Work in Progress: Designing a First-Year Hands-on Civil Engineering Course to Reduce Students Dropout and Improve the Overall College Experience

Civil 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. This paper presents a work in progress that analyzes the designing process of a first-year introductory course in civil engineering that aims to reduce students' dropout and improve students' overall college experience. The study showcases the design process of the course including the pedagogy for teaching the course, the course content, the hands-on learning activities, instructor characteristics, and the diverse distribution of course assessment. The course aims to show a taste of the experience expected for the next college years. The authors reflect on the design of the course in a civil engineering department and open the discussion to develop new pedagogical approaches to reduce student dropout in civil engineering schools. Implications for research and practice are provided.