Pathways to Academic Student Success for Biology Majors

生物学专业学生学术成功的途径

• 批准号: 2221169
• 负责人: Sheryl Chisholm
• 金额: $ 75万
• 依托单位: West Virginia University Research Corporation
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-02-01 至 2029-01-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2221169&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Pathways; Academic; Student; Success; Biology

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention, transfer, and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at Potomac State College, a public, open-door admission, primarily two-year college in rural West Virginia. Over its 6-year duration, this project will fund scholarships for 30 full-time students pursuing associate’s degrees in biology. The project aims to increase student persistence in biology by linking scholarships with effective supporting activities, such as a biology-focused freshman orientation course and faculty mentoring. Scholars will also be given the opportunity for early research experiences through a novel online collaboration with faculty and graduate students at West Virginia University. The project will also study improvements in the retention, transfer, and graduation 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. The project will increase the participation of low-income rural students in biology-related careers in rural Appalachia. To reach this goal, the project is implementing evidence-based supports. These supports include providing scholarships, intrusive advising, a biology orientation course, and out-of-class faculty/student interactions that continue through graduation/transfer. Scholars will also have access to career advising, seminars, college visits and field trips, faculty mentoring, and targeted tutoring. Each scholar will have a biology faculty member as their academic advisor. Research evidence shows that lack of information about scheduling often results in deferred transfer, so scholars will also receive intrusive advising; advising sessions will address course scheduling, career information, transfer assistance, and referrals to appropriate departments such as the Academic Success Center for tutoring, Counseling Services, and Diversity Services. While several studies have examined the impact of financial aid information and scholarships on low-income students’ degree completion, much less is known about how rural and rural minority students and families navigate the scholarship and financial aid process, or even if they can do so due to work or family commitments. Therefore, this project will evaluate how providing scholars with financial aid information and scholarships increases academic success in biology at Potomac State College. Formative and summative evaluation will advance understanding of the role of providing these supports on increasing participation and success of rural and rural minority students in biology majors. Results will be disseminated to the Potomac State College Retention Advisory Board, President's Leadership Team, and Faculty Senate, as well as to guidance counselors, high school students, and parents to create awareness of STEM education pathways. Results will also be shared via Potomac State College faculty development programs and with the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission. Nationally, results will be disseminated via conferences and STEM education journals to reach the broadest possible audience. 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.

该项目将有助于对受过良好教育的科学家，数学家，工程师和技术人员的国家需要，通过支持高成就，低收入学生的保留，转移和毕业，证明在波托马克州立大学，一个公共的，开放式的录取，主要是在西弗吉尼亚州农村两年制大学的经济需要。该项目为期6年，将为30名攻读生物学副学士学位的全日制学生提供奖学金。该项目旨在通过将奖学金与有效的支持活动联系起来，例如以生物学为重点的新生入学指导课程和教师指导，来提高学生对生物学的坚持。学者们还将通过与西弗吉尼亚大学的教师和研究生进行新颖的在线合作，获得早期研究经验的机会。该项目还将研究如何改善这一学生群体的保留、转移和毕业情况。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完成STEM学位的人数。该项目将增加低收入农村学生在阿巴拉契亚农村从事与生物学有关的职业的人数。为实现这一目标，该项目正在实施循证支持。这些支持包括提供奖学金，侵入式咨询，生物学方向课程，以及通过毕业/转学继续的课外教师/学生互动。学者还将获得职业咨询，研讨会，大学访问和实地考察，教师指导和有针对性的辅导。每个学者将有一个生物学教员作为他们的学术顾问。研究证据表明，缺乏有关安排的信息往往会导致推迟转移，所以学者也将收到侵入性的建议;咨询会议将解决课程安排，职业信息，转移援助，并转介到适当的部门，如学术成功中心辅导，咨询服务和多样性服务。虽然有几项研究审查了经济援助信息和奖学金对低收入学生完成学位的影响，但对农村和农村少数民族学生和家庭如何浏览奖学金和经济援助过程，或者即使他们可以这样做，由于工作或家庭承诺，了解得很少。因此，本项目将评估如何为学者提供经济援助信息和奖学金，增加波托马克州立学院生物学的学术成功。形成性和总结性评价将促进理解提供这些支持对提高农村和农村少数民族学生在生物专业的参与和成功的作用。结果将被传播到波托马克州立大学保留咨询委员会，总统的领导团队，和教师参议院，以及指导顾问，高中学生和家长创造STEM教育途径的认识。研究结果也将通过波托马克州立大学教师发展计划和西弗吉尼亚州高等教育政策委员会分享。在全国范围内，将通过会议和STEM教育期刊传播成果，以达到尽可能广泛的受众。该项目由NSF的科学，技术，工程和数学奖学金计划资助，该计划旨在增加低收入学术人才的数量，这些学生表现出经济需求，并获得STEM领域的学位。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术成功，保留，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价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。