Building Capacity: Improving STEM Graduation Rates through Engaged Learning

在“改善本科STEM教育：西班牙裔服务机构（HSI计划）”的支持下，这个第一阶段项目旨在增加从HSI指定机构休斯顿清湖大学（UHCL）获得STEM学士学位的少数族裔和低收入学生的数量。在航空航天、石油和生物医学雇主高度集中的大都市休斯顿，大约三分之一的工作是在STEM领域。在就业增长和STEM人才培养方面，休斯顿是全美名列前茅的城市之一。在过去的十年里，休斯顿新兴STEM领域的雇主严重依赖从其他州和国家招聘工人，理由是缺乏合格的当地居民。尽管STEM领域有大量的就业机会，但代表性不足的少数民族和低收入学生获得STEM学位的速度跟不上对合格员工的需求。该项目将开发新的学生支持基础设施，并为参与STEM研究和专业活动创造新的机会。预期的结果包括更多的学生在第一次尝试时成功完成STEM门户课程，增加STEM专业的保留率，提高STEM毕业率。UHCL提出了一个雄心勃勃的五年项目，以解决两个轨道1优先事项。以证据为基础的活动将解决“关键转变”问题，为两年制院校的转校生和注册入门课程的学生开发新的支持基础设施。该项目将通过与UHCL战略伙伴关系办公室合作，解决“创新的跨部门伙伴关系”问题，为学生提供研究机会、实习机会，并与航空航天、生物医学、石化和技术领域的领先地区公司进行职业指导。该项目有三个目标：(1)利用有针对性的推广工作、大学前规划和奖学金吸引新生进入STEM专业；(2)利用社会和学术支持服务，提高STEM专业学生的保留率；(3)利用学术支持服务和数据来增加STEM专业毕业生的数量。建议的干预措施包括合作学习中心、指导、学生组织、学生主导的研究和财政支持。该项目考察了这些干预措施对培养合格的、多样化的STEM劳动力的影响，这些劳动力具有在STEM职业生涯中取得成功所必需的研究技能、沟通技巧和网络技能。从每项活动中收集的数据将用于回答四个研究问题：(1)主动干预对STEM领域转学生的留校和毕业有何影响；(2)主动干预对STEM专业大学生留任和毕业的影响；(3)哪些形式的持续学术和社会支持可以提高STEM领域学生的保留率和毕业率；(4)什么样的职业准备在STEM劳动力中产生更高的就业率。项目活动将通过在整个项目实施过程中收集的定量和定性数据进行广泛评估。每年将通过会议报告、同行评议的期刊出版物以及正式和非正式活动传播项目成果和最佳做法，以便其他机构可以复制这些内容。美国国家科学基金会HSI项目旨在加强本科STEM教育和HSI能力建设。HSI计划支持的项目也将产生关于如何实现这些目标的新知识。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 support from the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI Program), this Track 1 project aims to increase the number of underrepresented minority and low-income students who earn STEM bachelor's degrees from the University of Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL), an HSI designated institution. In metropolitan Houston, with its high concentration of aerospace, petroleum, and biomedical employers, approximately one-third of jobs are in STEM fields. Houston ranks among the nation's top cities for job growth and for STEM workers. Over the past decade, Houston employers in growing STEM fields relied heavily on recruiting workers from other states and countries, citing a lack of qualified local residents. Despite the abundance of career opportunities in STEM fields, underrepresented minority and low-income students are not obtaining STEM degrees at a rate that keeps pace with the demand for qualified employees. This project will develop new student support infrastructures and create new opportunities for engagement in STEM research and professional activities. Expected outcomes include more students who successfully complete STEM gateway courses on their first attempt, increased retention in STEM majors, and improved STEM graduation rates. UHCL proposes an ambitious five-year project to address two Track 1 priorities. Evidence-based activities will address "Critical Transitions" by developing new support infrastructures for transfer students from two-year institutions and students enrolled in gateway courses. The project will address "Innovative Cross-Sector Partnerships" by collaborating with the UHCL Office of Strategic Partnerships to develop student research opportunities, internships, and career mentoring with leading regional companies in the aerospace, biomedical, petrochemical, and technology sectors. The project has three goals: (1) Use targeted outreach efforts, pre-college programming, and scholarships to attract new students to STEM majors; (2) Use social and academic support services to increase the retention of students enrolled in STEM majors; and (3) Use academic support services and data to increase the number of graduates in STEM majors. Proposed interventions include collaborative learning centers, mentoring, student organizations, student-led research, and financial support. This project examines the impact of these interventions on producing a qualified, diverse STEM workforce with the research skills, the communication skills, and the networking skills necessary to be successful in STEM careers. Data collected from each of the activities will be used to answer four research questions: (1) What is the impact of proactive interventions on retention and graduation for transfer students in STEM fields; (2) What is the impact of proactive interventions on retention and graduation for college students in STEM fields; (3) What forms of ongoing academic and social support yield higher retention and graduation rates for students in STEM fields; (4) What forms of career preparation produce higher placement rates in the STEM workforce. Project activities will be extensively evaluated with quantitative and qualitative data collected throughout the program's implementation. Project results and best practices will be disseminated via conference presentations, peer-reviewed journal publications, and formal and informal events each year so that elements can be replicated at other institutions. The National Science Foundation HSI Program aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education and build capacity at HSIs. Projects supported by the HSI Program will also generate new knowledge on how to achieve these goals.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.