Work in Progress: Impact on Students Dropout rates of Introducing a First-Year Hands-on Civil Engineering Course

This Work in Progress paper will describe the second phase of an intervention that seeks to reduce dropout rates in Civil Engineering students at a private university in Ecuador. Engineering dropout is a complex construct because it involves many dimensions, some of which come from societal status quo. There is significant research on understanding the barriers, both personal and institutional, that cause student desertion throughout the major. One of these barriers is the lack of understanding of the areas of knowledge of the different engineering majors. This paper highlights a pedagogical application of an introductory course for first-year students and the contrast of the dropout numbers. The study showcases the design of the courses, student learning outcomes, and the perceptions of students about what each specific major entitles. Specifically, the study analyzed 81 first-year civil engineering students distributed among five sections of the Introduction to Civil Engineering course, two years ago. The authors reflect on the design of the intervention and explore the avenues academia could take to form new pedagogical approaches to reduce student dropout in civil engineering schools. Implications for research and practice are provided.