Supporting Student Mental Health, Well-being, and Resilience to Advance Undergraduate Degree Completion in Physical Sciences, Engineering, and Mathematics

该项目将通过支持在伦道夫学院有经济需要的高成就低收入学生的保留和毕业，为国家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。具体来说，该项目将为32名学生提供四年奖学金和专业支持服务，目的是招募、留住拥有物理科学、工程或数学四年制学位的学生并使其毕业。奖学金获得者将分为两组，每组16名学生将在第一和第二学年的秋季入学。该项目将以现有的学生服务为基础，增加以包容、心理健康和韧性为重点的项目，这些问题被确定为可以解决的问题，以提高STEM的保留率。该项目的重点是整合学生的心理健康和福祉，这是一种创新。它将使用新颖的“健康星期三”项目，支持学者们每年的学业成功、社交健康和情感健康。通过关注学生的健康，该项目有可能提高学生的学业成功和研究生课程和专业努力的进步，同时也为其他机构提供了一个可以复制的模式。该项目的总体目标是提高有经济需求的低收入、成绩优异学生的STEM学位完成率。该项目将实施一套全面的活动和支持，包括：密集的夏季过渡计划，贯穿整个大学四年的系列研讨会，在生活学习社区中加强辅导服务，同伴，教师和行业指导，以及增加实习和研究机会。该项目的研究工作将侧重于积极主动的方法对学生健康和健康的影响，并打算确定哪些方法有效，特别是在STEM中代表性不足的群体，包括女性和LGBTQ个人。研究结果将适用于任何一所大学，尤其是小型文理学院，并可能有助于指导增加STEM专业学生数量的努力，并帮助他们适应四年制课程的要求。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 Randolph College. Specifically, the project will provide 32 students with four-year scholarships and specialized support services with the goal of recruiting, retaining, and graduating students with four-year degrees in a physical science, engineering, or mathematics. Scholars will be admitted and progress through college in two cohorts, with a cohort of 16 students entering in fall of the first and second award year. This project will build on existing student services, adding programming that focuses on inclusion, mental health, and resilience, which are identified as issues that can be addressed to increase retention in STEM. The emphasis of the project on integrating student mental health and well-being is innovative. It will use novel Wellness Wednesday programming to support Scholars’ academic success, social wellness, and emotional wellness throughout each year. By attending to student wellness, the project has the potential to enhance students’ academic success and advancement to graduate programs and professional endeavors, while also providing a model that other institutions may replicate.The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving students with demonstrated financial need. The project will implement a comprehensive set of activities and supports including: an intensive summer transition program, a seminar series through all four college years, enhanced tutoring services in a Living-Learning Community, peer, faculty, and industry mentoring, and enhanced access to internships and research opportunities. The project’s research efforts will focus on the impact of a proactive approach to student health and wellness and intends to identify what works, especially with underrepresented groups in STEM, including women and LGBTQ individuals. The results will be relevant to any college, particularly small liberal arts colleges, and may be useful to guide efforts to increase the numbers of STEM majors and support them as they adjust to the demands of a four-year program. 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.