Efficacy of Using a Single, Non-Technical Variable to Predict the Academic Success of Freshmen Engineering Students

This paper evaluates the efficacy of using freshman student scores from one non‐technical assignment to predict academic success as measured by cumulative grade point average after completion of the first two semesters enrolled at the Mercer University School of Engineering. The predictor assignment...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of engineering education (Washington, D.C.) Vol. 92; no. 1; pp. 41 - 48
Main Authors Lackey, Laura W., Lackey, W. Jack, Grady, Helen M., Davis, Marjorie T.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.01.2003
Subjects
Academic Achievement
Engineering Education
Grade Point Average
Physical Education
School Holding Power
Standardized Tests
Thinking Skills
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Summary:This paper evaluates the efficacy of using freshman student scores from one non‐technical assignment to predict academic success as measured by cumulative grade point average after completion of the first two semesters enrolled at the Mercer University School of Engineering. The predictor assignment is keeping a dialectic course notebook and corresponds to the student's attitude, persistence, and organizational skills rather than math and science preparedness. Statistical analysis, at the 99 percent confidence level, indicated that there was a strong relationship between the student notebook scores and grade point average. Although there was scatter in the data, this one variable does provide insight into student success in the Mercer University Engineering program.
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ArticleID:JEE736
Jack Lackey received B.S. degrees in Ceramic Engineering and Metallurgical Engineering from North Carolina State University in 1961. He received a Master of Science degree and Ph.D. in Ceramic Engineering from North Carolina State University in 1963 and 1970, respectively. He conducted basic and applied research on nuclear fuel fabrication, nuclear waste disposal, and processing of ceramic coatings and composites at Battelle Northwest Laboratory and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. From 1986–1997 while employed at the Georgia Tech Research Institute, he performed research on ceramic coatings and composites, advised graduate students, and taught undergraduate and graduate courses. In 1997 he joined the faculty of the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, as a Professor. He has published 98 refereed papers and has 16 patents. He is the proud father of co‐author Laura W. Lackey.
Laura W. Lackey is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical and Environmental Engineering at the Mercer University School of Engineering. She earned B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tennessee. The terminal degree was awarded in 1992. She has six years of industrial experience at the Tennessee Valley Authority as an Environmental/Chemical Engineer where she conducted both basic and applied research with emphasis on the mitigation of organic wastes through bioremediation. In the four years since Dr. Lackey began her career at Mercer, she has taught 14 different courses, ranging from a freshman‐level Introduction to Problem Solving course to a senior‐level Process Chemistry course, which she developed.
Marjorie T. Davis, Ph.D., is a professor and founding chair of the Department of Technical Communication in the School of Engineering at Mercer University, Macon and Atlanta, Georgia. The Technical Communication Department pioneered distance learning at Mercer in the MS degree program in technical communication management. Dr. Davis regularly teaches distance learning courses and also uses Web‐based supplemental resources for on‐campus undergraduate courses. In addition to being an ASEE member, Dr. Davis is a Senior Member of IEEE and serves on the IEEE Professional Communication Society AdCom and is active in the Society for Technical Communication.
Helen M. Grady is an associate professor in the Department of Technical Communication in the School of Engineering at Mercer University. She is also the founder and current director of Mercer's Center for Excellence in Engineering Education, which provides training and support to faculty in teaching and technology related issues. She has taught technical communication and engineering core courses at Mercer since 1991. Prior to joining Mercer, she managed an information systems division for a major corporation in Research Triangle Park, NC. She is a member of ASEE, IEEE, AAUW, and a senior member of STC.
ISSN:1069-4730
2168-9830
DOI:10.1002/j.2168-9830.2003.tb00736.x