Scholarships, Mentoring, and Evidence-based Study Skills to Support Undergraduate Student Success in Science and Engineering at a Hispanic-Serving Institution

该项目将有助于对受过良好教育的科学家，数学家，工程师和技术人员的国家需求，通过支持高成就，低收入学生的保留和毕业，证明经济需要在新墨西哥州矿业与技术研究所，一个公共的四年，STEM为重点的西班牙裔服务机构（HSI）。 在为期五年的时间里，该项目将为至少34名正在攻读STEM学科学士学位的全日制学生提供奖学金，包括生物学，工程学，计算机科学，地球科学，数学和/或物理学。 一年级学生将获得四年奖学金，转学生将获得三年奖学金。 该项目将为学生提供有指导的指导和讲习班，以指导学生的专业知识和技能发展。 学生还将接受有关循证学习策略的指导，以提高他们在第一学期的关键过渡阶段的学习技能。该项目的实证研究旨在告知大学如何改善低收入学生的学习策略和学业成功。 一个主要的预期结果是增加传统上代表性不足的学生进入STEM高薪职业的人数。 该项目的总体目标是增加低收入，高成就的本科生与证明财政需要完成STEM学位。 该项目将评估三种具体干预措施的影响：1）指导指导; 2）奖学金; 3）通过真实的近同伴榜样展示学习技能的证据。 以前的研究表明，社区建设和指导性指导可以提高大型研究型大学的保留率。 这个项目将决定是否指导针对所有STEM专业可以在一个小的，公共HSI成功。 机构数据显示，当经济援助在毕业前到期时，许多不再有资格获得联邦援助的低收入学生无法完成学位。 这种财政短缺导致佩尔资格和其他学生之间的毕业差距在大学四年级和六年级之间增长了11%。 该项目将通过提供奖学金和指导性辅导来解决这一问题，以促进课程选择和明确的四年内毕业计划。 学习技能将通过视频演示来解决，以实验方式操纵提供学习策略证据的人是否由研究人员或榜样校友或来自该机构的高年级学生提出，他们已经提高了自己在所需科学和数学课程上的表现。 项目评估将使用有关指导指导学生发展的数据，关于学习技能的身份信息的研究，以及奖学金本身提高STEM专业保留率和毕业率的有效性。 该项目由NSF的科学，技术，工程和数学奖学金计划资助，该计划旨在增加低收入学术人才的数量，这些学生表现出经济需求，并获得STEM领域的学位。它还旨在改善未来STEM工作者的教育，并产生关于低收入学生的学术成功，保留，转移，毕业和学术/职业道路的知识。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力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 New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, an public four-year, STEM-focused Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). Over its five-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to at least 34 unique full-time students who are pursuing bachelor degrees in STEM disciplines including biology, engineering, computer science, earth science, mathematics, and/or physics. First-year students will receive four-year scholarships, and transfer students will receive up to three-year scholarships. The project will provide students with directed mentoring and workshops to guide students’ professional knowledge and skill development. Students will also receive instruction about evidence-based study strategies, to improve their study skills at a critical transition in their first semester. The project's empirical research is designed to inform universities how to improve study strategies and academic success of lower-income students. A major intended outcome is increasing the number of of traditionally underrepresented students who enter higher-paying careers in STEM. The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The project will evaluate the impact of three specific interventions: 1) directed mentoring; 2) scholarships; and 3) presentation of evidence on study skills by an authentic near-peer role model. Previous research has shown that community-building and directed mentoring can increase retention at large research universities. This project will determine whether mentoring aimed at all STEM majors can succeed at a small, public HSI. Institutional data shows that, when financial aid sunsets before graduation, many low income students who no longer qualify for federal aid cannot afford to finish their degrees. This financial shortfall results in a graduation gap between Pell-eligible and other students that grows 11% between college years four and six. This project will address this issue with scholarships and directed mentoring, to facilitate course selection and clear plans to achieve graduation within four years. Study skills will be addressed through video presentations to experimentally manipulate whether the person providing evidence on study strategies presents either by a researcher or a role model alumnus or upperclassman from the institution who has improved their own performance on required science and math coursework. Project evaluation will use data about development of students in directed mentoring, the research on identity messaging about study skills, and the effectiveness of the scholarships themselves to increase retention and graduation rates of STEM majors. 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.