Increasing Science, Mathematics, and Computer Science Opportunities for Low-Income Undergraduate Students

新泽西城市大学的S-STEM项目鼓励低收入、有学术天赋的学生主修自然科学、数学和计算机科学，并为他们提供成功学术项目所需的支持。作为一所位于新泽西州东北部市区的公立大学，也是新泽西州唯一一所被联邦政府指定为拉美裔服务机构的四年制公立大学，NJCU为成千上万的少数族裔、移民以及经济和/或教育上处于不利地位的个人提供了一条向上流动的道路。为了与南京交通大学作为城市本科院校的角色保持一致，它的许多学生都是城市学校系统的产物，在寻求通过高等教育提升的同时，面临着相当大的经济压力。S-STEM项目的总体目标是增加进入STEM学科并坚持学习的低收入、有学业天赋的学生的数量。与战略活动一起，该项目通过在5年内向NJCU生物、化学、地球科学、数学、物理和计算机科学专业的学生提供总计105个奖学金来实现这一目标。北卡罗来纳州立大学S-STEM项目的增量目标是：-增加完成较低水平的科学、数学和计算机科学课程的学生数量，并继续在这些学科中进行更深层次的学习，特别是在STEM学科中代表性不足的群体中；-增加科学、数学和计算机科学课程的入学率和保留率，这些课程保持了以女性和少数族裔为主的学生群体；-通过提供强有力的补充指导和教员指导系统，提高STEM课程的学生表现；-通过定期组织社区建设活动，在STEM学生中发展一种社区感觉；为了实现其目标，S-STEM项目有四个主要项目组成部分：(1)招收学生进入STEM学科；(2)有组织的补充指导和教师指导系统；(3)充分利用基于网络的学生早期预警系统(SEA)，以最大限度地发挥教师建议的影响；以及(4)定期为STEM学生安排社区建设活动。通过一系列战略，该项目为减少自然减员和提高经济困难学生的毕业率提供了一个有效的模式，特别是在公共城市机构的STEM项目中代表人数不足的少数族裔。

The S-STEM project at New Jersey City University (NJCU) encourages low-income, academically talented students to major in the natural sciences, mathematics and computer science, and provides them with the support that they need to succeed in their academic programs. As a publicly supported university located in urban northeastern New Jersey and as the only public, four-year institution in New Jersey that has been federally designated as a Hispanic-serving institution, NJCU provides a path of upward mobility for thousands of minorities, immigrants and economically and/or educationally disadvantaged individuals. In keeping with NJCU's role as an urban undergraduate institution, many of its students are products of urban school systems facing considerable economic pressures while seeking to advance through higher education.The overall goal of the S-STEM project is to increase the number of low-income, academically talented students who enroll and persist in STEM disciplines. Together with strategic activities, the project accomplishes this goal by providing a total of 105 scholarships distributed over a 5-year period to students in NJCU's biology, chemistry, geoscience, mathematics, physics, and computer science programs. Incremental objectives of the NJCU S-STEM project are to: - Increase the number of students who complete lower level science, mathematics and computer science courses and proceed to more advanced study in these disciplines, particularly among underrepresented groups in STEM disciplines; - Increase enrollment and retention in science, mathematics and computer science programs, with the programs maintaining a predominately female and minority student population; - Improve the performance of students in gatekeeper STEM courses by providing a strong system of supplemental instruction and faculty mentoring; - Develop a feeling of community among STEM students by organizing a regular schedule of community-building activities; and - Increase the number of students who pursue graduate study and/or careers in STEM disciplines by providing them with graduate program and career information, as well as opportunities for undergraduate research and internships.To achieve its aspirations, the S-STEM project has four major project components: (1) recruitment of students into STEM disciplines; (2) an organized system of supplemental instruction and faculty mentoring; (3) full utilization of the Web-based Student Early Alert System (SEAS) to maximize the impact of faculty advising; and (4) regularly scheduled community-building activities for STEM students. Through the array of strategies, this project provides an effective model for reducing attrition and increasing the graduation rate of economically disadvantaged students, in particular of underrepresented minorities in STEM programs in public urban institutions.