Student satisfaction with ASEE activities and its impact on ASEE student membership

The number of students participating in engineering education research, reform, and practice has been steadily growing, as seen by the increased student membership of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) within the last decade. A possible source for this increased involvement includes the creation of graduate programs awarding engineering education degrees, but according to a 2010 needs analysis of ASEE student members, other sources may exist including the emergence of student-focused activities associated with ASEE. The number of student chapters, student members, and the Student Constituent Committee (SCC) members show evidence of significant and consistent growth encouraging continual development of student-focused activities. The purpose of this study is to build upon the 2010 student member needs analysis by assessing the impact of ASEE student-focused activities. An online survey was distributed to ASEE student members, aimed at examining why the current student members joined ASEE and whether or not their involvement in the student-centered activities, i.e. SCC or student chapters, had any bearing on their participation. Results indicate the importance of professors and classmates in the recruitment of student members to ASEE. Involvement in ASEE student chapters has increased overall; yet, almost half of the sample attended an institution with no student chapter. Even though 20 percent of the participants have never attend an ASEE event, of those who had, opportunities to network and learn about academic careers were well-received by the participants. These findings illustrate the high likelihood that student representation within ASEE will continue to increase for years to come and student-centered events and activities, such as the SCC and student chapters have and could continue to have a positive impact on students.