Scholarships and Programming to Increase Graduation, Retention, and Self-efficacy of Low-income STEM Students

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，低收入的学生在斯普林希尔学院证明经济需要的保留和毕业。 斯普林希尔学院（SHC）位于阿拉巴马州的移动的，该县29%的学生生活在贫困线以下，该州24%的学生精通科学，只有22%精通数学。 在六年的时间里，该项目将为10名正在攻读生物学、数学或工程预科学士学位的全日制学生提供奖学金。 生物学和数学的一年级学生将获得长达四年的奖学金支持。 第一年的工程预科学生将获得长达三年的奖学金支持，在SHC的总预期时间。 学者将（1）参加生活学习社区;（2）参与核心STEM课程的共同课程;（3）参加第一年的研讨会;（4）接受教师指导;（5）参加服务学习活动;（6）参加研究和实习机会;（7）参加年度职业研讨会。 该项目是由当地社区的需求，并应有助于扩大在墨西哥湾沿岸地区的STEM参与。 该项目将促进对生物学、数学和工程预科专业的经济支持--结合额外的课程和课外活动--如何影响学生作为科学家的自我效能感的理解。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。 反思，参与，行动和学习STEM（REAL-STEM）计划旨在改善未来STEM工作者的教育，并产生有关低收入学生的学术成功，保留，转移，毕业和学术/职业途径的知识。该项目将调查改善学生学习的条件，以及项目干预措施在提高学生STEM自我效能方面的有效性。 通过开发关于自我效能的课程和研讨会，斯普林希尔将提升STEM职业的价值，并在墨西哥湾沿岸地区和全国建立一个新的高能力STEM专业人员管道。 该项目由NSF的科学、技术、工程和数学奖学金项目资助，旨在增加获得STEM领域学位的低收入学术人才的数量，该项目反映了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 Spring Hill College. Spring Hill College (SHC) is located in Mobile, AL, a county in which 29% live below the poverty level and a state in which 24% of students are proficient in science and only 22% are proficient in mathematics. Over its six-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to 10 unique full-time students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in biology, mathematics, or pre-engineering. First year students in biology and mathematics will receive up to four years of scholarship support. First year pre-engineering students will receive up to three years of scholarship support, the total expected time at SHC. Scholars will (1) participate in a Living Learning Community; (2) engage in common coursework in core STEM courses; (3) participate in a first-year seminar; (4) receive faculty mentoring; (5) engage in service-learning activities; (6) participate in research and internship opportunities; and (7) attend an annual career seminar. The project is informed by the needs of the local community and should help broaden participation in STEM in the Gulf Coast region. The program will advance the understanding of how financial support for biology, math, and pre-engineering majors—combined with additional curricular and co-curricular activities—impacts students’ sense of self-efficacy as scientists.The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The Reflection, Engagement, Action, and Learning STEM (REAL-STEM) program 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. The project will investigate the conditions under which improved student learning occurs as well as the effectiveness of the project interventions in improving students’ self-efficacy in STEM. By developing lessons and workshops on self-efficacy, Spring Hill will elevate the value of STEM careers and build a new pipeline of highly capable STEM professionals in the Gulf Coast region and nationally. 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.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.