Improving STEM Education in a Rural Area

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With funding from the NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program, the "Improving STEM Education in a Rural Area" project at the University of Houston-Victoria will support 15 high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need. The five-year project aims to increase the number of mathematics and computer science majors and to improve their graduation rates. Because of its proximity to petrochemical, metallurgic, and power production manufacturers, the Victoria, Texas area has a strong demand for STEM professionals to meet industry needs. Consequently, this project directly addresses the NSF mission to promote the progress of science and advance the prosperity and welfare of the nation.The goals of this S-STEM Track 2 project are to increase enrollment, retention, and graduation of low-income math and computer science majors, and to study the factors that lead to their success or failure. The specific objectives of this five-year project are to: (1) increase enrollment of students with financial need in mathematics and computer science; (2) increase overall enrollment in these programs by 12% and retention by 10%; (3) improve student support programs at the university, especially for low-income and minority students; (4) strengthen ties between the university and local industries; and (5) provide data related to student success to other institutions, particularly rural colleges. Essential elements of the project are: (1) training faculty mentors and assigning a mentor to each S-STEM scholar; (2) developing a STEM learning community; (3) recruiting students and supporting them with early engagement activities; (4) developing early alerts for at-risk students; and (5) building strong working relationships with career services at the university and local industries. The project will explore the impact of these practices on student academic success and retention, student career development, and faculty professional development. According to the Texas Workforce Commission, the Texas Gulf Coast Region has greater employment opportunities than the national average. In addition, computing-related occupations are among the fastest-growing in the local area, the greater Houston area, and the state of Texas. This project aims to help meet this need by increasing the number and diversity of graduates who have the computation and mathematical skills needed in high-demand fields.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.