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Equity Project

There is a widely-studied equity problem in academia: students from different demographic groups have different outcomes in terms of both grades and completion rates, and these differences are often robust to controls for preparation and academic ability. We have examined the patterns in these inequities and learned that they are far more powerful for students who intersect multiple under-served groups such as first-generation students who are also from underrepresented minorities.

Avenue E

As part of a project to support transfer students from under-represented groups in engineering, we investigated the historical experiences of transfers in the UC Davis College of Engineering using three measures of academic success: the probability of graduating in two years or less, the probability of having a 3.0 or higher GPA with at least 13 units in their fourth quarter, and GPA at graduation.

Workload 57

Developmental education is under review at many institutions after some recent studies have found that some pre-requisite courses may discourage more students than they help. We are investigating the Workload 57 course at UC Davis to determine the accuracy of the placement exam, the effects of the writing instruction on later success in other writing-intensive courses, and the overall effects the system had on equity of opportunity for different groups of students. Particular attention is devoted to the experience of international and English Language Learner students.

Exploring Learning Motivation in Engineering Writing Coursework

While educators and employers agree that today’s engineer needs to write well, they are often concerned that undergraduate students might not be on the same page. A common perception inside and outside the engineering community is that our students are unmotivated in their writing classrooms and unmotivated to write in general. This perception has a pronounced effect on the design of engineering writing education, as well as how writing is presented to students.