Improving recruitment and retention are goals of many engineering programs. One factor that is tied strongly to recruitment and retention is a student's desire to study engineering in a specific engineering discipline. Some students switch between engineering majors during their undergraduate careers, which could increase their time to degree. Also, depending on the reasons students have for switching, the changes could also impact their motivation and personal commitment to engineering. Not all major changes are due to changes in student preference. Some changes may also result from external influences such as enrollment management. The research presented in this Work in Progress paper will be an initial step towards answering the question: Why and how do students change engineering majors throughout their college career? Through this research, we hope to gain added insights into how engineering students switch between majors so in the future we can seek a better understanding of why they switch.
['Jamie Paulson', 'Rachel Louis Kajfez', 'Krista M. Kecskemety']
Examining engineering students' major selection: Developing baseline quantitative results to investigate major selection and change