Blended Learning in a Geographically Distributed Education System for Geomatics Students

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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 the University of Florida. Over its 6-year duration, this project will fund scholarships for 38 unique full time and half-time students who are pursuing a bachelor’s degree in geomatics. Third- and fourth-year students, including transfer students from community colleges, will receive up to two-year scholarships. This project intends to increase student enrollment and persistence in geomatics by linking scholarships with effective support activities, including faculty mentoring, intentional advising, participation in co-curricular activities, professional training, and participation in discipline-specific conferences. This project builds on the existing geographically distributed blended geomatics education system at the University of Florida, which delivers the degree program at the main campus, and at two locations close to the largest population centers in the state. Transfer students will be recruited from community and state colleges and support services will be provided to help students have a successful transition to the University of Florida and complete their geomatics degree. This project introduces a model that will improve the collaboration between a four-year STEM degree program, community/state colleges, and professionals in industry at the state level. It is expected that new knowledge will be generated by studying the effects of blended learning and organizational structure accommodations on low-income student participation and success.The overall goal of the project is to increase STEM degree completion for low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. This project aims to: increase the enrollment of low-income geomatics students in a geographically distributed education system; provide professional development to help students transition to the geomatics workforce; and generate new knowledge by studying factors affecting recruitment and retention of low-income transfer students. Organizational structure adaptations through geographically distributed education and the use of a blended education system should help improve STEM education and overcome systemic barriers for transfer students. Further study is warranted to understand how organizational structure adaptation, intentional mentoring, participation in co-curricular activities, and providing financial support can affect low-income students’ participation and success in the geomatics technology field. This project will identify the barriers affecting the enrollment of low-income students, the factors contributing to student advancement, and the effects of adopting a blended geographically distributed geomatics education system on student success. The data collected in this project will be analyzed to assess differences between project scholars and other students in the degree program. Socioeconomic, organizational structure, demographic, and geographic related factors will be analyzed using exploratory, statistical, and machine learning analysis techniques. This project has the potential to contribute new knowledge about how a distributed education system with financial, cultural, and professional support will affect low-income transfer student recruitment and advancement in STEM fields, which will benefit geomatics technology education and the broader STEM education community. The results will be presented at education and professional conferences, workshops, and seminars as well as other digital dissemination venues. 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.