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Entry-level mathematics and engineering course grades as indicators of success in a Civil Engineering program

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Conference

ASEE Southeast Section Conference

Location

Arlington, Virginia

Publication Date

March 12, 2023

Start Date

March 12, 2023

End Date

March 14, 2023

Conference Session

Civil, Electrical, and Eng Tech

Tagged Topic

Professional Engineering Education Papers

Page Count

11

DOI

10.18260/1-2--45006

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/45006

Download Count

46

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Paper Authors

biography

Rebekah L Martin Virginia Military Institute Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0001-8188-7683

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Dr. Martin completed her bachelor's in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Bucknell University and her PhD in Civil Engineering at Virginia Tech. She is currently an assistant professor at VMI teaching fluids, environmental engineering and water resources courses. Her research focuses on drinking water quality and public health. She also co-advises the newly formed Society of Women Engineers at VMI.

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biography

Tanjina Afrin Virginia Military Institute

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Dr. Tanjina Afrin earned her Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Clemson University. She is currently an Assistant Professor at Virginia Military Institute (VMI) and one of the faculty advisors of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)-VMI chapter. She teaches water resources engineering courses. She enjoys helping students with their class/research/community projects.

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Abstract

Mathematics performance in Civil Engineering (CE) programs continues to be the limiting factor in a student’s progress when evaluated by graduation with a Civil Engineering degree within six years of matriculation and a GPA of 2.5 or higher. Higher performance in mathematics in the first few semesters correlates positively with engineering student success in concurrent second-year Engineering courses. However, the relation between math success and performance in subsequent upper-level engineering courses is not well known. Additionally, does poor performance in math and science prerequisites direct students towards specific concentrations defined by a student’s choice of electives? For example, fluid mechanics requires students to apply conceptual mathematics in a more abstract environment than fundamental mechanics courses. Compared to statics and higher-level civil engineering electives, can student performance in the prerequisite math and science courses predict success in fluid mechanics? This paper will analyze the performance of Virginia Military Institute (VMI)’s classes of 2020, 2021, and 2022 by correlating success in these higher-level courses with previous mathematical and science performance to answer these questions.

Martin, R. L., & Afrin, T. (2023, March), Entry-level mathematics and engineering course grades as indicators of success in a Civil Engineering program Paper presented at ASEE Southeast Section Conference, Arlington, Virginia. 10.18260/1-2--45006

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