Scaffolding Undergraduate Curriculum and Career Exploration for Science Success

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With funds from NSF's Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Program (S-STEM) program, Viterbo University in Lacrosse, Wisconsin, will improve educational opportunities in STEM areas for low-income, talented rural students by preparing these students to help address the many current global environmental and ecological challenges that face the United States. This S-STEM Capacity Building project will award scholarships and provide community and academic support to two cohorts of eleven students each for majors in biology or environmental biology. The underlying impetus of the project will be to recruit, enroll, retain, prepare, and graduate more biological sciences majors, especially from rural areas, for employment or graduate programs in the sciences. The investigators will provide resources for student success by providing students with: (a) financial, community, and academic support; (b) traditional and cutting edge scientific knowledge and skills; (c) real world work experiences through internships and research opportunities; and (d) specific resources needed to transition to the STEM workforce or graduate programs in related science fields. The project team will implement, study, and assess a scaffolding approach which will include: (i) early academic interventions for students to help overcome deficits in preparation; (ii) retain science students to graduation through social motivation and professional advocacy; (iii) provide students relevant, high impact experiences including job shadowing, internships and undergraduate research experiences, and (iv) Graduate well-prepared science students and assist them in obtaining employment or further education in their target field. To evaluate and advance understanding of the impact of the various activities, specifically concerning rural students, the project team will use a qualitative and quantitative mixed-methods research approach to investigate and measure a variety of impact variables including financial and the other support opportunities. The program has been designed to: promote broadening participation for talented, low-income rural students; build capacity and be sustainable at Viterbo; and be replicable at similar institutions that serve rural populations.