Identifying Potential Causes of Attrition in the Biomedical Engineering Specialization at Mercer University

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Biomedical and bioengineering programs have grown in recent years due to an increased demand for new and improved medical devices and disease therapies. Enrollment in the Biomedical Engineering (BME) specialization at Mercer University has followed this trend. However, while often initially garnering the majority of incoming engineering freshman, BME at Mercer sees a decrease in its freshman cohort of more than 60% by graduation. This is unlike traditional engineering tracks at Mercer and other universities that typically see a 40-50% decrease in class size over four years. Through a review of student enrollment data collected by Mercer University’s Admissions Office, the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Academic & Advising Services, we determined BME attrition rate, at what point in the curriculum BME is losing students and how those students’ academic careers progress.

Author(s):

Joanna Thomas    
College of Engineering
Mercer University
United States