Part-time undergraduate study in civil engineering — students from the workplace

Abstract

AbstractThis is an investigation of part-time undergraduate degree study in civil engineering based at Coventry University. It aimed to answer the following four questions:How do the experiences of part-time students of civil engineering compare with those for other subject areas reported in the literature?What is the difference in performance of part-time and full-time students?What are the reasons for the differences?What should we learn from this? The study incorporated three elements: scrutiny of data on student numbers, age and performance; a questionnaire to allow comparison of factual information on the circumstances of part-time and full-time students; and interviews with 21 part-time students (in groups of four or five) and three part-time graduates (individually).The interviews gave insights into the experiences of part-time students of civil engineering and allowed comparison with those in other subject areas. A study of performance by part-time and full-time students for four academic years be...