Effect of an Entrepreneurship Program on GPA and Retention*, The

Journal of Engineering Education, Oct 2004 by Ohland, Matthew W, Frillman, Sharron A, Zhang, Guili, Brawner, Catherine E, Miller, Thomas K III

Findings from formative assessment: Students who participated in the EEP were found to be more likely to remain at the university (Figure 1) and remain in their college of entry (Figure 2) than nonparticipants. In both of these charts, the persistence (defined as those enrolled plus those who have graduated) is based on data from October, 1995. Therefore, the second year is represented for the 1994 cohort while the sixth year is represented for the 1990 cohort. The EEP even caused a few students to change their majors to Electrical and Computer Engineering from other disciplines. Some of the younger students surveyed indicated that the EEP was one of the reasons that they decided to remain in their engineering major. Retention in the university was nearly perfect and retention in the College of Engineering is substantially better than overall persistence in the college.

Survey results also provided information as to how the EEP met its objectives. Most students responded on their end of course surveys that they felt more confident pursuing an engineering degree than before, as shown in Figure 3. This was especially true of older students who were able to see how their skills could be applied, but most of the younger students were also more confident. This provided an early indication that program participants intended to remain in engineering at a point in their careers where others might have dropped out or changed majors.

Teamwork and leadership skills did seem to improve for the students (Figures 4 and 5). Seventy-eight percent of the students overall felt that their teamwork skills improved, including 93 percent of the senior leaders. All of the senior leaders felt that they were effective leaders although only 80 percent of the team participants agreed. On the basis of this disparity, it was recommended that leadership training be provided to help make everyone's experience as positive as possible. The faculty advisors observed the improvement in teamwork and leadership skills throughout the semester and felt that those senior leaders who had participated in the program earlier were the most effective. Students who had subsequent work experience (through co-ops, internships, or full-time) found that the leadership and teamwork skills that they learned in the program were extremely valuable and transferable to their jobs.

Students generally found application to the real world (Figure 6). Those who had worked in co-ops or internships felt more confident in their abilities to lead and work in teams. Although few students go to work immediately after graduation for a small company (or start one themselves), the skills that they learned are valuable in large companies as well. Industry sponsors, such as IBM, have organized into units where entrepreneurship is encouraged. Students learned about small company dynamics through their teams and the seminar series. Eighty-seven percent of students found the seminars interesting and 88 percent found them important [30].