Broadening Opportunities for Biologists by Bridging the Gap for Transfer Students

俄克拉荷马州州立大学因其题为"通过弥合转学生的差距来拓宽生物学家的机会“的项目获得了NSF科学、技术、工程和数学奖学金（S-STEM）奖。该项目将提高从两年制学校转学并在俄勒冈州立大学攻读生命科学学士学位的学生的招聘，保留和毕业率，并将为29名学术才华和经济困难的学生提供58个两年制奖学金。计划活动将增加群体内部和群体之间的互动，并加强S-STEM学者的支持网络和社区意识。S-STEM学者将获得财政，学术和专业发展支持。学术支持将包括同行领导的方向研讨会; 1学分的研讨会课程，重点是职业意识，沟通技巧和同行互动;建议;同行指导;和辅导（包括确定为S-STEM学者具有挑战性的课程的补充说明）。定期检查站鼓励学生参与学术支持服务。专业发展活动的多样性将使学者适应程序的经验，以他们的兴趣，需求和时间表。专业发展活动将侧重于职业意识，求职策略，平衡职业和家庭生活，以及可选的实习，研究项目，专业协会会议，研究生院相关活动和推广机会。访问以前（毕业）S-STEM学者在研究生院和工作场所将提供直接连接到未来的职业生涯。其他支持服务将包括学年开始前的团体建设活动，以便新生可以与当前的S-STEM学者建立联系，以及非正式的家庭友好活动。项目评估将侧重于形成性和总结性评估，从多个来源收集定性和定量数据，以评估招聘，保留和毕业率，以及学生的经验和对S-STEM计划的看法。总的来说，该项目将提供信息，说明学生克服从两年制学校转入四年制学校所面临的障碍所需的资源，以及使他们能够完成学士学位的支持。并为STEM劳动力或研究生院做好准备。

Oklahoma State University has received an NSF Scholarships for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) award for their project entitled The Broadening Opportunities for Biologists by Bridging the Gap for Transfer Students. This project will improve recruitment, retention, and graduation rates for students transferring from 2-year schools and pursuing bachelor's degrees in the life sciences at OSU and will provide 58 two-year scholarships to 29 academically talented and financially disadvantaged students. Program activities will increase interactions within and across cohorts and strengthen the support network and sense of community for S-STEM scholars. S-STEM scholars will receive financial, academic, and professional development support. Academic support will include a peer-led orientation workshop; a 1-credit seminar class focused on career awareness, communication skills, and peer interactions; advising; peer mentoring; and tutoring (including supplemental instruction for courses identified as challenging for S-STEM scholars). Regular checkpoints encourage student participation in academic support services. A diversity of professional development activities will allow scholars to adapt program experiences to their interests, needs, and schedules. Professional development activities will focus on career awareness, job search strategies, and balancing professional and family life, as well as optional internships, research projects, professional society meetings, graduate school related activities, and outreach opportunities. Visits to previous (graduated) S-STEM scholars in graduate school and at job sites will provide direct connections to future careers. Other support services will include group-building activities before the start of the academic year so incoming students can build connections with current S-STEM scholars, as well as informal, family friendly activities. Project evaluation will focus on formative and summative assessment with qualitative and quantitative data collected from multiple sources to assess recruitment, retention, and graduation rates, as well as student experiences in and perceptions about the S-STEM program. Overall, the project will provide information on the resources needed by students to overcome barriers faced in the transfer from a two-year institution to a four-year school and on the support that will enable them to complete a B.S. and be prepared for the STEM workforce or graduate school.