Cardinal STEM Scholars Program: Guided Pathways to Increase STEM Degree Completion

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With funding from the NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program, this project will support high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at Skagit Valley College. The project will provide 34 low income, academically talented students with scholarships, high-quality mentoring, research opportunities, and extensive advising. The major goals are to increase the number of low income students enrolling in and completing STEM degrees at Skagit Valley College, and to increase the transfer of these graduates to four-year STEM programs. The project will build on the college's guided pathways approach, which supports student retention and graduation by providing clearly articulated and intentionally sequenced course maps for STEM-specific transfer degrees. Following identification of courses and progress milestones predictive of STEM retention and completion, the maps will be updated to include specifically placed supports and interventions to enhance student success. The project responds to the national need to broaden participation of low income and underrepresented students in STEM and expects to develop a generalizable model for increasing student access and completion in STEM programs.During five years of funding, the project seeks to: (1) Increase the access and retention of low-income, academically talented students into STEM programs and degrees; (2) Identify mechanisms for increased retention and completion in STEM pathways through identification of key gateway and critical courses, as well as milestones (both academic and non-academic) in STEM pathways; (3) Increase the percentage of STEM degree completion, with a focus on ameliorating inequities in completion rates; (4) Increase the rate of successful transfer of STEM students to four-year colleges; and (5) Develop an equity-focused model for implementing STEM guided pathways that can be adapted and implemented at other community colleges. During its first year, the project will identify courses and progress milestones that correlate with student retention and completion in STEM pathways. The results of this research will be used to place evidence-based interventions within each STEM pathway.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.