Increase the STEM Pipeline: Investing to Prepare Talented, Low Income Rural Students for Vital STEM Careers

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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 North Arkansas College, a two-year college serving a rural six-county area in North Central Arkansas. Over its five-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to 28 unique full- and part-time students who are pursuing associate’s degrees in Cybersecurity; Data Science; Information Technologies; and Science, Engineering, and Math. Full-time students will receive two years of scholarship support. Each S-STEM scholar will be placed in a cohort of students in the same or a related field of study. Cohorts will share a pair of faculty and staff mentors, and will have access to a broader Mentoring Network. This project will also provide career development activities. The target population for this project are students who may otherwise have to prioritize basic needs over education. By alleviating financial and other obstacles, these students will have the opportunity for a rewarding career and social mobility and will contribute to a more diverse STEM workforce.The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The specific goals are to (1) provide financial support that will reduce the need for students to seek outside employment or increase their debt, (2) implement evidence-based curricular and co-curricular interventions to support students in the targeted programs, (3) increase the college GPA and graduation rate of students in the project, and (4) define and disseminate an effective model for student success in rural STEM programs. Central aspects of the project are the Mentoring Network and career development. The Mentoring Network, including STEM and non-STEM faculty, student support personnel, external academic and industry partners, and academic support staff, will develop and maintain resources and activities to assist with academic and social needs. Career training activities, with involvement from committed employer partners, include resume and cover letter writing, e-Portfolio development, mock interviews, and STEM career talks. An external evaluator will assess the effectiveness of project components and outline a model S-STEM program for implementation in rural areas. North Arkansas College will disseminate results of this project using print, broadcast, web, and social media, as well as local, regional, and national presentations. 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.