Cardinal STEM Scholars Program: Guided Pathways to Increase STEM Degree Completion

在国家科学基金科学、技术、工程和数学奖学金(S-STEM)计划的资助下，该项目将支持斯卡吉特山谷学院有经济需求的高成就、低收入学生。该项目将为34名低收入、有学术天赋的学生提供奖学金、高质量的指导、研究机会和广泛的咨询。主要目标是增加在斯卡吉特山谷学院注册和完成STEM学位的低收入学生数量，并增加这些毕业生转到四年制STEM课程的人数。该项目将建立在学院的指导路径方法的基础上，该方法通过为STEM特定的转移学位提供清晰明确和有意排序的课程地图来支持学生留住和毕业。在确定了预示STEM保留和完成的课程和进展里程碑之后，将更新地图，以包括专门放置的支持和干预措施，以提高学生的成功。该项目回应了国家扩大低收入和代表不足学生参加STEM课程的需要，并期望开发一种通用模式，以增加STEM课程的学生进入和完成课程的机会。在五年的资助期间，该项目寻求：(1)增加低收入、有学术天赋的学生进入STEM课程和学位的机会和留住他们；(2)通过确定关键的入门课程和关键课程以及STEM途径中的里程碑(学术和非学术)，确定增加STEM途径留住和完成的机制；(3)提高STEM学位的完成比例，重点是改善毕业率方面的不平等；(4)提高STEM学生转学四年制大学的成功率；以及(5)开发一种以公平为重点的模式，以实施STEM指导路径，该模式可在其他社区大学适应和实施。在第一年，该项目将确定与学生在STEM途径中的留存和完成相关的课程和进展里程碑。这项研究的结果将被用来在每条STEM路径中放置循证干预措施。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

With funding from the NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program, this project will support high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at Skagit Valley College. The project will provide 34 low income, academically talented students with scholarships, high-quality mentoring, research opportunities, and extensive advising. The major goals are to increase the number of low income students enrolling in and completing STEM degrees at Skagit Valley College, and to increase the transfer of these graduates to four-year STEM programs. The project will build on the college's guided pathways approach, which supports student retention and graduation by providing clearly articulated and intentionally sequenced course maps for STEM-specific transfer degrees. Following identification of courses and progress milestones predictive of STEM retention and completion, the maps will be updated to include specifically placed supports and interventions to enhance student success. The project responds to the national need to broaden participation of low income and underrepresented students in STEM and expects to develop a generalizable model for increasing student access and completion in STEM programs.During five years of funding, the project seeks to: (1) Increase the access and retention of low-income, academically talented students into STEM programs and degrees; (2) Identify mechanisms for increased retention and completion in STEM pathways through identification of key gateway and critical courses, as well as milestones (both academic and non-academic) in STEM pathways; (3) Increase the percentage of STEM degree completion, with a focus on ameliorating inequities in completion rates; (4) Increase the rate of successful transfer of STEM students to four-year colleges; and (5) Develop an equity-focused model for implementing STEM guided pathways that can be adapted and implemented at other community colleges. During its first year, the project will identify courses and progress milestones that correlate with student retention and completion in STEM pathways. The results of this research will be used to place evidence-based interventions within each STEM pathway.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.