Retention rates are lowered approximately 20% by students who enter
engineering programs knowing little about the field and leave upon discovering that it does not meet their expectations (Seymour & Hewitt, 1997). This problem in itself illustrates an increasing need to raise awareness about engineering in K-12 students; however, that issue was not the focus of this study. Of primary interest in this investigation were: (1) identifying experiences that affect students’ perceptions of their engineering capabilities and (2) determining what educators can do to intervene in the experiences that ultimately may become the foundation of students’ decisions to leave. It was the goal of this research to identify college-level curricular changes that may not only be effective in improving student retention, but also include opportunities for students to experience the use of their innovative abilities – a measure that holds significant promise for improving the attractiveness of engineering to a wider audience of students