Planning Pathways to a Diverse Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Workforce in Northeastern and South-Central Pennsylvania

该项目将有助于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，通过支持宾夕法尼亚州立大学哈里斯堡，宾夕法尼亚州立大学威尔克斯-巴雷，哈里斯堡地区社区学院和卢泽恩县社区学院的高成就，低收入学生的保留和毕业证明经济需要。除了这四个机构，广泛的学术，工业，经济和劳动力经济发展合作伙伴服务于该地区将参与这一规划项目。这个合作规划项目将开发科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）途径，为来自宾夕法尼亚州11个高需求和少数民族学区的工人和学生提供教育计划和服务，为他们成功的STEM职业生涯做好准备。在过去十年中，高增长走廊的技术产业发展显著增长，包括物流、先进制造业、可再生能源等国家需求较高的领域。规划活动将导致低收入学生的支持和无缝的途径和过渡（1）工程技术，工程，计算机科学，信息技术，生物学，化学和数学的学士学位水平，以及（2）工程，计算机科学和信息技术的学士学位到研究生水平。 该项目的另一个新颖元素是创业培训，以帮助所有STEM学生为参与创新经济做好准备。这个规划项目的总体目标是建立一个多机构的合作伙伴关系，以提高低收入，高成就的本科生与证明财政需要完成STEM学位。具体而言，该项目旨在通过以下方式促进对学生，家庭，社区和机构所需资源的理解，以增加STEM课程的低收入学生的入学，保留和毕业：（1）进行机构和社区需求评估，以告知规划和研究，（2）加强正式关系，并在参与机构之间达成协议，以促进途径，（3）确定符合文化的招聘和保留战略，（4）让行业和经济发展伙伴与潜在雇主建立关系，（5）将技术创业计划纳入有针对性的STEM途径，以提供毕业后机会的多样性。该项目的完成将导致制定一项战略计划，以帮助低收入学生进入和完成STEM教育计划。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。

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 Penn State Harrisburg, Penn State Wilkes-Barre, Harrisburg Area Community College, and Luzerne County Community College. In addition to these four institutions, a wide range of academic, industry, and economic and workforce economic development partners serving the region will be engaged in this planning project. This collaborative planning project will develop science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) pathways for workers and students from eleven high-need and minority serving Pennsylvania school districts to access educational programs and services that prepare them for successful STEM careers. The targeted high-growth corridor has seen significant increases in technology industry development over the past decade, including in areas of high national need such as logistics, advanced manufacturing, renewable energy, and others. The planning activities will lead to low-income student supports and seamless pathways and transitions across the (1) associate-to bachelor’s levels in engineering technology, engineering, computer science, information technologies, biology, chemistry, and mathematics, and (2) bachelor’s-to-graduate level in engineering, computer science, and information technology. Another novel element of the project is entrepreneurship training to help prepare all STEM students to participate in the innovation economy. The overall goal of this planning project is to establish a multi-institution collaborative partnership to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. Specifically, this project aims to advance understanding of the resources needed by students, families, communities, and institutions to increase enrollment, retention, and graduation of low-income students from STEM programs by (1) conducting institutional and community needs assessments to inform programming and research, (2) strengthening formal relationships and articulating agreements across participating institutions to facilitate pathways, (3) identifying culturally responsive recruitment and retention strategies, (4) involving industry and economic development partners to build relationships with prospective employers, and (5) incorporating techno-entrepreneurship programming in the targeted STEM pathways to provide diversity in post-graduation opportunity. Completion of this project will result in the development of a strategic plan to assist low-income students in entering and completing STEM education programs. 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.