Increasing Accessibility to the Sciences through Mentoring Networks, Research Experiences, and Scholarships

该项目将通过支持圣劳伦斯大学有经济需要的成绩优异的低收入家庭学生的保留和毕业，为满足全国对受过良好教育的科学家、数学家、工程师和技术人员的需求做出贡献。该项目为期五年，将为24名攻读化学、计算机科学、地质学、数学、统计学、物理学和/或非临床生物学学士学位的学生提供四年奖学金。项目活动包括教师和校友导师网络，跨越大学头两年的队列课程，以及保证的夏季研究经验。项目招聘将鼓励第一代大学生的申请，项目活动将强调在学术生涯早期参与研究的重要性。在全国范围内，低收入家庭和第一代大学生的留校率和毕业率都低于资源较好的同龄人和家庭成员都是大学毕业生的同龄人。该项目有可能扩大STEM的参与范围，并为低收入和第一代大学生提供有关早期本科研究经历有效性的知识。该项目的总体目标是提高有经济需求的低收入、高成就本科生的STEM学位完成率。该项目旨在强调低收入家庭的第一代大学生的参与。具体的项目目标是：1)实施跨越大学头两年的学生支持活动；2)提高对有学术天赋的低收入家庭学生的录取、保留和学位获得；3)确保教师和工作人员能够满足来自低收入和第一代大学背景的学术学生的需求；4)对提高低收入家庭学生的归属感、学业成功和持久性的举措进行研究。STEM领域学生流失的典型原因可以大致分为缺乏归属感、缺乏兴趣和能力差距。真实的本科研究经历可以为来自不同背景的学生克服这些障碍。本项目将调查早期的、真实的、有指导的本科生研究经历对低收入和第一代大学生的归属感、持久性、留任感和学业成功的影响。该项目有可能确定研究经验的哪些特征最有影响力，对谁最有影响力。现有的工具，如课堂本科生研究经验、本科生研究经验调查和科学中的持久性调查，将用于将研究经验与持久性和归属感联系起来。项目成果将通过会议发言和开放获取期刊的出版物传播。该项目由美国国家科学基金会的科学、技术、工程和数学奖学金项目资助，旨在增加有经济需求的低收入学术天才学生在STEM领域获得学位的人数。它还旨在改善未来STEM工作者的教育，并为低收入学生提供有关学业成功、留校、转学、毕业和学术/职业道路的知识。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at St. Lawrence University. Over its five-year duration, this project will provide four-year scholarships to 24 students who are pursuing Bachelor of Science degrees in chemistry, computer science, geology, mathematics, statistics, physics, and/or a non-clinical track of biology. Project activities include a network of faculty and alumni mentors, cohort courses that span the first two college years, and a guaranteed summer research experience. Project recruitment will encourage applications from first-generation college students, and the project activities will emphasize the importance of participating in research early in the academic career. Nationally, low-income and first-generation college students have lower retention and graduation rates than those of their better-resourced peers and their peers with family members who are college graduates. This project has the potential to broaden participation in STEM and to generate knowledge on the effectiveness of early undergraduate research experiences for low-income and first-generation college students. The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The project intends to emphasize participation of low-income students who are also first-generation college students. Specific project goals are to 1) Implement student support activities that span the first two college years; 2) Improve recruitment, retention, and degree attainment for academically talented, low-income students; 3) Ensure faculty and staff are able to address the needs of academically students from low-income and first generation in college backgrounds; and 4) Conduct research on initiatives to improve belonging, academic success, and persistence among low-income students. Typical causes of student attrition from STEM fields can be broadly classified as lacking a sense of belonging, lack of interest, and capacity gaps. Authentic undergraduate research experiences can combat these barriers for students from diverse backgrounds. This project will investigate the effects of early, authentic, mentored undergraduate research experiences on the sense of belonging, persistence, retention, and academic success of low-income and first-generation college students. The project has the potential to identify which characteristics of research experiences are most impactful and for whom. Existing instruments such as the Classroom Undergraduate Research Experience, Survey of Undergraduate Research Experiences, and Persistence in the Sciences surveys will be used to relate research experiences to persistence and belonging. Project results will be disseminated through conference presentations and publications in open-access journals. This project is funded by NSF's Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in STEM fields. It also aims to improve the education of future STEM workers, and to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income students.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.