Increasing Accessibility to the Sciences through Mentoring Networks, Research Experiences, and Scholarships

该项目将有助于国家需要受过良好教育的科学家，数学家，工程师和技术人员，通过支持高成就，低收入学生的保留和毕业，证明在圣劳伦斯大学的经济需要。在五年的时间里，该项目将为24名正在攻读化学、计算机科学、地质学、数学、统计学、物理学和/或生物学非临床轨道的理学学士学位的学生提供四年奖学金。项目活动包括教师和校友导师网络，跨越大学前两年的队列课程，以及有保证的夏季研究经验。项目招聘将鼓励第一代大学生的申请，项目活动将强调在学术生涯早期参与研究的重要性。在全国范围内，低收入和第一代大学生的保留率和毕业率低于那些资源更好的同龄人和家庭成员是大学毕业生的同龄人。该项目有可能扩大对STEM的参与，并为低收入和第一代大学生提供关于早期本科生研究经验有效性的知识。该项目的总体目标是提高低收入，高成就的本科生与证明财政需要完成STEM学位。该项目旨在强调低收入家庭学生也是第一代大学生的参与。具体的项目目标是：1）实施跨越大学前两年的学生支持活动; 2）提高学术人才，低收入学生的招聘，保留和学位获得; 3）确保教职员工能够解决学术学生的需求低收入和第一代大学背景;和4）进行研究的倡议，以提高归属感，学术成就，并坚持低收入家庭的学生。 STEM领域学生流失的典型原因可以大致分为缺乏归属感，缺乏兴趣和能力差距。真实的本科研究经验可以为来自不同背景的学生克服这些障碍。该项目将调查早期，真实的，指导本科生的研究经验的归属感，持久性，保留和学术成功的低收入和第一代大学生的影响。该项目有可能确定研究经验的哪些特征对谁最有影响力。现有的工具，如课堂本科生研究经验，本科生研究经验的调查，并在科学调查的持久性将被用来与研究经验的持久性和归属感。项目成果将通过会议介绍和在开放获取期刊上发表的出版物传播。该项目由NSF的科学，技术，工程和数学奖学金计划资助，该计划旨在增加低收入学术人才的数量，这些学生表现出经济需求，并获得STEM领域的学位。它还旨在改善未来STEM工作者的教育，并产生关于低收入学生的学术成功，保留，转移，毕业和学术/职业道路的知识。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at St. Lawrence University. Over its five-year duration, this project will provide four-year scholarships to 24 students who are pursuing Bachelor of Science degrees in chemistry, computer science, geology, mathematics, statistics, physics, and/or a non-clinical track of biology. Project activities include a network of faculty and alumni mentors, cohort courses that span the first two college years, and a guaranteed summer research experience. Project recruitment will encourage applications from first-generation college students, and the project activities will emphasize the importance of participating in research early in the academic career. Nationally, low-income and first-generation college students have lower retention and graduation rates than those of their better-resourced peers and their peers with family members who are college graduates. This project has the potential to broaden participation in STEM and to generate knowledge on the effectiveness of early undergraduate research experiences for low-income and first-generation college students. The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The project intends to emphasize participation of low-income students who are also first-generation college students. Specific project goals are to 1) Implement student support activities that span the first two college years; 2) Improve recruitment, retention, and degree attainment for academically talented, low-income students; 3) Ensure faculty and staff are able to address the needs of academically students from low-income and first generation in college backgrounds; and 4) Conduct research on initiatives to improve belonging, academic success, and persistence among low-income students. Typical causes of student attrition from STEM fields can be broadly classified as lacking a sense of belonging, lack of interest, and capacity gaps. Authentic undergraduate research experiences can combat these barriers for students from diverse backgrounds. This project will investigate the effects of early, authentic, mentored undergraduate research experiences on the sense of belonging, persistence, retention, and academic success of low-income and first-generation college students. The project has the potential to identify which characteristics of research experiences are most impactful and for whom. Existing instruments such as the Classroom Undergraduate Research Experience, Survey of Undergraduate Research Experiences, and Persistence in the Sciences surveys will be used to relate research experiences to persistence and belonging. Project results will be disseminated through conference presentations and publications in open-access journals. This project is funded by NSF's Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in STEM fields. It also aims to improve the education of future STEM workers, and to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income students.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.