Recruitment, Retention, and Performance of Students in the College of Engineering at Illinois

The purpose of this study was to better understand the entering characteristics, patterns of performance, attrition rates and reasons for leaving, and experiences of undergraduate and graduate students in the College of Engineering and other engineering disciplines, with particular emphasis on those from traditionally underrepresented groups and other subgroups of interest. All students in the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign were asked to participate in this study. The study was initiated under the assumption that aggregate data related to issues faced by engineering students would be used to inform discussions and decisions related to a variety of policies and practices employed by the College of Engineering. The topics covered during this study ranged broadly, but generally related to one of the following: 1) general student satisfaction; 2) recruitment and retention; 3) departmental climate; 4) students' experiences; and 5) discrimination and harassment. Engineering administrators, department heads, faculty and student representatives had a voice in the design and oversight of this study, which was conducted by a team of local evaluators.