Improving Recruitment, Retention, and Success of Marine Science Undergraduate Students to Enter the Blue Economy Workforce

提高海洋科学本科生进入蓝色经济劳动力队伍的招聘、保留和成功率

• 批准号: 2321678
• 负责人: Heather Hamlin
• 金额: $ 249.61万
• 依托单位: University of Maine
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2024-05-01 至 2029-04-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2321678&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Improving; Recruitment; Retention; Success; Marine

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 Marine Science students with demonstrated financial need at the University of Maine. Over its five-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to 25 unique full-time students who are pursuing a bachelor’s degree in marine science. All students recruited at the freshman level will receive a four-year scholarship, and sophomore students will receive three years of scholarship funding. This program will support the advancement of scholars through the establishment of a Scholar Success Mentoring Network, and optional participation in a variety of program activities, including undergraduate research experiences, monthly professional development workshops, networking opportunities, formal summer internships/externships, and a variety of cohort-building activities. As part of this program, scholars can opt to be trained in an ambassador's program that teaches the students how to assemble, stock, and maintain a mobile touch tank, and transport them to rural areas across the state to teach youth about marine life and careers in the marine sciences. This program gives scholars valuable practice in leadership, facilitation, and professional communication skills, and instills positive perceptions of STEM to students, parents, teachers, and the public at large. Overall, this program will build significant capacity for low-income students to enter the STEM education and the diverse Blue Economy workforce which is in high demand. The Blue Economy is an economic system that seeks to use ocean environments in a sustainable way to support jobs and economic growth.The overall goal of the project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need in marine science. The STEM workforce is projected to grow by almost 11% by 2031, and the Blue Economy in particular is predicted to grow at double the rate of the rest of the economy by 2030. Unequal access to science education by rural students limits their ability to attain advanced degrees and enter the STEM workforce. This project seeks to establish sustainable pathways for recruiting students from rural locales and aims to increase first to second year retention rates, as well as four-year graduation rates for scholars. Moreover, this project will advance our knowledge of the effectiveness of mentoring, cohort building, and professional development in student success, and in promoting scholars’ career advancement. Results of this project will be made available through presentations at local, regional, and national presentations, and well as through both popular press and peer reviewed publications. 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.

该项目将有助于国家需要受过良好教育的科学家，数学家，工程师和技术人员通过支持高成就，低收入的海洋科学学生的保留和毕业证明在缅因州大学的经济需要。该项目为期五年，将为25名攻读海洋科学学士学位的全日制学生提供奖学金。所有在大一阶段招募的学生将获得四年的奖学金，大二学生将获得三年的奖学金资助。该计划将通过建立一个学者成功导师网络，并可选地参与各种计划活动，包括本科生研究经验，每月的专业发展研讨会，网络机会，正式的夏季实习/实习，以及各种队列建设活动，来支持学者的进步。作为该计划的一部分，学者可以选择接受大使计划的培训，该计划教学生如何组装，储存和维护移动的触摸坦克，并将其运送到全州的农村地区，向年轻人传授海洋生物和海洋科学职业。该计划为学者提供了领导，促进和专业沟通技巧方面的宝贵实践，并向学生，家长，教师和公众灌输了对STEM的积极看法。总体而言，该计划将为低收入学生进入STEM教育和多样化的蓝色经济劳动力市场建立重要的能力。蓝色经济是一个经济体系，旨在以可持续的方式利用海洋环境来支持就业和经济增长。该项目的总体目标是提高低收入，高成就的本科生在海洋科学方面的经济需求。到2031年，STEM劳动力预计将增长近11%，特别是蓝色经济，预计到2030年将以两倍于其他经济部门的速度增长。农村学生接受科学教育的机会不平等，限制了他们获得高等学位和进入STEM劳动力队伍的能力。该项目旨在为从农村地区招收学生建立可持续的途径，并旨在提高第一至第二年的保留率以及学者的四年毕业率。此外，这个项目将推进我们的指导，队列建设和专业发展的有效性的知识，在学生的成功，并在促进学者的职业发展。该项目的成果将通过在地方、区域和国家一级的情况介绍会以及大众媒体和同行评审的出版物予以公布。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。