Engineering Persistence: A Support System for Low Income Students to Catalyze Diversity and Success

工程持久性：为低收入学生促进多样性和成功的支持系统

• 批准号: 2221511
• 负责人: Kaitlin Mallouk
• 金额: $ 150万
• 依托单位: Rowan University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-11-01 至 2028-10-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2221511&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Engineering; Persistence; Support; System; Low

The project aims to serve the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by fostering student success and supporting the retention and graduation of domestic, high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at Rowan University (RU), a public institution in New Jersey with approximately 15,000 undergraduate and 2,700 graduate students. Over its 6-year duration, this project will provide renewable scholarships for up to four years to twenty-four (24) distinct full-time, high-achieving, low-income students (3 cohorts with 8 students each) who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in an engineering discipline. These students often face significant challenges to degree completion due to the financial costs of attendance and numerous other factors. In addition to receiving financial support, scholars will be part of a multi-tiered academic and co-curricular support program to help overcome barriers that often can hinder retention in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields and persistence to graduation. The project will implement an evidence-based, multi-faceted support system for students by providing: (1) $10,000 annual scholarships; (2) an Engineering Living-Learning Community (ELC), and other integrated elements and services to help foster students’ development of a STEM identity and a sense of belonging; and (3) opportunities to build leadership skills through participation in a leadership program with a focus on student development of a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) mindset. As part of the support program, the project team will initiate new and innovative strategies that will result in an inclusive curriculum for all engineering students, DEI-focused ELC seminars, and a Diversity Catalyst Leadership Program for the S-STEM Scholars. Primary project outcomes will be an increased persistence rate of low-income, academically talented students in engineering and the production of engineering students who will be well-prepared for the STEM workforce, in general, and engineering workforce, in particular.To increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need, this project will pursue five key goals. First is to provide scholarships to encourage low-income, talented students with demonstrated financial needs (Scholarship Students) to graduate with engineering majors in the College of Engineering at RU. Second is to implement, study, and assess an academic and co-curricular support system that integrates new and extant elements and services designed to empower Scholarship Students to persist and succeed in their engineering studies. Third is to advance student development of sense of belonging, STEM identity, and appreciation and understanding of diversity and equity issues. This goal will be pursued through the project’s promotion and enhancement of inclusive learning and social environments by engaging all engineering students in DEI experiences through curriculum, special seminars, mentoring, and social activities. Closely related to the third goal, a fourth goal is to initiate and investigate an innovative Diversity Catalyst Leadership Program for Scholarship Students to develop leadership skills and an enduring equity mindset. Fifth is to generate new knowledge with respect to impact and effectiveness of the project’s overall support model. To accomplish these goals, the project will employ new and evidence-based strategies and interventions and will also engage in strategic partnerships with several RU offices including the Office of Student Life, the Office of Residential Learning & University Housing, and the Office of Student Success Programs. In addition to the scholarships, strategies and student interventions will be comprised of: the RU Engineering Living-Learning Center to ease the transition to college for approximately 125 students each year including the Scholarship Students; DEI curriculum components for all first-year students and throughout students’ undergraduate engineering training; engagement with existing University programs; and a new DEI motivated Diversity Catalyst Leadership Program for Scholarship Students. At the same time, this leadership program will be open to all engineering students to promote and enhance an inclusive environment. The project will add to the STEM education knowledge base through project evaluation by employing mixed methods techniques and a quasi-experimental design with a comparison group of non-Scholarship engineering students to analyze and gain insights regarding the extent of impact and effectiveness of the project's activities and interventions on retention, engagement, DEI mindset, academic performance, workforce preparation, graduation, and overall student success. The knowledge generated by this project will be disseminated through workshops both locally and in national venues, traditional publication methods, and through the development of a Diversity Catalyst Training Manual, which will include practical, evidenced-based inclusion strategies. 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.

该项目旨在满足国家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，通过培养学生的成功和支持国内，高成就，低收入学生的保留和毕业，并证明在罗文大学（RU），一所位于新泽西的公立机构，拥有约15，000名本科生和2，700名研究生。该项目为期6年，将为24名不同的全日制、高成就、低收入学生（3个队列，每个队列8名学生）提供长达4年的可再生奖学金，这些学生正在攻读工程学科的学士学位。由于入学的经济成本和许多其他因素，这些学生在完成学位方面经常面临重大挑战。除了获得财政支持外，学者们还将参与多层次的学术和课外支持计划，以帮助克服通常可能阻碍科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）领域保留和坚持毕业的障碍。该计划将为学生提供一个以实证为基础的多方面支持系统，包括：（1）每年10，000元的奖学金;（2）工程学生活学习社区（ELC），以及其他综合元素和服务，以帮助学生培养STEM身份和归属感;以及（3）通过参与领导力计划来培养领导技能的机会，重点是培养学生的多样性，公平性和包容性（DEI）心态。作为支持计划的一部分，项目团队将启动新的创新战略，为所有工程专业学生提供包容性课程，以DEI为重点的ELC研讨会，以及为S-STEM学者提供多样性催化剂领导计划。项目的主要成果将是提高低收入、有学术天赋的工程专业学生的持续率，以及培养为STEM劳动力做好充分准备的工程专业学生，特别是工程专业学生。为了提高低收入、高成就、有经济需求的本科生的STEM学位完成率，该项目将追求五个关键目标。首先是提供奖学金，以鼓励低收入，有才华的学生与证明经济需求（奖学金学生）与工程在RU的学院工程专业毕业。其次是实施，研究和评估学术和课外支持系统，该系统集成了新的和现存的元素和服务，旨在使奖学金学生能够坚持并在工程研究中取得成功。第三是促进学生归属感的发展，STEM身份，以及对多样性和公平问题的欣赏和理解。这一目标将通过该项目的促进和增强包容性的学习和社会环境，通过课程，特别研讨会，指导和社会活动，让所有工程专业的学生参与DEI的经验来实现。与第三个目标密切相关的第四个目标是为奖学金学生发起和调查一个创新的多样性催化剂领导计划，以培养领导技能和持久的公平心态。第五，就项目总体支助模式的影响和效力形成新的知识。为了实现这些目标，该项目将采用新的和基于证据的战略和干预措施，并将与包括学生生活办公室，住宿学习大学住房办公室和学生成功计划办公室在内的几个RU办公室建立战略伙伴关系。除了奖学金，战略和学生干预措施将包括：RU工程生活学习中心，以缓解每年约125名学生（包括奖学金学生）向大学的过渡; DEI课程组件，适用于所有一年级学生和整个学生的本科工程培训;与现有大学课程的接触;和一个新的DEI激励多样性催化剂领导计划的奖学金学生。与此同时，这个领导力计划将向所有工程专业的学生开放，以促进和加强包容性的环境。该项目将通过项目评估增加STEM教育知识库，采用混合方法技术和准实验设计，与非奖学金工程专业学生进行比较，以分析和了解项目活动和干预措施对保留，参与，DEI心态，学业成绩，劳动力准备，毕业和整体学生成功的影响和有效性。 该项目产生的知识将通过地方和国家场所的讲习班、传统的出版方法以及通过编写多样性催化剂培训手册进行传播，该手册将包括实用的、基于证据的包容性战略。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，并提供有关低收入学生的学术成功、保留、转学、毕业和学术/职业途径的知识。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并且通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响力审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。