Improving the Success of STEM Undergraduate Students in a Rural Community: Learning with Emphasis on Academics, Developmental Experiences, and Research in STEM

NSF科学，技术，工程和数学奖学金计划支持追求STEM学位的高成就，低收入学生的保留和毕业。在这个项目的五年中，昆西大学（QU）将每年向20名符合条件的学生颁发高达6,000美元的奖学金，并可在大四期间续签。QU位于伊利诺斯州西南部，是方圆100英里内最大的城镇。 40%的学生来自周边的农村社区。因此，受赠机构为研究农村低收入学生追求STEM教育的途径提供了一个重要的环境。这些学生往往不追求STEM专业，因为他们缺乏接触和经验，与不同的STEM职业选择。该计划旨在提高学位获得率，并为学生提供雇主寻求的可转移技能。这些技能包括批判性思维，口头和书面沟通以及领导力。通过增加获得高质量STEM教育的机会，并提供个性化，有条不紊和密集的专业指导，该项目预计将增加该地区重要社会阶层成员的机会。此外，该项目将产生关于如何招聘，留住和成功毕业的农村，低收入，高成就的学生在STEM领域的知识。该项目有三个目标。首先，它旨在增加机会和获得高等教育的学术成就高，经济困难的学生追求非临床生物学和化学学位。其次，它旨在提高对循证学术和学生支持活动的广泛理解，以提高这些学生攻读STEM学位的兴趣。第三，QU计划提高奖学金获得者的第一年留存率和四年毕业率。QU的招聘计划建立在周边农村高中已经建立的关系基础上，包括教师外展和校园STEM招聘会。获得奖学金的学生将与成功教练和教师导师合作，并进入学习社区。奖学金获得者将：学生可以一起住在宿舍;在整个学术任期内共同注册专业和通识教育课程;并参与计划，以支持学术成功和社会融合，如实地考察当地工业或大学研究设施，以及服务活动。一个新的，必需的大学生水平的“研究介绍”课程将使学生有机会参加实验室或实地研究与教师导师。 该项目将利用定量和定性数据，包括学生记录、调查和学生产品，如指导性反思和课程作业，以确定项目活动对受资助学生的保留、毕业和学习成果的影响。 评估工具将包括清晰的学习指导反思，美国大学协会的调查和分析价值标准，主题学习社区问卷，社会认知职业理论和全国学生参与调查。对照组将建立匹配的人口统计学和学术特征的学生谁不是奖学金受助人。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过评估使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准的支持。

The NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program supports the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students pursuing STEM degrees. Over the five years of this project, Quincy University (QU) will award scholarships of up to $6,000 per year to 20 eligible students, renewable through their senior year. QU is in southwestern Illinois, in the largest town in a 100-mile radius. Forty percent of its students are from surrounding rural communities. Thus, the grantee institution provides an important setting to study the pathways of rural low-income students pursuing STEM education. These students often do not pursue STEM majors because they lack exposure to and experience with diverse STEM career options. This program aims to improve degree attainment, and to equip students with transferable skills that employers seek. Such skills include critical thinking, oral and written communication, and leadership. By increasing access to high-quality STEM education and providing individualized, methodical, and intensive professional guidance, this project expects to increase opportunities for members of a large sector of society that has a prominent presence in the region. Moreover, the project will generate knowledge on how to recruit, retain, and successfully graduate rural, low-income, high-achieving students in STEM fields. This project has three goals. First, it aims to increase opportunities and access to higher education for academically high-achieving, financially disadvantaged students pursuing non-clinical biology and chemistry degrees. Second, it aims to enhance the broad understanding of evidence-based academic and student support activities needed to increase the interest of these students in pursuing STEM degrees. Third, QU plans to increase the first-year retention rate and four-year graduation rate for the scholarship recipients. QU's recruitment plan builds on relationships already in place at surrounding rural high schools, and includes faculty outreach and an on-campus STEM Career Fair. Students receiving scholarships will be partnered with a success coach and faculty mentor, and placed into a learning community. Scholarship recipients will: be housed together in the residence hall; co-enroll in major and general education courses throughout their academic tenure; and participate in programming to support academic success and social integration, such as field trips to local industries or university research facilities, and service activities. A new, required sophomore-level "Introduction to Research" course will give the students the opportunity to participate in laboratory or field research with a faculty mentor. The project will make use of quantitative and qualitative data, including student records, surveys, and student products such as guided reflections and coursework to determine the effect of project activities on retention, graduation, and learning outcomes for supported students. Evaluation tools will include Articulated Learning Guided Reflections, the Inquiry and Analysis VALUE rubric from the American Association of Colleges & Universities, the Themed Learning Community Questionnaire, Social Cognitive Career Theory, and the National Survey of Student Engagement. A control cohort will be established by matching demographic and academic characteristics of students who were not scholarship recipients.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.