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Proceedings of the 2006 WEPAN National Conference
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Paper Title:
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Retention Rates and Differences between Leavers and Stayers
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Authors:
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Elizabeth Litzler, University of Washington, Cntr for Workforce Dev
Sheila Edwards Lange, University of Washington, Cntr for Workforce Dev
Priti Mody, University of Washington, Cntr for Workforce Dev
Suzanne Brainard, University of Washington, Cntr for Workforce Dev
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Abstract:
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As part of a National Science Foundation grant (EEC-0234985), the University of Washington revised its longitudinal study of female students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in 2002. A primary revision of the study design included the development of measures to compare the retention rates of women who participate in the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) program with those who do not. A Female Undergraduate Survey was developed to collect data on student preparation for studying engineering and their perceived self-confidence levels. This research paper combines the two sources of information to yield new findings about STEM leavers and stayers. The paper will also discuss the research findings in light of previous published work in this area.
Findings indicate that retention rates for WISE students are much higher than for non-WISE students. Additionally, WISE students are better prepared than non-WISE students, as evidenced by high school grades and SAT scores. Not surprisingly, students who stay in STEM are better prepared for their education than students who leave STEM, based on differences in SAT scores. In the analysis focusing only on WISE students, there were significant differences between UW leavers and STEM leavers, and also between STEM leavers and STEM stayers in years of physics preparation in high school. There were also significant differences between STEM leavers and STEM stayers in terms of years of physics and chemistry, and math confidence.
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