An Exploratory Study on Student Retention and Academic Success Among Engineering Students at Malaysian Technical Universities

Abstract

Academic excellence is the main goal of most students at institutions of higher learning (IPT). It is a measuring tool that determines the level of success of a student. There are many different viewpoints on retention issues in higher education, and they are difficult to comprehend. It is vital to comprehend why some engineering students make it to their final year while others do not. The people factor is proposed as a significant external motivator that may have an impact on students' performance and persistence in the engineering program. This study explores extrinsic motivation, or just the people factor, is one of the motivational aspects that have impact engineering students' performance and retention. This study was conducted using a qualitative case study approach and data were collected using semi-structured interviews. This study involved final year engineering students from Malaysian Technical University Network (MTUN) namely UTHM, UTeM, UMP and UniMAP. Thematic analysis of the data was used to identify themes that addressed the study topic. Four themes emerged from the study's extrinsic motivation for the people factor: family, peers, lecturer and community. The results of this study have explained the results of the analysis obtained from the entire study and a comprehensive discussion to understand the retention and success of engineering students at MTUN especially from the point of view of external motivation.