Collaborative Planning Grant: Building Capacity to Scale the Mentoring Math Scholars for Success Program

该项目将通过加强合作和规划未来的Track 3 S-STEM提案，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，该提案将支持加州州立大学系统中三个拉美裔服务机构（加州州立大学东湾分校、弗雷斯诺州立大学和斯坦尼斯劳斯州立大学）中表现出经济需求的高成就低收入学生的保留和毕业。这三所大学为大量学生提供服务，这些学生虽然有资格获得佩尔助学金，但需要长时间工作才能负担得起大学学费。因此，低收入家庭的学生平均需要6年才能毕业，获得数学学士学位，尽管他们有数学天赋，可以更快毕业。目前，由弗雷斯诺州立大学2轨道S-STEM奖（1742236）资助的指导数学学者成功（M2S2）项目表明，学生可以在四年内毕业，GPA达到3.0+，并获得适当的支持，包括奖学金、指导和社区建设活动。这项规划工作的目的是建立能力，以改善和规模的M2S2模型，以加州州立大学东湾和斯坦尼斯劳斯州的方式，将服务于独特的学生群体在每个机构。将进行学生焦点小组和调查，以加深对每个机构的学生如何最好地得到M2S2计划的支持的理解。三所大学的代表将在弗雷斯诺州立大学召开规划会议，利用这些调查结果和M2S2模型，共同制定多校区M2S2计划的愿景。该项目的总体目标是加强合作，并为未来的第三轨道提案做好准备，以提高具有经济需求的低收入、高成就本科生的STEM学位完成率。该项目评估的主要部分将是确保编写并提交具有竞争力的Track 3 S-STEM提案，并对M2S2计划进行适当修改，以符合每个机构潜在学者的需求。该项目将开发研究问题并确定数据流，以支持以M2S2为中心的有效研究计划，该计划将在三个参与机构中部署。该项目的一个重要目标是确定每个校区学生的确切需求，并制定一个计划，以确保并行实施M2S2可以(1)帮助低收入学生在数学专业取得成功，(2)为其他机构提供指导方针，以改善对低收入学生的支持。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 strengthening collaborations and planning for a future Track 3 S-STEM proposal that would support the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at three Hispanic-Serving Institutions in the California State University system: Cal State East Bay, Fresno State, and Stanislaus State University. These three institutions serve a significant number of students who, although Pell Grant eligible, need to work long hours to afford college. As a result, low-income students graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics in six years on average, despite having the mathematical talent to graduate sooner. The current Mentoring Math Scholars for Success (M2S2) program, funded through a Track 2 S-STEM award (1742236) at Fresno State is showing that students can graduate in four years and with a GPA of 3.0+ with the appropriate suite of supports, including scholarships, mentoring, and community-building activities. This planning effort aims to build the capacity to improve and scale the M2S2 model to Cal State East Bay and Stanislaus State in a way that will serve the unique student populations at each institution. Student focus groups and surveys will be conducted to advance understanding of how students at each institution can best be supported by an M2S2 program. A planning meeting with representatives from all three institutions will use results from these surveys and the M2S2 model at Fresno State to develop a shared vision of the multi-campus M2S2 program.The overall goal of this project is to strengthen collaborations and prepare for a future Track 3 proposal to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The main component of the evaluation of this project will be to make sure that a competitive Track 3 S-STEM proposal is written and submitted, with appropriate modification to the M2S2 program that aligns with the needs of each institution’s potential scholars. This project will develop research questions and identify data streams to support an effective research program centered on M2S2 as it is deployed across the three participating institutions. An important goal of this project is to identify the precise needs of students at each campus and to generate a plan to ensure the parallel implementation of M2S2 can both (1) help low-income students succeed in the mathematics major, and (2) provide guidelines that other institutions can follow to improve supports offered for low-income 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.