Project-based engineering programs, where technical learning is contextualized with a design project, provide an alternative to traditional engineering programs. Currently, one such upper-division program relies heavily on students’ pre-engineering coursework as part of the application process, which is usually taught in lectures and formal, pre-defined lab experiences. However, it is not clear that a student’s success in lecture-based courses would predict success in project-based courses. Thus, it is important to study the relationship between potential performance predictors and actual performance. Not only will this allow refinement of the selection criteria for such programs but it will also serve to inform those who are educating and advising potential applicants for these types of programs. This paper examines the relationship between students’ performance in their pre-engineering coursework and their performance in the upper-division project-based program. The correlations between student pre-engineering academic records and their upper division performance are reported and shown to be poor performance indicators for success in a project-based engineering program.
Louise Chan is currently a graduate student at Minnesota State University, Mankato pursuing her Master's in Industrial-Organizational Psychology. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from University of California, San Diego.
Rob Sleezer earned his Ph.D. in Microelectronics-Photonics from the University of Arkansas. He attended Oklahoma State University where he graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science and an M.S. and B.S. in Electrical Engineering. He is currently a faculty member at Twin Cities Engineering which is in the department of Integrated Engineering at Minnesota State University, Mankato.
Jacob Swanson is an Assistant Professor of Engineering in the Department of Integrated Engineering at Minnesota State University Mankato and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Minnesota (UMN). He was previously a Research Associate in the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge, UK. His research interests include undergraduate engineering education, internal combustion engines and emissions, gas-phase particle synthesis, and instrumentation.
Mark Ahrens is the current Chair of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Normandale Community College where he has worked the past 11 years. Mark holds degrees in Applied Mathematics (MMath) from the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Engineering Sciences (BS) from Illinois Institute of Technology, and has completed dissertation work and graduate course work (PhD) in Mathematics and in Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics at the University of Minnesota.
Rebecca A. Bates received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Washington. She also received the M.T.S. degree from Harvard Divinity School. She is currently Professor and Chair of the Department of Integrated Engineering program at Minnesota State University, Mankato, home of the Iron Range, Twin Cities and Bell Engineering programs.
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