College of Engineering Welcomes Record Number of Future Engineers

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Students in the Freshman Engineering Program learn about electromagnetism

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Recently, President Obama called for the United States to educate an additional 10,000 new engineers a year, in order to increase the economic and technological competitiveness of our country. The University of Arkansas College of Engineering is doing its part by increasing enrollment, retention and graduation rates without sacrificing academic standards.

This year, the number of new freshmen enrolling in the College of Engineering increased by 30.3 percent, from 532 in 2010 to 693 in 2011. This continues a trend: since 2005, new freshmen enrollment in the college has increased by 85 percent. In addition, the number of engineering students transferring to the University of Arkansas has increased by 57 percent over the past six years. These factors, along with an increase in graduate student enrollment, have led to a 12.9 percent increase in total enrollment growth over the previous year, the largest percentage increase at the university.

Dean Ashok Saxena attributes these increases to efforts by the college’s recruitment office, and to programs such as the Engineering Career Awareness Program. He also credits transfer agreements with other schools, which ease the way for talented engineering students to come to the University of Arkansas.

“It’s been a pleasure to see our hallways and classes filled with these talented young people,” said Saxena. “They are so important to the future of our country, and we are working hard to challenge them, as well as providing the support and guidance they need.”

In order to help these students succeed in their classes and earn an engineering degree, the College of Engineering began the Freshman Engineering Program five years ago. This program provides academic and social support to new engineering students as they adjust to college life and choose an engineering field to focus on. Completing an engineering degree within four years is notoriously difficult, but the first group of students to experience the Freshman Engineering Program had a higher 4-year graduation rate than previous classes.

“Previously, we would have expected 18 percent of those students to graduate in four years, and instead, 29 percent of them graduated last spring,” said Richard Cassady, professor of industrial engineering and director of the program. Cassady hopes to see the numbers continue to rise. “We’re looking toward the 6-year graduation rate,” he explained. “That’s the big one.”