The Science Scholars Program

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To increase the number of academically talented and financially disadvantaged Biology, Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Computer Science, and Physics graduates at Alma College, this project will provide financial support along with the tools and experiences the scholarship recipients need to achieve academic success. The project will build on lessons learned from an NSF-STEP project (now fully supported by the institution) that was designed to enhance the first-year experience. Evidence-based practices such as peer support generated in Learning Communities, early access to faculty through mentoring, and integration into the institution's rich undergraduate research culture will be central to the project's approach to retaining 20 participants in the STEM majors. The project is grounded in the needs of the local and regional community and should help to broaden the participation of first-generation students in the pursuit and attainment of STEM degrees. Scholarships for academically strong STEM students, who may not otherwise be able to afford college, have an impact on the number of STEM graduates prepared to help national, regional, and local companies. Talented STEM graduates help US industries to compete and innovate in a global economy. Building on research that shows that students' identities as scientist can be cultivated by their participation in disciplinary research, the project will incorporate the following activities: (a) an invitation to take part in pre-college experiences designed through the NSF-STEP project (a series of courses, seminars, and community building activities that culminates with a summer research project), (b) a special first-year seminar designed to introduce scholars to interdisciplinary research topics such as biotechnology and environmental monitoring, (c) mentor matching to professionals in industry, and (d) guaranteed, paid research opportunities. It is expected that the findings from the project evaluation will help to contribute to the knowledge base regarding the correlation of STEM retention to student's self-identification as scientists and researchers. Formative and summative evaluation will consist of an analysis of how well the project components align with successful attainment of this goal. Standardized survey instruments that are used college wide (the National Survey of Student Engagement [NSSE] and the Cooperative Institutional Research Program-survey [CIRP]) will be used along with customized assessment and evaluation instruments. In addition, participants who do research, present papers, and enter graduate and professional programs in the sciences will be tracked upon graduation. Dissemination of the results of evaluation will be done through webinars, brown bag lunches, and at national meetings like the Annual CUR Institute on Initiating and Sustaining Undergraduate Research Programs and the National Conference on Students in Transition. Discipline specific presentation venues will include the annual meetings of the American Chemical Society, the Annual Meeting of the Association of College and University Biology Educators, and the American Association of Physics Teachers National Meeting.