Benchmarking SUCCESS: How do non-cognitive and affective factors vary among college undergraduates?

The Studying Underlying Characteristics of Computing and Engineering Student Success (SUCCESS) survey has been distributed at three major universities in the United States to measure how non-cognitive and affective factors influence student success. One goal of this National Science Foundation-sponsored study is to measure these traits and find correlations between the measured constructs and a student's academic performance over his or her career as an engineering undergraduate. After compiling and analyzing data, we benchmarked engineering and computer science student survey results from a large public undergraduate-focused west coast university (Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo) for six traits (Self-Control, the Big 5 Personality Traits, Grit, Test Anxiety, Time and Study Environment, and Mindset) with previous studies of undergraduate students, and in some cases with engineering students specifically. We found differences between the studied engineering students and other student populations in Grit, Big 5, and Self-Control. By understanding the similarities and differences between these studies, we hope to find effective ways to help students be successful. Moreover, by using these data, we hope to develop initiatives that will enhance students' experience in engineering education.