HSI Planning Project: Overcoming Barriers in the South Plains: Improving Retention for HSI Community College Students

在改进的本科生STEM教育：西班牙裔服务机构(HSI计划)的支持下，这一轨道1：PPP旨在提高HSI社区学院学生的保留率。南平原学院(SPC)发现，高中生在STEM职业生涯和教育途径方面缺乏准备和知识。尽管81%的SPC学生表示希望转学，但转到四年制院校的人数(29.5%)仍然很低。我们的目标是让更多的弱势群体(URM)学生为STEM专业做好更好的准备，并实现更大程度的保留、转移和完成以STEM为中心的学士学位。该项目将利用教师专业发展来改善STEM咨询，并帮助学生在社区学院顺利导航和学术进步。将有两个暑期体验计划，以帮助提高学术准备和对STEM领域的兴趣。其中包括帮助农村学生增加对STEM领域的兴趣和了解的STEM暑期体验，以及允许首次进入校园的大学生提前5周进入校园的学术成功学院。这项针对URM STEM学生保留率和毕业率的建议的主要目的是(1)通过加强STEM咨询和为学生提供资源来帮助打破URM学生的障碍，从而提高STEM转化率；(2)通过为高中双学分学生和一年级学生规划学术成功经验，改善K-12学生的学业准备和招生，以帮助提高大学准备；(3)通过成功研讨会对学生进行调查，以找出URM学生明显和构思的障碍。许多URM学生在入学和上大学时面临着比大多数同龄人更多的挑战和障碍。改善咨询将通过教师顾问的专业发展来完成，以增加知识和准备。为了进一步促进SPC的URM学生的进步，该项目将实施暑期学校，为这些学生提供量身定做的活动。通过暑期学术体验和改进所需的建议(通过导师的专业发展实现)，再加上为所有学生提供的学习技能/学生成功研讨会，STEM专业的归属感将会加快。在以STEM为重点的研讨会期间，将定期了解学生的需求，以制定未来计划。这个项目将通过在学生开始他们的大学生涯之前增加学业准备来帮助提高留存率。HSI计划旨在加强本科生STEM教育，扩大STEM的参与，并建设HSIS的能力。鉴于高等教育机构的不同性质和背景，实现这些目标需要创新的方法，以激励机构和社区的变革，并促进基础研究(I)关于学生参与式学习，(Ii)关于如何有效地多样化和增加对STEM的参与，以及(Iii)提高我们对如何建设高等教育机构能力的理解。HSI计划支持的项目也将从这些方法中获得如何实现这些目标的新知识。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。

With support from the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI Program), this Track 1: PPP aims to improve retention for HSI community college students. South Plains College (SPC) has identified a lack of preparation and knowledge among high school students when it comes to STEM careers and educational pathways. Despite 81% of SPC students indicating a desire to transfer, the number that transfer to a 4-year institution (29.5%) remains low. Our goal is for more underrepresented minority (URM) students to be better prepared for STEM majors and to achieve greater retention, transfer, and completion of STEM-centered bachelor’s degrees. The project will use faculty professional development to improve STEM advising and help students successfully navigate and academically progress at the community college. There will be two summer experiences planned to help improve academic readiness and interest in STEM fields. These will include a STEM summer experience to help rural students increase interest and understanding of STEM fields, and an Academic Success Academy to allow first-time college students onto campus 5-weeks early. The goal is to increase retention in STEM by preemptively overcoming the barriers many students face.The main objectives of this proposal which address retention and graduation rates of URM STEM students are to (1) improve STEM transfer rate by enhancing STEM advising and availability of resources for students to help break down barriers for URM students; (2) improve academic readiness and recruitment of K-12 students by planning an Academic success experience for high school dual credit students and first-year generation students to help improve college readiness; (3) survey students via success workshops to identify apparent and conceived barriers for URM students. Many URM students face more challenges and barriers upon enrolling and attending college than their majority counterparts. Improving advising will be accomplished by professional development for faculty advisors to increase knowledge and preparedness. In order to further the advancement of SPC’s URM students, this project will implement summer academies with tailored activities for these students. Through the summer academic experience, and improved required advisement (achieved through the professional development of advisors) plus study skills/student success workshops available to all students, the sense of belonging will be accelerated for STEM majors. The needs of students will be periodically accessed to tailor future plans during STEM-focused workshops. This project will help increase retention by increasing academic readiness before the students begin their college careers. The HSI Program aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education, broaden participation in STEM, and build capacity at HSIs. Achieving these aims, given the diverse nature and context of the HSIs, requires innovative approaches that incentivize institutional and community transformation and promote fundamental research (i) on engaged student learning, (ii) about what it takes to diversify and increase participation in STEM effectively, and (iii) that improves our understanding of how to build institutional capacity at HSIs. Projects supported by the HSI Program will also draw from these approaches to generate new knowledge on how to achieve these aims.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.