2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The primary purpose of this research paper is to assess the role of diversity and inclusion policies in collegiate students’ considerations for leaving an academic program. This research was derived from the increasing importance being placed on the implementation of diversity and inclusion policies across the aviation industry along with the need to increase the workforce.

In 2018 there are still fewer than 4% of women who hold an Airline Transport Certificate. This number does not include the lack of people of color who are pursuing careers as airline pilots. STEM based industries and collegiate programs are increasingly trying to change these numbers by creating and executing programs that are meant to recruit and retain a diverse student body.
Due to the increased emphasis on diversity and inclusion policies, this paper seeks to address the following question: Do diversity and inclusion policies impact students’ considerations for leaving the aviation academic program?

This question was developed after a careful review of the existing research that has been conducted around issues of student retention and diversity of student body.

In order to address this research question, a Qualtrics survey was developed and administered to students in the Center for Aviation Studies who had identified as female, or of a racial/ethnic identity that is considered ‘underrepresented’ in the field of aviation. The data set included current and recent graduates as of spring semester 2018. Once the data was collected the results were applied to an ordered logit regression model to determine the level of significance that diversity policies have on considerations for leaving.

The major findings of this research paper support the existing research and literature on the importance of several variables, within the student experience, that have an influence upon students’ willingness to remain in an academic program.

The primary contribution of this paper is a reaffirmation of the existing research of the disconnect between theory and institutional practice when it comes to the impact of diversity and inclusion policies/programs on the collegiate student perspective. The student experience involves multiple variables that influence student perceptions. How these variables then best contribute to the design and implementation of diversity policy is still to be determined.

Ultimately this paper finds that it is necessary to continue to research and understand what variables impact students considerations for leaving a STEM based collegiate program. In the meantime, consideration should be given to develop diversity and inclusion policy that is more holistic and speaks to the entire student experience.