Supporting Student Success: Improving Retention in STEM Fields by Implementing a Workforce Development Research Methods Program

该项目将通过支持米勒斯维尔大学（米勒斯维尔大学是一所拥有约6500名本科生的地区性公立大学）中表现出经济需求的优秀低收入学生的保留和毕业，为全国对受过良好教育的科学家、数学家、工程师和技术人员的需求做出贡献。在为期6年的时间里，该项目将为30名攻读生物学、化学、计算机科学、地球科学、数学、物理或机器人学士学位的全日制、高成就、低收入学生（3组，每组10名学生）提供可续期奖学金。除了获得财政支持外，学者还将参加多方面的学术和课外支持计划。特别是，该项目将培养一批训练有素的学生，为整个地区的STEM劳动力做好准备。由当地产业、内容专家、大学支持服务和训练有素的同行/职业导师组成的协作支持网络将在项目的整个生命周期内到位并持续下去。与此相关，该项目将建立一个社区建设保留计划（CoBRA），并将与弗吉尼亚州沃洛普斯岛的Chincoteague Bay Field Station建立合作关系，通过该合作关系，S-STEM学者的跨学科劳动力发展计划将包括信息丰富的研讨会，小型研究项目和队列建设活动，以帮助学生为他们的STEM职业做好准备。项目调查人员将传播与项目挑战和成功相关的成果和发现，特别是向其他努力支持低收入STEM学生的公共区域机构。为了提高有经济需求的低收入、优秀本科生的STEM学位完成率，该项目将实现几个目标。首先是招募30名不同的学者，分成3组，并实施和分析一个全面的学术和课外活动计划，以支持、留住这些学者，并使他们从众多STEM学科毕业。第二是实施战略，建立学生的知识，系统地支持学生在STEM领域的学术和职业道路，包括劳动力准备。第三是通过项目评估，通过使用定性和定量技术来分析和获得关于项目支持活动或活动组合的哪些方面对学生的保留、参与、学术表现、劳动力准备和整体成功最有效的见解，从而为知识库做出贡献。第四是产生一个可持续的和可复制的模式，并传播有关该模式的成果和发现，以告知其他高等教育专业人员和寻求支持低收入，高才华的STEM学生的地区机构。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，旨在增加有经济需求的低收入学术天才学生在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 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 Millersville University, a regional public institution of approximately 6500 undergraduate students. Over its 6-year duration, this project will provide renewable scholarships to 30 distinct full-time, high-achieving, low-income students (3 cohorts with 10 students each) who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in biology, chemistry, computer science, earth science, mathematics, physics, or robotics. In addition to receiving financial support, scholars will be part of a multi-facet academic and co-curricular support program. In particular, the project will produce cohorts of well-trained students who will be prepared to the STEM workforce throughout the region. Collaborative support networks of local industry, content experts, University support services, and trained peer/career mentors, will be in place during, and sustained past, the project's lifetime. In connection with this, the project will build a Community Building Retention Program (CoBRA) and will include a partnership with Chincoteague Bay Field Station at Wallops Island, Virginia, through which an interdisciplinary Workforce Development Program for S-STEM Scholars will feature informative seminars, mini-research projects, and cohort-building activities to help prepare students for their STEM careers. Project investigators will disseminate outcomes and findings related to project challenges and successes, especially to other public regional institutions striving to support low-income STEM students.To increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need, the project will pursue several goals. First is to recruit a diverse set of 30 scholars in 3 cohorts and to implement and analyze a comprehensive program of academic and co-curricular activities to support, retain, and graduate these scholars in myriad STEM disciplines. Second is to implement strategies for building student knowledge and systematically supporting student academic and career pathways in STEM, including workforce preparation. Third is to contribute to the knowledge base through project evaluation by employing qualitative and quantitative techniques to analyze and gain insights regarding which aspects of the project's support activities, or combination of activities, are most effective for retention, engagement, academic performance, workforce preparation, and overall success of students. And fourth is to yield a sustainable and replicable model, and disseminate outcomes and findings with respect to this model, to inform other higher-education professionals and regional institutions seeking to support low-income, highly talented STEM students. 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.