In a higher-level mechanical engineering class, it is not uncommon to have less than three women in a class of 60.

“We’re probably less than 5 percent,” Teri Verschoor, a senior mechanical engineering major, said about the makeup of her average engineering class. “A lot more women [are in engineering classes] at the start, but over the years it slowly trickles out.” The number of female certified engineering students at WSU is approximately 13 percent of total engineering students.

Andrea Jones, a senior mechanical engineering major and secretary for the Engineers Without Borders club, said the numbers can be discouraging.

“I think sometimes when girls are starting out they think it’s not for them because so few women are in the classes,” Jones said.

Though the retention of female engineering students may appear to be a bigger issue than male retention, the retention rates for men and women are about the same, said Candis Claiborn, dean of the College of Engineering and Architecture. She said that in a class with three female students and 60 male students, it is sometimes more noticeable if one of the female students drops the class than if 20 male students do.

Retention for the engineering program as a whole is below average.

“We retain less than half of all students who start out in the engineering program,” said Charlena Grimes, director of the Women Engineering Program.

Claiborn said the engineering program is working to increase the retention rates of all students while placing emphasis on students who are underrepresented in the program, such as women and minorities.

“One reason we don’t get many women in engineering is because we don’t have a lot of women in the field. Engineering is not a field you see on TV, so people don’t know what engineers do,” Claiborn said. “Most women who come into the program had male role models in their family.” Student groups are an effective way to increase the retention rate of engineering students, especially since most students don’t take a full schedule of engineering classes until their junior year, she said.

There are a variety of student groups within the College of Engineering and Architecture that specifically cater to women and minority students, as well as individual disciplines.

To keep students interested in engineering, student groups are encouraged to attend annual national conventions to meet large groups of people interested in their field, Grimes said.

“We want them to see large numbers of women [in their field] so they come back enthused,” she said. “It’s a big turning point for them to go forward. They won’t go back.” Besides student-led groups, there are a few programs within the college focused on retaining engineering students.

The Bridge Workshop is held for incoming underrepresented students in math, science and engineering to acquaint them with WSU. Once on campus, some students participate in Gannon-Goldsworthy Residence Hall’s Freshman Focus program, in which math and science students live together and take similar classes. Until retention rates increase, being one of the few female seniors in the mechanical engineering program is motivating, Verschoor said.

“If anything it has had a positive effect,” Verschoor said. “It’s challenged me to persevere and keep up with the guys.”