Fostering Outstanding Cohorts in Undergraduate Science II

在本科科学二（FOCUS II）培养优秀的同伙提供了生物学，生物化学，化学，数学和物理专业的双层计划，以促进在大一和大二的水平保留，并为大三和大四学生提供有针对性的支持。 学生参加队列调度和导师网络，包括研究生，教师和专业人士在他们的领域，并可以申请旅行支持参加专业会议。一个“科学职业”研讨会课程提供职业准备，课程的建议，专业的职业技能，和学术成功的技能，以参与者。该计划的智力价值包括利用队列建设中行之有效的策略，专注于STEM专业的学生保留，同时采用新方法来提高学生的成功率。这一努力为本科生提供了财政支持，既激励他们在课程中做得很好，也是减少他们在本科课程最密集部分的外部工作的必要性的一种手段。 就更广泛的影响而言，该方案为各种低收入学生群体提供培训。 参加的学生将为进入STEM领域或研究生课程做好充分准备，并有强大的导师网络为他们提供帮助。项目团队与外部评估人员合作，衡量学生的成果，并对项目活动进行形成性和总结性评估，这些评估将通过会议和出版物传播给科学教育界。

Fostering Outstanding Cohorts in Undergraduate Science II (FOCUS II) provides a two-tier program for biology, biochemistry, chemistry, mathematics, and physics majors to promote retention at the freshman and sophomore levels and to provide targeted support for juniors and seniors. Students participate in cohort scheduling and a mentor network including graduate students, faculty, and professionals in their field and can apply for travel support to attend professional conferences. A "Careers in Science" seminar course is offered to provide career preparation, advice on coursework, professional career skills, and academic success skills to participants. The intellectual merit of this program includes utilizing proven strategies in cohort building to focus on student retention in STEM majors while also employing new approaches to increase student success. This effort provides undergraduate students with financial support, as both an incentive to do well in their coursework, but also as a means to reduce the necessity for outside jobs during the most intensive portion of their undergraduate program. In terms of broader impact, this program provides training to a diverse population of low-income students. Students who participate will be well prepared to enter STEM fields or graduate programs with a strong mentor network to assist them. The program team works with an external evaluator to measure student outcomes and provide both formative and summative assessment of program activities, which will be disseminated to the science education community through conferences and publications.