EAGER: Student Support in STEM: Developing and validating a tool to assess the magnitude of college-level support provided to undergraduate students

弗吉尼亚理工学院和州立大学的研究人员提议通过EHR核心研究（ECR）项目进行探索性研究，以进一步开发和验证一种调查工具，该工具可用于大学管理人员和学生支持从业者，以评估科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）本科学生获得的机构支持的程度。做这项工作的工具目前还不存在。这样一个工具是很重要的，因为它将有助于大学管理者监测这一领域的进展。它也将导致识别机会，使本地的STEM学习环境从本科生的角度更有利。研究小组将对三所院校的学生进行调查，以评估他们的当地环境，为针对目标人群未满足需求的干预措施提供数据驱动的证据，并监测与有效支持学生相关的进展。学生保留理论传统上关注的是机构保留，尽管支持STEM学生的努力发生在大学层面。拟议的研究将通过扩展和实证测试联合课程支持模型（mcs）来弥合研究与实践之间的差距，该模型特别侧重于支持和保留STEM中代表性不足的群体。该项目将扩展先前的学生保留理论，为STEM研究人员、教育工作者、管理人员和政策制定者提供证据，以做出明智的决策，改善STEM学习环境，设计有效的项目、活动和服务。该项目将使各院校能够评估其对STEM本科学生（包括来自服务不足人群的学生）的机构支持的有效性。ECR项目强调在该领域产生基础知识的基础STEM教育研究。投资在至关重要、广泛和持久的关键领域：STEM学习和STEM学习环境，扩大STEM参与，以及STEM劳动力发展。

Researchers at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University propose to conduct exploratory research through the EHR Core Research (ECR) program to further develop and validate a survey instrument that can be used by college administrators and student-support practitioners to assess the magnitude of institutional support received by undergraduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). An instrument to do this work does not currently exist. Such an instrument is important because it will facilitate college administrators monitoring progress in this area. It will also lead to the identification of opportunities with regard to making local STEM learning environments more supportive from the perspectives of undergraduate students in general. The research team will survey students at three institutions to assess their local environments, provide data-driven evidence for interventions tailored to the unmet needs of the target population, and monitor progress relative to effectively supporting students.Student-retention theories traditionally focus on institutional retention, even though efforts to support STEM students occur at the college level. The proposed study will bridge this gap between research and practice by extending and empirically testing the Model of Co-curricular Support (MCCS), which specifically focuses on supporting and retaining underrepresented groups in STEM. The project will extend a prior student-retention theory to provide evidence that STEM researchers, educators, administrators, and policy makers need for informed decisions to improve STEM learning environments and design effective programs, activities, and services. The project will enable institutions to gauge the effectiveness of their institutional support for undergraduate STEM students, including those from under-served populations. The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that generates foundational knowledge in the field. Investments are made in critical areas that are essential, extensive, and enduring: STEM learning and STEM learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development.