Uniting Culture, Purpose, Connection, and the Academic Journey to Advance Hawaii's Low-Income Undergraduate Students in STEM

该项目将为国家对受过良好教育的科学家、数学家、工程师和技术人员的需求做出贡献，支持有经济需求的高成就、低收入学生的留校和毕业。该项目将支持夏威夷大学毛伊岛学院和夏威夷社区学院的学生，这两所学院都被指定为阿拉斯加原住民和夏威夷原住民服务机构，服务于全国最高比例的夏威夷原住民学生。该项目为期五年，将为48名攻读电子与计算机工程技术、电子技术、信息技术、自然科学和/或工程技术学士学位的全日制和非全日制学生提供奖学金。为期四年的奖学金最高可达10,000美元，提供给即将入学的一年级学生、目前入学的学生以及转入工程技术学位课程的学生。除了获得奖学金外，学者还将得到STEM教员的指导，参与队列建设活动，并有领导能力和本科生研究机会。该项目将为STEM教员提供专业发展，将土著Ka‘ao模式纳入STEM课程，并使用指导路径工具为学生提供建议。此外，该项目将建立工程技术方面的混合远程教育计划，旨在接触到夏威夷岛和毛伊县偏远地区的低收入、农村和夏威夷原住民学生。该项目的更广泛影响包括改变夏威夷大学的工程教育，以扩大低收入、农村和夏威夷原住民学生的参与。作为其智力价值的一部分，该项目将研究支持低收入、农村和夏威夷原住民学生在工程道路上留住、毕业和转学的战略。此外，该项目将确定混合远程教育模式在服务于这一人群方面的有效性。该项目的总体目标是提高低收入、高成就、有经济需求的本科生的STEM学位完成率。三个具体目标是：1)提高STEM教师为低收入学生服务的能力；2)增加低收入学者的教育成果(留校、毕业和转学)；3)扩大针对低收入学生的STEM教育选择。这个项目是及时的，因为它可以帮助满足夏威夷岛上对工程技术人员日益增长的需求。虽然人们对提高STEM学生保留率的循证做法总体上了解很多，但对如何支持夏威夷的低收入、农村和夏威夷原住民学生却知之甚少。每年，40%的学生(20-25名学生)在两个校区中的一个宣布了一条工程途径，要么通过转到另一个专业正式离开专业，要么通过非正式的转到专业以外的课程离开专业。为了了解这一现象并增加低收入、农村和夏威夷原住民学生对工程学的参与，该项目将使用案例研究模型来调查：1)哪些策略支持低收入、农村和夏威夷原住民学生在工程学道路上的保留、毕业和转学？2)工程技术学位的混合远程教育教学模式是否会增加低收入、农村和夏威夷原住民学生的入学人数？这项新颖的研究有可能增加对促进少数族裔参与工程学的因素的理解。该项目将为这两个机构的几乎所有STEM教师提供资源，以改善低收入、农村和夏威夷原住民学生的成绩。它还将在夏威夷岛永久建立为期四年的混合长途工程项目。该项目由NSF的科学、技术、工程和数学奖学金项目资助，该项目旨在增加在STEM领域获得学位的低收入学术天才学生的数量。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业成功、留住、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优势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 verified financial need. The project will support students at the University of Hawaii Maui College and Hawaii Community College, both of which are designated Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian serving institutions and serve the highest percentages of Native Hawaiian students in the nation. Over its five-year duration, the project will fund scholarships to 48 full- and part-time students who are pursuing associates degrees in Electronic & Computer Engineering Technology, Electronics Technology, Information Technology, Natural Sciences, and/or a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Technology. Scholarships of up to $10,000 for four years will be provided to incoming first year students, currently enrolled students, and students who transfer into the engineering technology degree program. In addition to receiving scholarships, Scholars will be mentored by STEM faculty, participate in cohort-building activities, and have leadership and undergraduate research opportunities. The project will provide STEM faculty with professional development on incorporating the Indigenous Ka’ao Model across STEM courses and on using a guided pathway tool for advising students. Moreover, the project will establish a hybrid, distance education program in engineering technology, with the aim to reach low-income, rural, and Native Hawaiian students on the Island of Hawaii and in remote areas of Maui County. The broader impacts of this project include transforming engineering education at the University of Hawaii to broaden the participation of low-income, rural, and Native Hawaiian students. As part of its intellectual merit, this project will study strategies to support retention, graduation, and transfer of low-income, rural, and Native Hawaiian students in engineering pathways. In addition, the project will determine the effectiveness of a hybrid distance education model for serving this population.The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The three specific aims are to: 1) grow STEM faculty capacity to serve low-income students; 2) increase educational outcomes (retention, graduation, and transfer) of low-income Scholars; and 3) expand STEM education options for low-income students. This project is timely as it can help meet the growing need for engineering technologists on Hawaii Island. Although much is known about evidence-based practices to increase STEM student retention in general, little is known specifically about how to support low-income, rural, and Native Hawaiian students in Hawaii. Each year, 40% of students (20-25 students) who declare an engineering pathway at one of the two campuses either leave the major formally by switching to another major or informally by switching to courses outside the major. To understand this phenomenon and increase participation in engineering for low-income, rural, and Native Hawaiian students, the project will use a case study model to investigate: 1) What strategies support retention, graduation, and transfer of low-income, rural, and Native Hawaiian students in the engineering pathways? and 2) Does a hybrid distance education delivery model of the engineering technology degree increase enrollment of low-income, rural, and Native Hawaiian students? This novel research has the potential to increase understanding of factors that increase participation of underrepresented minorities in engineering. The project will provide nearly all STEM faculty at the two institutions with resources to improve low-income, rural, and Native Hawaiian student outcomes. It will also permanently establish the hybrid distance four-year engineering program on the island of Hawaii. 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.