Assessing the shift in engineering students' initial knowledge and first-year results over a decade

Recent years have seen a shift in the qualifications students have before enrolling in undergraduate engineering programs in the UK. This shift includes numerous changes to the UK A-level syllabus, particularly in key subjects such as Mathematics and Physics. The Covid-19 pandemic also resulted in a reduction in the depth and breadth of the syllabus delivered at secondary school level several transitioning cohorts. Given these circumstances, it became crucial to review and compare the entry-level knowledge of recent students with their predecessors.

A decade ago, the authors, along with several collaborators from UK universities, initiated a project aimed at easing students’ transition to university. The project entailed the development of an online questionnaire to quantify the knowledge, understanding, and attributes of incoming engineering students. This report draws on the transition results from that study and compares them with those of recent cohorts. The outcomes at the end of the first year were also compared. The results indicated a decline in performance on the transition survey in various areas, and particularly poorer performance in a mechanics module at the end of the first year. Interestingly, despite students from more recent cohorts achieving higher entry grades, the overall performance seems to have declined, accompanied by an increase in failure rates. This downward trend underscores the importance of addressing any gaps during the transition phase and necessitates a comprehensive review and remapping of the curriculum.