Growing STEM Student Success through Scholarship and Community Building with Experiential Learning and Data Science

榆树圣母学院（榆树学院）将通过社区参与的体验式学习，结合数据科学和支持性的学生学习环境，提高有学术天赋、有经济需求的STEM学生的保留率和成功率。Elms将为至少40名低收入学生（10名一年级学生和30名转学生）提供奖学金和教育支持，这些学生来自STEM专业，包括生物学、生物技术、化学、计算机科学、计算机信息技术与安全以及数学。所有STEM学者都将获得社区参与的体验式学习活动，并有机会在每年的学习中培养数据科学技能，最终获得实习或研究经验。通过STEM外展活动来招募和留住STEM学生，该项目将成为两年制和四年制大学之间合作的典范。榆树学院将实施一项创新的高影响力的S-STEM项目，包括社区参与的体验式学习和数据科学技能建设，以提高有学术才华的低收入STEM学者的保留率、成功和职业成果。这一举措的更广泛影响是，通过消除低收入学生成功的障碍，增加STEM劳动力的数量和多样性，这些学生迄今为止在追求STEM学习领域的代表性不足。这一举措将加强STEM转学途径，提高转学和学位完成率。该项目的研究结果将有助于了解参与社区体验式学习和数据科学技能培养如何对低收入STEM学生的留校、毕业和成功产生积极影响。社区参与的体验式学习将被纳入队列活动，如STEM创新挑战赛，以及课程，如数据科学/分析，实习和科学研究。这些机会将使学生能够探索与他们的职业目标直接相关的实践项目，并获得和实践他们所选择的STEM职业所需的技能。该计划将建立从社区学院到文理学院的途径，并提高国家需要的STEM领域的留校率和毕业率。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，并为低收入学生的学业成功、留校、转学、毕业和学术/职业道路提供知识。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智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The College of Our Lady of the Elms (Elms College) will increase the retention and success of academically-talented STEM students with financial need through community-engaged experiential learning incorporating data science and supportive student learning environments. Elms will provide scholarships and educational support for at least 40 unique low-income students (10 first-year students and 30 transfer students) in the STEM majors of Biology, Biotechnology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Computer Information Technology and Security, and Mathematics. All STEM scholars will be provided community-engaged experiential learning activities and opportunities to build data science skills in each year of their studies, culminating in an internship or research experience. With STEM outreach events to recruit and retain STEM students, this project will serve as a model for cooperation between two-year and four-year colleges.Elms College will implement an innovative high-impact S-STEM program involving community-engaged experiential learning and data science skill-building to increase the retention, success, and career outcomes of academically talented, low-income STEM scholars. The broader impact of this initiative is to increase the number and diversity of the STEM workforce by removing the barriers to success for low-income students who have thus far remained underrepresented in their pursuit of STEM fields of study. This initiative will strengthen STEM transfer pathways and improve transfer and degree completion rates. Findings from this project will generate knowledge on how participation in community-engaged experiential learning and data science skill-building positively impacts the retention, graduation, and success of low-income STEM students. Community engaged experiential learning will be built into cohort activities, such as the STEM Innovation Challenge, and courses, such as Data Science/Analytics, internships, and scientific research. These opportunities will allow students to explore hands-on projects directly related to their career goals and to acquire and practice skills needed in their chosen STEM careers. This initiative will build pathways from community colleges to liberal arts colleges and increase retention and graduation rates in STEM areas of national need. 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 studentsThis 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.