Integrative approaches to advancing retention, engagement, and graduation in STEM students across a multi-campus open-access institution

该项目将通过支持北佐治亚大学表现出经济需求的高成就低收入学生的保留和毕业，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。北乔治亚大学（UNG）是一所多校区大学，是全国六所高级军事院校之一，也是国家指定的领导机构。在六年的时间里，该项目将为至少31名攻读生物学、化学、工程、数学和物理专业的副学士和学士学位的全日制和非全日制学生提供奖学金。一年级和二年级学生将获得长达四年的奖学金支持。该项目旨在通过提供奖学金以及基于研究的支持实践来提高学生在STEM领域的保留率和持久性，包括学习社区、队列、第一年的STEM研讨会、密集的教师指导、强大的学生支持服务、本科生研究参与、专业发展和实习机会。该项目还将帮助学生确定与他们的技能、兴趣和就业市场相一致的职业机会，同时为他们提供实现这些目标所需的专业发展。这些活动旨在促进STEM专业的继续学习，同时将来自不同学科的教师和学生聚集在一起，分享教育和研究经验，以扩大STEM劳动力的多样性和高度敬业的个人。从这项工作中产生的知识将有助于促进对教师指导、制定个人学习计划和早期接触本科生研究经验等活动如何支持STEM专业的保留和毕业率的理解。该项目的总体目标是提高有经济需求的低收入、高成就本科生的STEM学位完成率。这一目标将通过以下目标来实现：1)成功招收学生，并在项目第一年之后保持至少80%的保留率；2)在STEM劳动力，STEM学士课程（获得副学士学位的人）或STEM研究生课程中达到至少90%的安置率；3)至少75%的学士学位学生在5年内毕业，大专学位学生在3年内毕业。该项目将研究学生参与本科生研究的重要性和有效性，这些研究经验对留校和研究生成功的影响鲜为人知，因为它涉及多校区机构的不同人群。通过调查大学多校区S-STEM项目之间的差异，该项目将评估如何更好地帮助STEM专业的学生完成学位。该项目将促进对不同学生群体中导致STEM持久性的主要指标的了解。该项目将由外部评价人员进行评价，该项目的结果将在区域、国家和/或国际会议上传播。该项目由美国国家科学基金会的科学、技术、工程和数学奖学金项目资助，旨在增加有经济需求的低收入学术天才学生在STEM领域获得学位的人数。它还旨在改善未来STEM工作者的教育，并为低收入学生提供有关学业成功、留校、转学、毕业和学术/职业道路的知识。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。

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 the University of North Georgia. The University of North Georgia (UNG) is a multi-campus university, one of six senior military colleges in the nation, and is a state-designated leadership institution. Over its six-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to at least 31 unique full and part-time students who are pursuing both associate’s and bachelor’s degrees in Biology, Chemistry, Engineering, Mathematics, and Physics. First and second year students will receive up to four years of scholarship support. This project aims to increase student retention and persistence in STEM fields by providing scholarships along with research-based support practices including learning communities, cohorts, a first-year STEM seminar, intensive faculty mentoring, robust student support services, undergraduate research involvement, professional development, and internship opportunities. The project will additionally assist students with identifying career opportunities that align with their skills, interests, and the job market while providing them with the necessary professional development to reach those goals. These activities are designed to promote continuance in a STEM major while bringing together faculty and students from various disciplines to share educational and research experiences to broaden the STEM workforce with a diverse set of highly engaged individuals. Knowledge generated from this effort will be instrumental in advancing understanding of how activities such as faculty mentoring, developing individual learning plans, and early exposure to undergraduate research experiences support the retention and graduation rates of STEM majors.The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. This goal will be achieved through the following objectives: 1) successful recruitment of students and retention of at least 80% after the first year of the program; 2) attain a placement rate of at least 90% in the STEM workforce, STEM bachelor’s program (for those obtaining an associate’s degree), or acceptance into a STEM graduate program; 3) graduate at least 75% of all students pursuing bachelor’s degrees within 5 years and 3 years for those pursing associate’s degrees. This project will study the importance and effectiveness of student participation in undergraduate research experiences in retention and post graduate success of which little is known as it related to various populations across a multi-campus institution. By investigating differences among UNG's multi-site S-STEM project, the project will evaluate how to better assist a breadth of students in STEM to degree completion. This project will advance knowledge on the leading indicators in various student populations that lead to STEM persistence. This project will be evaluated using an outside evaluator and the results from this project will be disseminated at regional, national and/or international conferences. 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.