as age and enrollment status, reported that transfer status had a larger effect on student outcomes than age and/or enrollment status. Since transfer status is often considered to be a proxy for financial self-support, full-time employment, and/or having dependents, this finding suggests that consideration of additional nontraditional student factors is important for understanding the nontraditional student experience in engineering.…”

Exploring nontraditional characteristics of students in a freshman engineering course

“…Students with high levels of confidence in their ability to complete an engineering degree are least likely to withdraw from their school or switch to another major 27 . Nontraditional students in engineering have a slightly higher rate of graduation than their traditional student counterparts 4,14 . Given the information that nontraditional engineering students graduate at higher rates than the average for nontraditional students across all disciplines 6 , this supports the inquiry of investigation of what is happening in engineering that helps nontraditional students graduate whereas they may not be as successful in other programs.…”

“…Despite the lower graduation rates among nontraditional students, there is mounting evidence that nontraditional students perform as well or better, academically, than do traditional students 4,[14][15][16] . There is a stigma among older nontraditional students that they have a lower ability to learn new topics, such as math, compared to traditional students and younger nontraditional students 17 .…”