The Role of Introductory Course Grades in Engineering Disciplinary Cultures

This work-in-progress paper builds on research that has found disciplinary differences in culture, demographics at initial enrollment ("starters"), demographics of students migrating later, and various student outcomes for both groups. An earlier longitudinal study using the Multiple-Institution Database for Investigating Longitudinal Development (MIDFIELD) showed no disciplinary stratification of grades in common early engineering courses based on the discipline in which a student matriculates (or first enrolls after a first-year engineering program). In contrast, this study finds that disciplinary differences in introductory courses emerge on the path to graduation. This can only be explained by a bias with respect to introductory course grades of students entering and leaving each major- students with lower grades in introductory courses are more likely to leave or be attracted by some majors than others. Citing prior research regarding cultural differences among the engineering disciplines, the authors propose that disciplines establish and enforce cultural norms regarding student performance in these introductory courses.