PERSIST Promoting Engagement, Retention and Success in STEM Training

加州大学河滨分校的国家科学基金会科学、技术、工程和数学奖学金(S-STEM)项目将为低收入、有经济需求的有才华的学生提供攻读理科学士学位的奖学金。除了奖学金，该计划还将提供学术和其他支持，以增加学业上有天赋的低收入学生的坚持不懈。项目努力广泛地集中在二年级学生身上，以促进向高级理科课程的过渡。该项目将大二确定为许多有能力的学生离开理科专业的时候。该项目的结果将适用于寻求增加二年级理科学生保留率的其他机构。为学业优秀的学生提供奖学金和支持，将有助于培养一支训练有素的劳动力队伍，这将有助于加州和全国的经济活力。在确定有助于提高理科本科生第一年成功的一些因素方面，已经取得了进展。然而，一个挑战依然存在，因为有相当大比例的学生在二年级结束后不会坚持攻读理科专业。在许多学生离开理科专业的时候，这个项目将以二年级学生为重点，以帮助他们继续读高年级。这些奖学金将减少低收入学生兼职工作的需求，从而增加他们参与二年级本科生研究和企业实习的机会。学术支持将包括课程和联合课程活动，如研究方法、同伴指导和职业探索工作坊。该项目将消除或减少低收入学生兼职工作的需要，并增加学生进一步参与STEM研究和实习经验的愿望。另一个重点将放在从微积分预科开始的有才华的学生身上。研究发现，与准备在第一年学习微积分的学生相比，这些学生的STEM毕业率较低。毕业率较低的部分原因是需要支付额外的学费，以便在第一年后的夏天赶上数学和科学课程。通过专注于一个对本科生在STEM领域的坚持不懈特别重要的时间，以及对那些更不可能坚持下去的特定样本的学生，该项目希望对STEM领域中通常代表不足的有才华的低收入学生的发展轨迹产生积极影响。该计划的调查结果将广泛传播给STEM教育界，并有助于增加对成功的学生奖学金和支持计划的属性和做法的了解。

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) project at the University of California-Riverside will provide scholarships for low-income, talented students with demonstrated financial need pursuing bachelor's degrees in the sciences. In addition to scholarships, the program will provide academic and other support to increase the persistence of academically talented, low-income students. Project efforts focus extensively on sophomores to facilitate transition to upper-level science coursework. The project has identified the sophomore year as a time when many capable students leave science majors. The results of this project will be applicable to other institutions seeking to increase retention of second-year science students. Scholarships and support for academically strong students, who may not otherwise be able to afford college, will help to produce a well-trained workforce that will contribute to the economic vitality of California and the nation.Progress has been made in identifying some of the factors which can help improve the success of undergraduate science students in the first year. However, a challenge remains as a significant percentage of students do not persist in science majors beyond the end of their sophomore year. This project will focus on sophomores to facilitate upper division continuation at a time when many students leave science majors. The scholarships will decrease the need for low-income students to work part-time and thus increase their opportunities to be involved in second year undergraduate research and internships with industry. The academic support will include curricular and co-curricular activities such as research methodology, peer mentoring and career exploration workshops. The project will eliminate or reduce the need for low-income students to work part-time and increase students' aspirations towards further participation in STEM research and internship experiences. An additional emphasis will be on talented students who begin in precalculus. These students were found to have lower graduation rates in STEM compared to students who are ready to take calculus in the first year. Lower graduation rates are due in part to a need to pay extra tuition to catch up in mathematics and science courses the summer after the first year. By focusing on a time that is particularly important for undergraduate persistence in STEM and on a particular sample of students who have an even less likelihood of persisting, this program hopes to positively impact the trajectory of talented low-income students typically underrepresented in STEM fields. The findings from the program will be disseminated widely to the STEM education community and help increase understanding of the attributes and practices of successful student scholarship and support programs.