Increasing the Number and Diversity of Students Graduating in STEM Fields

该项目的重点是通过一系列帮助中等水平学生在STEM领域生存和发展的举措，留住工科学生，特别是女性和少数族裔学生。这些倡议包括：(1)学者援助学者计划，从代表性不足的人群中雇用优秀学生为一个为所有学生服务的辅导计划工作；(2)校园实习计划，允许一年级学生及早研究工程学，以帮助他们在选修可能令人沮丧的基础课程时保持他们的兴趣；(3)工作跟踪，提供机会，在从事常规活动的同时跟踪执业工程师或科学家；(4)动手工程学，提供机会，在实际学习利用各种工程和科学仪器的课程之前，获得接触各种工程和科学仪器的机会，(5)Turbo Math，这是一个密集的暑期计划，让学生在数学上“迎头赶上”；(6)K-State Family Connections，它建立了与学生的家人和朋友的沟通联系，以支持他们在工程和科学方面的成功。通过这些活动和由此形成的支持留住的制度，调查人员打算使STEM领域的理学士毕业生总数增加10%，STEM领域获得理科学士学位的女性人数增加25%，获得理科理科学士学位的有色人种学生人数增加50%。该计划正在通过参与者访谈和调查进行评估，以随着计划的发展而改进，并计划在项目接近结束时进行总结性评估，以确定总体成功与否。传播工作包括期刊出版物和会议报告。

This project focuses on increasing the retention of engineering students, particularly women and minority students, through a set of initiatives that are helping mid-range students survive and thrive in STEM fields. These initiatives include: (1) Scholars Assisting Scholars which employs exceptional students from underrepresented populations to staff a tutoring program that serves all students, (2) Campus Internships which allows first-year students to investigate engineering early to help maintain their interest as they take foundation courses that can be discouraging, (3) Job Shadowing which provides an opportunity to follow a practicing engineer or scientist as they engage in their regular activities, (4)Hands-On Engineering which offers the opportunity to gain laboratory exposure with a variety of engineering and science instruments before actually taking the course that utilizes them, (5) Turbo Math which is an intensive summer program to allow students to "catch-up" in math, and (6) K-State Family Connections which creates communication linkages with family and friends of students to support their success in engineering and science. Through these activities and the resulting system to support retention, the investigators intend to obtain a 10% Increase in the total number of BS graduates in STEM fields, a 25% increase in the number of women earning BS degrees in STEM fields, and a 50% increase in the number of students of color earning BS STEM degrees. The program is being evaluated through participant interviews and surveys to improve the program as it evolves, and a summative evaluation is planned near the end of the project to determine the overall success. Dissemination efforts include journal publications and meeting presentations.