Collaborative Research: Institutional Collaboration to Recruit, Retain and Graduate Low-Income Students in Biology

科克学院、圣伊丽莎白学院、费鲁姆学院、库卡学院、梅西学院和托马斯大学将与“是的，我们必须联盟”合作，实施精心策划和评估的一系列活动，旨在提高这六所院校中大批、多样化的低收入学生主修生物学的毅力。该 NSF 科学、技术、工程和数学奖学金 (S-STEM) Track 3 项目将为知识库提供有关影响低收入学生保留率和获得 STEM 学位的因素的新信息。通过在生物学学生、教师、项目协调员和外部科学家之间建立跨机构合作伙伴关系，将为 STEM 学者创建更强大的支持网络和科学认同。该合作项目将有助于增加 STEM 学者的招募、坚持和毕业率，并增加进入 STEM 相关研究生课程或就业领域的机会。该 S-STEM 项目以六个合作机构各自开发的活动和最佳实践为基础，同时实施和评估新活动，包括：(1) CATALYST，一项受“Jumpstart”启发的计划，特别注重帮助学生培养社区意识和归属感； (2) 综合的第一年经验，包括基于 STEM 的第一年研讨会、咨询和入门科学课程的同伴协助学习课程； (3) 侵入式建议和教师/同伴导师计划，每个学生都将与一名专门的 STEM 教员和同伴 STEM 导师相匹配； （4）在教师指导下继续实践研究或基于项目的学习； (5) 科学家研讨会系列，学生将在其中会见 STEM 领域的工作专业人士； (6) 研究生院和职业准备，通过一系列密集的研讨会和队列活动来教育学生有关 STEM 职业和研究生院机会的信息； (7) 一个年度学院，将把来自“是的我们必须”联盟组织的六个合作机构的学生和团队聚集在一起。最后一个部分将包括 STEM 学者进行的研究，以及旨在提高学生成功率的研讨会。所有这些活动对参与机构的入学率、保留率、毕业率和研究生安置率的影响都将受到审查。形成性和总结性项目评估将采用混合方法，包括收集学生数据、调查、访谈和焦点小组。通过解决该项目的中心研究问题，即哪些因素有助于低收入学生在生物学方面取得成功，新的信息将被添加到针对低收入学生的研究文献中。除了参与合作研究项目的机构的历史数据之外，该研究还将通过将 STEM 学者群体与当前不符合佩尔资格的 STEM 学生进行比较，控制种族、民族和第一代身份的中介效应。该项目的另一个特点是它将提供一个地理遥远的多机构 S-STEM 协作项目的可扩展模型。

Coker College, College of Saint Elizabeth, Ferrum College, Keuka College, Mercy College, and Thomas University will partner with the Yes We Must Coalition to implement a carefully planned and assessed series of activities with the intention of increasing the persistence of a large and diverse cohort of low-income students majoring in Biology across these six institutions. This NSF Scholarship in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (S-STEM) Track 3 project will contribute new information to the knowledge base regarding factors that affect retention and STEM degree attainment of low-income students. By creating cross-institutional partnerships between Biology students, faculty, project coordinators and external scientists, it will create a stronger network of support and scientific identity for the STEM scholars. This collaborative project will help increase the recruitment, persistence and graduation rate of STEM scholars and increase matriculation into a STEM-related graduate program or field of employment. This S-STEM project builds on activities and best practices developed by each of the six collaborating institutions while implementing and assessing new activities including: (1) CATALYST, a "Jumpstart"-inspired program with a particular focus on helping students develop a sense of community and belonging; (2) an integrated first-year experience including a STEM-based first-year seminar, advising, and peer-assisted study sessions for gateway science classes; (3) intrusive advising and a faculty/peer mentors program where each student will be matched with a dedicated STEM faculty member and peer STEM mentor; (4) continuing hands-on research or project-based learning under faculty mentorship; (5) seminar series by scientists during which students will meet working professionals in STEM fields; (6) graduate school and career preparation through an intensive series of workshops and cohort activities to educate students about STEM career and graduate school opportunities; and (7) an annual institute that will bring the cohort of students and teams from the six collaborating institutions together organized by the Yes We Must Coalition. This last component will feature research conducted by the STEM Scholars, in addition to workshops designed to increase student success. The impact of all these activities on enrollment, retention, graduation, and post-graduate placement rates at the participating institutions will be examined. Formative and summative project evaluation and assessment will employ mixed methods including collection of student data, surveys, interviews, and focus groups. By addressing the project's central research question, what factors contribute to success of low-income students in Biology, new information will be added to the research literature specific to low-income students. The study will control for mediating effects of race, ethnicity and first-generation status by comparing the cohort of STEM scholars to current non-Pell eligible STEM students, in addition to historical data across the institutions participating in the collaborative research project. An additional feature of this project is that it will provide a scalable model of a geographically far-flung, multi-institutional S-STEM collaborative project.