Improved Support for Undergraduates at Community College Engaged in STEM Studies

改善对社区学院从事STEM研究的本科生的支持该项目将通过支持萨福克县社区学院中表现出经济需求的优秀低收入学生的保留和毕业，从而满足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。萨福克县社区学院是纽约州纽约州立大学系统中最大的社区学院，最近被指定为西班牙裔服务机构。在为期六年的时间里，该项目将为90名攻读生物学、物理科学、计算机科学、网络安全、工程和数学副学士学位的全日制和非全日制学生提供奖学金。一年级入学的学生以及继续学习的二年级学生将获得最多两年的奖学金。该项目将在大学范围内和校园内培养跨学科的STEM学生，以促进同龄人网络的发展，提高成绩优异的低收入学生的坚持和成功，同时提高他们的职业意识。研究表明，学习社区、学术指导以及让学生在自己的学科中有意义地参与的机会，对代表性不足、第一代和低收入大学生的学生成功、保留和完成学业有直接的积极影响。该项目还将实施侵入式咨询技术，以更好地识别和解决学生在选择学位道路时面临的障碍。一个新的职业和实习协调员将把个别学生与当地和地区雇主以及实习机会联系起来。该项目向大学社区开放的辅助产品将提高对STEM职业和区域劳动力需求的认识，同时确保参与的学生有机会和资源满足或超越这些区域需求，并支持国家关键STEM产业的活力和增长。该项目的总体目标是提高有经济需求的低收入、优秀本科生的STEM学位完成率。除奖学金外，获奖者还将受益于1)专业的教育和职业咨询，学术指导和辅导；2)完善同行和专业网络；3)真实的研究、展示和出版机会。该项目将减少存在于通勤学生群体中的学术隔离，这种隔离会影响学生的坚持、成功和完成。该项目每年将提供多达18个新奖项和16个持续奖项，最多可支持90名独特的学生。预计85%的奖学金获得者将被保留，75%的奖学金获得者将在其学位时间的150%内毕业和/或转学，这将比未参加奖学金的同行高出30%以上。I-SUCCESS将促进对与保留、转学、学术和职业道路以及学位获得相关的因素和活动的理解。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。

Improved Support for Undergraduates at Community College Engaged in STEM StudiesThis 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 Suffolk County Community College.Suffolk County Community College is the largest community college in New York State’s SUNY system, and recently designated a Hispanic-serving institution. Over its six-year duration, the project will fund scholarships to 90 unique full- and part-time students pursuing associate degrees in biology, physical science, computer science, cyber security, engineering, and mathematics. First-year entering students, as well as continuing sophomores, will receive scholarships for up to two years. The project will develop college-wide and campus-based cohorts of interdisciplinary STEM students to foster the development of peer networks and increase the persistence and success of high-achieving, low-income students while also increasing career awareness. Studies have shown that learning communities, academic coaching, and opportunities for students to engage meaningfully within their discipline have direct positive impacts on student success, retention, and completion among under-represented, first- generation, and low-income college students. This project will also implement intrusive advising techniques to better identify and address the obstacles faced by students as they proceed through their chosen degree path. A new career and internship coordinator will connect individual students with local and regional employers and internship opportunities. Ancillary offerings provided by the project and open to the college community will increase awareness of STEM careers and regional workforce needs while ensuring participating students have the opportunity and resources to meet or exceed those regional needs and support the vitality and growth of the nation’s critical STEM industries.The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion among low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. In addition to scholarships, awardees will benefit from 1) Professional educational and career advising, academic mentoring, and tutoring; 2) Improved peer and professional networks; and 3) Authentic research, presentation, and publication opportunities. The project will reduce the academic isolation that exists within the commuter student population and which influences student persistence, success, and completion. The program will provide up to 18 new and 16 continuing awards annually resulting in up to 90 unique students supported. It is expected that 85% of scholarship recipients will be retained and 75% will graduate and/or transfer within 150% of their degree time, which would exceed their non-participating counterparts by more than 30%. I-SUCCESS will advance understanding of the factors and activities associated with retention, transfer, academic and career pathways, and degree attainment. 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.