Establishing a Partnership for Increasing Enrollment, Retention, and Graduation of Low-Income Information Technology Students in the National Capital Region

该项目将通过支持表现出经济需求的高成就低收入学生在北弗吉尼亚社区学院（NOVA）开始他们的学术之旅，并在乔治梅森大学（Mason）获得学位，从而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。NOVA是一个少数民族服务机构（MSI）和一个亚裔美国人和美洲原住民太平洋岛民服务机构（AANAPISI）。两所院校在学术合作方面有着成功的记录。在为期一年的时间里，该项目将汇集教师、行业合作伙伴、学术顾问和学生代表，制定一项全面的计划，以改善国家首都地区低收入学生在信息技术（IT）领域的入学、留任、毕业和继续教育。具体的项目活动将包括(i)收集数据以评估地区、州和国家层面对IT专业人员的需求，（ii）分析未来的学生群体以确定财务和学术资格标准，（iii）定义循证干预措施，以及（iv）制定严格的评估计划，包括形成性和总结性评估。该项目将建立和加强两个机构之间现有的合作和衔接协议。该项目有可能为社区学院和四年制大学之间建立有效的伙伴关系创造一种可复制的模式。广泛采用这种模式，既可满足本地和全国对合格资讯科技专业人才的需求，又可让低收入学生参与资讯科技。该项目的优点是汇集了不同的专家群体，以全面了解学术上有天赋的学生在经济上挣扎的复杂现实。该项目的总体目标是提高有经济需求的低收入、高成就本科生的STEM学位完成率。具体目标包括(i)改善低收入社区大学学生转入四年制大学并按时完成学位课程的人才管道，（ii）开发数据驱动的方法，设计基于证据的干预措施，以提高这一学生群体的入学率、保留率和毕业率，以及（iii）制定Track 3 S-STEM提案。财政资源本身不足以确保低收入家庭学生的学业成功，多项初步研究已经证明了不同类型的干预措施的好处。该项目将系统地调查多种干预措施，包括跨级别同伴指导、研究意识计划和个性化教育课程重新设计。该项目有可能促进对每一类干预措施在改善低收入学生学业成绩方面的有效性的理解。将根据完整的第三轨道S-STEM提案的进展情况对该项目进行评估。研究结果将通过项目报告、在适当地点出版的出版物和公开演讲等方式传播。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 supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need starting their academic journey at the Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) and earning a degree from George Mason University (Mason). NOVA is a Minority Serving Institution (MSI) and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI). The two institutions have a track record of successful academic collaborations. Over its one-year duration, this project will bring together faculty, industry partners, academic advisors, and student representatives to develop a comprehensive plan for improving the enrollment, retention, graduation, and continuous education of low-income students in Information Technology (IT) across the National Capital Region. Specific project activities will include (i) gathering data to assess the need for IT professionals at the regional, state, and national levels, (ii) analyzing the prospective student pool to define the criteria for financial and academic eligibility, (iii) defining evidence-based interventions, and (iv) creating a rigorous evaluation plan including both formative and summative evaluation. The project will build upon and enhance existing collaborations and articulation agreements between the two institutions. The project has the potential to create a replicable model for developing effective partnerships between community colleges and 4-year universities. Broad adoption of this model will help address the local and nationwide need for qualified IT professionals while broadening the participation of low-income students in Information Technology. The project will have the merit of bringing together a diverse group of experts to gain a holistic understanding of the complex realities of academically talented students who struggle financially.The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. Specific goals include (i) improving the talent pipeline of low-income community college students transferring to 4-year universities and completing a degree program on time, (ii) developing a data-driven approach for designing evidence-based interventions to improve enrollment, retention, and graduation within this student population, and (iii) developing a Track 3 S-STEM proposal. Financial resources alone are not sufficient to ensure the academic success of low-income students, and multiple preliminary research studies have demonstrated the benefits of different types of interventions. The project will systematically investigate multiple classes of interventions, including Cross-level Peer Mentoring, Research Awareness Programs, and Course Redesign for Personalized Education. The project has the potential to advance the understanding of the effectiveness of each of these classes of interventions in improving academic outcomes for low-income students. The project will be evaluated in terms of progress towards a full Track 3 S-STEM proposal. Results will be disseminated through project reports, publications in suitable venues, and public 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.