A Fast Track Scholars Program to Support STEM Student Persistence

在国家科学基金会科学、技术、工程和数学奖学金（S-STEM）项目的资助下，沙伯特梅萨快速通道学者计划将支持沙伯特学院表现出经济需求的高成就低收入学生。在5年的时间里，该项目将为攻读生物科学、计算机科学、工程、数学和/或物理科学等STEM学科的副学士学位或打算转学学士学位的学生提供80个奖学金。每位学者将获得：个性化的教育计划，包括后续和学术监测服务；优先录取快车道加速转学数学课程（门房转学级数学课程的压缩课程）；STEM补充教学（SI）和辅导；一对一的教师指导；丰富的活动，包括大学和行业参观，社会活动和STEM学生俱乐部；并优先考虑实习机会。Chabot MESA快速通道学者计划支持学生通过STEM路径上具有挑战性的减员点，包括入门级转学级数学课程序列。社区大学在提高传统上在STEM领域代表性不足的学生获得STEM学位方面发挥着关键作用。冗长的数学课程顺序可能成为及时完成学位的障碍。因此，对数学课程顺序进行改革，提高学生的完成时间和完成率，在全州乃至全国都具有重要意义。项目目标侧重于通过以下方式提高学生的成功：1)增加快速通道数学课程的成功；2)增加学生对STEM专业的坚持；3)提高获得AA/AS学位和/或转学的STEM学生比例；4)减少获得学位和/或转读STEM学士学位课程的时间。一项比较研究将检验快速通道课程在5年项目期间对数学课程成功、保留和及时获得STEM学位/转学的影响，并与传统数学课程的学生进行比较。该项目将调查降低STEM专业流失率的因素，包括具有挑战性的转学水平数学课程。该研究还将促进对加速数学序列是否有助于缩短学位/转学完成时间的理解，并有可能为其他社区学院扩大这些加速课程提供信息。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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, the Chabot MESA Fast Track Scholars Program will support high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at Chabot College. Throughout its 5 years, this project will fund 80 scholarships for students who are pursuing associate degrees or intend to transfer to a baccalaureate degree in the STEM disciplines of biological sciences, computer science, engineering, mathematics and/or physical sciences. Each Scholar will receive: an individualized education plan with follow-up and academic monitoring services; priority enrollment for Fast Track accelerated transfer math courses (a compressed course of gatekeeper transfer-level math courses); STEM supplemental instruction (SI) and tutoring; one-on-one faculty mentoring; enrichment activities including college and industry tours, social events and STEM student clubs; and priority consideration for internship opportunities. The Chabot MESA Fast Track Scholars Program supports students through challenging attrition points on their STEM pathway, including the gateway transfer-level mathematics course sequence. Community colleges have a critical role to play in increasing STEM degree attainment by students traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields. Long course sequences in mathematics can be a barrier to timely completion of the degree. Thus, the reform of such course sequences in mathematics, to improve both time to completion and rate of completion, is of great significance both statewide and nationally. Project goals focus on improving student success by: 1) increasing Fast Track math course success; 2) increasing persistence in students' STEM major; 3) increasing the percentage of STEM students who earn an AA/AS degree and/or transfer; and 4) decreasing the amount of time to earn a degree and/or transfer to a baccalaureate STEM degree program. A comparative research study will examine the effect of Fast Track courses on math course success, retention, and timely STEM degree/transfer attainment over the 5-year project period when compared to students enrolled in the traditional mathematics sequence. This project will investigate factors that decrease attrition rates of STEM majors including challenging transfer-level math courses. The study will also advance the understanding of whether accelerated math sequences contribute to decreasing time to degree/transfer completion with the potential to inform the scaling up of these accelerated courses at other community colleges.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.