RU-STEPed Up for Success

“Are You Up for Success”是一套有凝聚力的程序性干预措施，旨在从代表性不足的群体（女性和少数族裔）中招募STEM专业的学生，并通过暑期桥梁体验、学术支持、指导和定向项目提高一年级和转学STEM学生的保留率。该计划有两个基本的招聘策略：一个是针对对工程职业感兴趣的高中女生的招聘计划，另一个是针对当地学区的高中三年级和四年级学生的周六科学计划，这些学区的少数民族人口众多，历史贫困，大学入学率低。保留活动针对数学和写作水平未达到大学水平的新生和转学生，包括：为入学的一年级学生提供写作、数学和化学的夏季桥梁课程；学年指导计划利用训练有素的同伴导师和助教继续支持学生进入大学水平的课程；并创建了四个学习社区：微积分预科、普通化学、女性和包括非住宿学生在内的转校生。该项目提供了一个有凝聚力的学术和社会支持系统的模型，通过该系统，学术上处于劣势的年轻人将感到舒适，并为STEM领域的学术和智力探索做好准备。

"Are You STEPped Up for Success" is a cohesive set of programmatic interventions that recruits STEM majors from underrepresented groups (women and minorities) and improves retention of first-year and transfer STEM students through summer bridge experiences, academic support, mentoring, and orientation programs. The program has two cornerstone recruitment strategies: a recruitment program targeted at high school girls interested in engineering careers and a Saturday Science program for high school juniors and seniors in local school districts characterized by large minority populations, historic poverty, and low college attendance. The retention activities are directed at both entering and transfer students whose skill levels in mathematics and writing do not reach college level including: a summer bridge program in writing, mathematics and chemistry for incoming first-year students; academic year mentoring programs utilizing trained peer mentors and teaching assistants to continue support as students enter college level courses; and creation of four learning communities: pre-calculus, general chemistry , women, and transfer students including non-residential students. This program provides a model for a cohesive academic and social support system by which academically disadvantaged young people will feel comfortable with, and be prepared for, academic and intellectual exploration in the STEM fields.