Achieving Community College Excellence for Scholarship Success (ACCESS)

ACCESS(实现社区大学卓越奖学金成功)计划支持为有学术天赋、经济困难的学生提供奖学金，并使他们能够在完成科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)学科的副学位后进入劳动力市场。目标包括改善学生的教育机会，增加奖学金学生获得学位的机会，改善对奖学金参与者的学生支持计划，以及在国家需要的技术领域增加受过良好教育和技能的员工数量。智力优势：STEM学科每学期向25名学生颁发奖学金。目标是(A)75%的ACCESS奖学金保持或超过2.6分的平均绩点(GPA)；(B)70%的ACCESS奖学金一直持续到获得副学士学位；以及(C)100%的学生获得转学或就业帮助。更广泛的影响：作为在一个很大的服务区内唯一经认可的高等教育提供者，该学院的使命是为社区居民提供无障碍的高等教育机会。通过向STEM专业的有学术天赋、经济困难的学生提供奖学金，该学院满足了该地区农业行业和学生的需求。该学院超过70%的学生是第一代学生，他们几乎没有接触过科学职业机会。大约40%的学生是西班牙裔，这些学生中有很大一部分来自父母是外来务工人员或野外劳工的家庭。招募这些学生从事科学职业不仅影响他们的未来，而且还提高了他们所在社区的朋友和家人的科学意识。STEM教育和STEM奖学金的改善所产生的更广泛的影响传达了这样的信息，即科学领域存在着令人兴奋的、有利可图的职业，农业职业并不局限于田间工作。

The ACCESS (Achieving Community College Excellence for Scholarship Success) program is supporting scholarships for academically talented, financially needy students and enabling them to enter the workforce following completion of an associate degree in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Goals include improving educational opportunities for students, increasing retention of scholarship students to degree achievement, improving student support programs for scholarship participants, and increasing the numbers of well-educated and skilled employees in technical areas of national need.Intellectual Merit: Scholarships are being awarded to 25 students each semester in STEM disciplines. The goals are (a) 75% of ACCESS Scholars maintain or exceed a 2.6 grade point average (GPA); (b) 70% of ACCESS Scholars persist until associate degree achievement; and (c) 100% of students are provided transfer or job placement assistance. Broader Impact: As the sole accredited provider of postsecondary education in a large service area, the mission of the college is to provide accessible higher education opportunities to community residents. By offering scholarships to academically talented, financially needy students majoring in STEM disciplines, the college is meeting the needs of both the agricultural industries in the district and students. Over 70% of the students attending the college are first-generation who have had little exposure to scientific career opportunities. About 40% of the students are Hispanic and a great number of these students come from families where the parents are migrant workers or field laborers. Recruitment of these students into scientific careers not only impacts their future, but it also increases the scientific awareness of friends and family members in their communities. The broader impact resulting from improved STEM education and STEM scholarships conveys the message that exciting, lucrative careers exist in the sciences and that agricultural careers are not limited to field work.