Challenge for Engineering Profession, High-Skilled Market Expands but Student Attrition Rate in Major Persists.Business/Technology Editors CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 20, 2001 Engineering Professors Cite Students' Difficulty Mastering Math Students continue to drop out of engineering majors at high rates -- and difficulty mastering math is the number one reason cited by professors for this high attrition rate Noun 1. attrition rate - the rate of shrinkage in size or number rate of attrition rate - a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit; "they traveled at a rate of 55 miles per hour"; "the rate of change was faster than expected" , according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. 4,700 engineering professors recently surveyed by MathSoft Engineering & Education, Inc, authors of the market leading Mathcad(R) and StudyWorks(R) product lines. Bolstering these findings, the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE ASEE American Society of Engineering Education ASEE American Society of Electrical Engineers ASEE American Society for Ethics in Education ASEE Association of Supervisory & Executive Engineers (Ireland) ASEE Automated Systems Engineering Environment ) says that it is critical for the future of the U.S. economy to attract and prepare today's students for tomorrow's engineering jobs. The ASEE, in its magazine Prism, details the giant skill gap in the U.S. workforce, noting that some 20 million high tech jobs will be created by 2008, a number the U.S. is unlikely to fill at its current rate of training and attracting engineers. In the MathSoft survey, professors estimated an average of 40% of the students that they had taught did not receive the high school fundamentals needed for undergraduate engineering studies. Respondents In the context of marketing research, a representative sample drawn from a larger population of people from whom information is collected and used to develop or confirm marketing strategy. said that "difficulty mastering math" was the most common cause for a student to drop an engineering major, beating out "poor study habits" or "social distractions." Prospective engineers are selecting other majors, and this contributes to the shortage of engineers that U.S. engineering firms have been facing for the past decade, with no end in sight. "Today, the U.S. economy is largely technology based, and until we learn to attract students and keep our young people engaged in engineering, we will continue to import engineers," said Frank L. Huband, executive director and publisher, ASEE. "The ASEE has sounded the alarm -- we need to look at better ways to prepare today's students to become tomorrow's engineers," said Chris Randles, Chairman and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. , MathSoft Engineering & Education, Inc. "Our survey focused on identifying the views of higher education higher education Study beyond the level of secondary education. Institutions of higher education include not only colleges and universities but also professional schools in such fields as law, theology, medicine, business, music, and art. professors toward the difficulties the engineering profession is facing. Looking at all the findings, it is clear that we need to improve the ways in which we educate our students at high school and college, particularly in math, and find ways to make engineering more attractive -- there is much more potential to apply the latest in software, Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the and learning technologies to achieve these goals." The February issue of the ASEE's Prism magazine There are a number of magazines called Prism magazine, including:
Open furnace for heating metal ore and metal for working and forming, or a workshop containing forge hearths and related equipment. From earliest times, smiths (see smithing) heated iron in forges and formed it by hammering on an anvil. relationships with engineering schools and K-12 systems. Prism highlights programs that link students with engineering firms and schools to engage students with "project-based learning Project-based learning, or PBL (often "PjBL" to avoid confusion with "Problem-based Learning"), is a constructivist pedagogy that intends to bring about deep learning by allowing learners to use an inquiry based approach to engage with issues and questions that are rich, real and ," such as a Seattle middle school working with University of Washington's engineering students to design a racing bicycle A racing bicycle is a bicycle designed for road cycling according to the rules of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). The UCI rules were altered in 1934 to exclude recumbent bicycles. Throughout the late 1990s the rules were altered regularly to outlaw innovations. . The MathSoft survey reveals a number of telling trends, derived from a mix of quantitative and qualitative questions. In addition to the number of engineering professors who find that their students have difficulty mastering math and lack high school fundamentals, the survey responses included the following. -- Approximately 41% believe that computers, enhanced software and the Internet will be vital in training future engineers. -- More than 65% believe that external opportunities (student internships, competitions) are "properly valued" at their institution's engineering curriculum. -- More than 35% believe that a "good job market with job security" is the primary motivation for most students selecting to study engineering while only 20% said an "affinity for math or sciences" is the primary motivation. The survey results also suggest that educating young people with new, hands-on approaches based in real-world applications will help to ensure a highly skilled future workforce. MathSoft is issuing the survey results to help kick off the 50th Annual National Engineers Week, February 18-24, when the National Society of Professional Engineers The National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) is a professional engineering organization in the United States. From their press releases: hosts a competition and other activities to bolster This article is about the pillow called a bolster. For other meanings of the word "bolster", see bolster (disambiguation). A bolster (etymology: Middle English, derived from Old English, and before that the Germanic word bulgstraz the image of the engineering professions. Thousands of professional engineers, educators and engineering students of all levels participate. About the Survey and Respondents -- Objective of survey: obtain a better understanding of the state of engineering higher education in the United States Higher education in the United States refers to colleges and universities within the United States. Overview The American university system, like the American educational system in general, is highly decentralized because the U.S. -- Total surveys mailed: 35,983 -- Total responses to 12 quantitative questions: 4,757 -- Total responses to four qualitative questions: approximately 1,000 per question -- Highest level of education: 77% of respondents had a doctorate degree or higher -- Average number of years teaching: 16 -- Average number of years working as an engineer: 17 -- Teaching title: 60% had a title of professor For full survey results, contact David Bowker of Schwartz Communications at 781-684-0770 or via email at dbowker@schwartz-pr.com. About ASEE The American Society for Engineering Education is committed to furthering education in engineering and engineering technology. This mission is accomplished by promoting excellence in instruction, research, public service, and practice; exercising worldwide leadership; fostering the technological education of society; and providing quality products and services to members. The Society seeks to encourage local, national, and international communication and collaboration Working together on a project. See collaborative software. ; influence corporate and government policies and involvement; promote professional interaction and lifelong learning Lifelong learning is the concept that "It's never too soon or too late for learning", a philosophy that has taken root in a whole host of different organisations. Lifelong learning is attitudinal; that one can and should be open to new ideas, decisions, skills or behaviors. ; utilize effectively the Society's human and other resources; recognize outstanding contributions of individuals and organizations; encourage youth to pursue studies and careers in engineering and engineering technology; and influence the recruitment and retention of young faculty and underrepresented un·der·rep·re·sent·ed adj. Insufficiently or inadequately represented: the underrepresented minority groups, ignored by the government. groups. About MathSoft Engineering & Education, Inc. MathSoft Engineering & Education, Inc., is the leading provider of interactive math, science and engineering software products and content. The company's Mathcad and StudyWorks product lines use patented technology to combine rich, interactive content with powerful tools for learning, communicating and applying mathematics in real-world technical applications. Mathcad, the internationally recognized standard for technical calculation and applying mathematics, is deployed at 90% of the Fortune 1000 companies, over 500 government installations, and more than 2,000 colleges and universities. StudyWorks, a market leader with over one million licensees, enhances the teaching and learning of math and science online and in secondary education, helping students explore and understand key subjects. Based in Cambridge, Mass., MathSoft Engineering & Education, Inc., has additional offices in the U.K. and Germany and distributors in over 50 countries. The company can be found on the Web at www.mathsoft.com. |
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