S-STEM: Promoting and Supporting Community College Transfer Students in Chemistry

社区学院转学奖学金（CCTS）项目旨在为北科罗拉多大学化学与生物化学学院的社区学院学生的转学和留校提供经济和学术支持。五年内将颁发51个奖学金。CCTS项目正在改善低收入、弱势社区大学转学生的招生情况。招聘工作包括增加教师的参与，新的信息文献，以及一个致力于社区大学转学的网站。一个由化学专业转校生组成的学习社区也正在建立，其特点是改进了学术建议、职业建议和经济援助服务。此外，针对奖学金获得者的化学课程正在开发中，同时还将开展“棕色包午餐”讨论、科学咖啡馆以及学术和社会学习相结合的活动。这个项目的智力价值是基于并正在建立对社区大学转校生留存的因素的更深入的了解。我们对学习社区对转校生留存的影响的理解，特别是在物理科学方面，正在得到改善。CCTS项目为地区低收入学生在化学方面取得成功创造了更广泛的机会。该项目还改善了化学与生物化学学院、大学学生支持服务、社区学院和北科罗拉多化学工业之间的伙伴关系。通过增加准备充分的化学家的数量，该项目正在加强和维持科罗拉多州不断增长的科学/技术研究和工业基础。

The Community College Transfer Scholarship (CCTS) Program is aiming to financially and academically support the transfer and retention of community college students within the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Northern Colorado. Fifty-one scholarships are being awarded over five years. The CCTS program is improving the recruitment of low-income, underrrepresented community college transfer students. Recruitment efforts include increased faculty participation, new informative literature, and a website dedicated to community college transfers. A learning community of chemistry major transfer students is also being established and features improved academic advising, career advising, and financial aid services. In addition, a chemistry curriculum dedicated to scholarship recipients is being developed along with Brown-Bag Lunch discussions, science cafes, and activities integrating academic and social learning. The intellectual merit of this project is based on and is building a greater understanding of factors contributing to retention of community college transfer students. Our understanding of the impact of learning communities on retention of transfer students, particularly in the physical sciences, is being improved.The CCTS program is creating broader opportunities for regional low-income students to succeed in chemistry. This project is also improving partnerships among the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, university student support services, community colleges, and northern Colorado chemical industries. By increasing the numbers of well-prepared chemists, this project is enhancing and sustaining Colorado's growing science/technology research and industrial base.