Fixing a 40% engineering-school dropout rate

Pencil calculator and math homework

Pencil, calculator, and, math, homework

Four four-year colleges, all 16 state technical colleges, and 118 high schools in 43 regional school districts where the poverty rate is 70%+, will be involved in a two year study focusing on the link between math education + engineering degrees.

Clemson, UofSC, The Citadel, and 3 other S.C. schools have received a $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for the study.

The goal? To better prepare students for calculus, a basic requirement for an engineering degree.

Jobs in engineering will need to be filled as the current workforce ages, but nearly 40% of students who enroll in a four-year engineering program and nearly 70% in two-year programs will drop out. One reason? Students aren’t prepared for calculus before they get to college.

// Greenville Journal

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