Accelerating Chemistry Engagement and Success: Scholarships and Support to Increase Graduation and Transfer at a Minority Serving Community College

该项目将通过支持有经济需要的成绩优异的低收入家庭学生的保留和毕业，为满足国家对高技能科学家、数学家、工程师和技术人员的需求做出贡献。该项目将在河滨城市学院进行，这是加州河滨市的一所公立西班牙裔社区学院。该项目为期五年，将为40名攻读化学或生物化学副学士学位的全日制学生提供奖学金。这些学者将分四批招收，每批10名学生，并获得最多两年的奖学金支持。该项目旨在改善未来STEM工作者的教育，同时为低收入学生提供有关学业成功、留校、转学、毕业和学业/职业道路的知识。河滨城市学院有很多未被充分代表的学生。因此，该项目有可能扩大STEM领域的参与，并加深对培养学生科学身份的努力如何支持这一学生群体的毕业和转移的理解。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。有四个具体目标：通过课程和课外适应提高学生在化学/生物化学方面的成功；使学生能够完成化学/生物化学课程，在两年内获得理学副学士学位，并转入学士学位课程；培养学生的科学认同、STEM自我效能感和职业意识，包括那些来自不同背景、代表性不足的学生；并为有效的技术和基于证据的实践提供知识体系，以改善学术上有天赋的低收入STEM学生的招聘、保留和成功。研究表明，与学校保持密切联系的转校生更容易成功，培养学生作为科学家的身份可以提高他们的参与度和保留率。本项目的首要研究问题是探讨学者参与项目活动如何促进其科学认同、科学自我效能感、社区文化财富和转移资本的发展。这项工作有可能促进对社区学院和大学水平的经济支持与学术支持和社会融合如何影响学生毕业和转学的理解。这些信息可以为州和国家讨论如何减少大学债务，同时提高低收入和传统上代表性不足的少数民族的STEM学士学位。该项目将采用混合方法评估，使用来自调查、观察、参与记录和学生表现记录的数据。这些数据将使用描述性和推断性统计技术进行分析，如差距分析和重复测量分析。这项工作的结果将通过通讯、会议报告和同行评议出版物等多个地方和国家场所传播。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，该项目旨在增加低收入、有学术天赋、有经济需求的学生在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 highly skilled scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need. The project will take place at Riverside City College, a public Hispanic serving community college in Riverside, California. Over a five-year duration, this project will provide scholarships to 40 full-time students who are pursuing associate degrees in chemistry or biochemistry. These Scholars will be recruited in four annual cohorts of 10 students and receive up to two years of scholarship support. The project aims to improve the education of future STEM workers, while generating knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income students. Riverside City College has a high population of underrepresented students. Consequently, this project has the potential to broaden participation in STEM fields and to increase understanding about how efforts to develop students' science identity can support graduation and transfer of this student population. The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. There are four specific aims: to increase student success in chemistry/biochemistry through curricular and co-curricular adaptations; to enable students to complete the chemistry/biochemistry pathway, earning their Associate of Science for Transfer degree within two years and transferring into a baccalaureate degree program; to develop science identity, STEM self-efficacy, and career awareness of students, including those from diverse, underrepresented backgrounds; and to contribute to the body of knowledge about effective techniques and evidence-based practices that improve the recruitment, retention, and success of academically talented, low-income STEM students. Research shows that transfer students who are engaged with their institution are more successful and that developing students' identity as scientists improves both their engagement and retention. The overarching research question of this project is to explore how Scholars’ participation in project activities enhances their development of science identity, science self-efficacy, community cultural wealth, and transfer capital. This work has the potential to advance understanding about how combining financial support with academic supports and social integration at the community college and university levels affects student graduation and transfer. This information can inform state and national discussions regarding ways to decrease college debt while increasing STEM bachelor’s degree attainment for low-income and traditionally underrepresented minorities. The project will be evaluated though a mixed-methods approach using data from surveys, observations, participation records, and student performance records. These data will be analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical techniques such as gap analysis and repeated measures analysis. Results of this work will be disseminated through multiple local and national venues such as newsletters, conference presentations, and peer reviewed publication. 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.