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求的高成就、低收入学生的留校和毕业，为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，这是一所位于加利福尼亚州河滨的公共拉美裔社区大学。在五年的时间里，这个项目将为40名正在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。这些学者将被招募为四个年度队列，每组10名学生，并获得长达两年的奖学金支持。该项目旨在改善未来STEM工人的教育，同时产生关于低收入学生的学业成功、留住、转学、毕业和学业/职业道路的知识。河滨城市学院的学生人数很多，但人数偏少。因此，该项目有可能扩大对STEM领域的参与，并增加对培养学生科学认同感的努力如何支持这一学生群体的毕业和转学的理解。该项目的总体目标是增加低收入、高成就、有经济需求的本科生的STEM学位毕业率。它有四个具体目标：通过课程和联合课程的调整，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/生物化学途径，在两年内通过转学获得理科副学士学位，并转到学士学位课程；培养学生的科学认同感、STEM自我效能和职业意识，包括那些来自不同背景、代表性不足的学生；以及促进关于有效技术和循证实践的知识体系，以改善有学术天赋的低收入STEM学生的招生、留住和成功。研究表明，与所在机构合作的转学学生更成功，培养学生作为科学家的认同感可以提高他们的参与度和留存能力。本项目的首要研究问题是探索学者参与项目活动如何提高他们的科学认同感、科学自我效能感、社区文化财富和转移资本。这项工作有可能增进人们对社区、学院和大学一级的财政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群体获得STEM学士学位的方式提供信息。该项目将通过使用调查、观察、参与记录和学生表现记录的数据的混合方法进行评估。这些数据将使用描述性和推断性统计技术进行分析，例如差距分析和重复测量分析。这项工作的结果将通过多个地方和国家场所传播，例如时事通讯、会议报告和同行评议出版物。该项目由NSF的科学、技术、工程和数学奖学金项目资助，该项目旨在增加获得STEM领域学位的低收入、有学术天赋、有经济需求的学生的数量。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业成功、留住、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优势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.