S-STEM SUCCESS: Supporting Undergraduates through Curricular and Co-Curricula Engagement and Student Scholarships

该项目将通过支持路易斯安那理工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。在为期5年的时间里，该项目将为40名攻读8个工程学科之一学士学位的全日制学生提供奖学金：生物医学、土木、化学、网络、电气、工业、机械和纳米系统工程。一年级学生将获得长达四年的奖学金支持。该项目旨在提高本科工程专业学生的保留率，同时通过将奖学金与学术和职业准备经验相结合，减少毕业时的债务。特定学科的教师导师将作为学生的官方学术顾问，通过领导专业发展研讨会，在鼓励和授权学者取得成功方面发挥关键作用。这个项目将增加学者和教师之间的社区意识。由于路易斯安那理工大学工程与科学学院很少为一年级工程专业学生提供基于需求的奖学金，因此该项目有可能极大地扩大STEM领域的参与。直接的学术支持、职业准备活动、更深入的社区和教师指导的综合意义将为大学和更大的STEM教育社区提供有效的实践，以提高保留率。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。这项研究的参与者有四个直接的结果：(1)减轻了财务压力，(2)提高了学业进步，(3)坚持毕业，(4)进入劳动力市场或进入STEM领域的研究生院项目。此外，有两个间接结果：(1)对所选职业领域的信心增加，(2)对学术能力的信心增加。被选中参与该项目的学生学者将在他们第一年的秋季学期之前确定。丰富的活动将战略性地排序，以满足不断变化的需求的学者，因为他们走向毕业。第一年将侧重于社区建设、学术卓越、专业发展和职业申请。大二将继续提供学术支持活动，同时纳入更多关于实习和暑期研究项目的讨论。大三的活动将转向职业准备，同时保留社区建设和学术卓越的资源。最后，随着学生完成学位，职业准备和生活技能将成为大四的重点。该项目的范围将包括研究持续的、特定学科的教师指导对学业进步的影响，以及探索学术社区对学生信心和保留率的影响。该项目的成果将通过会议演讲、同行评议的会议出版物、期刊文章和研讨会向STEM教育界提供。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 Louisiana Tech University. Over its five-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to 40 unique full-time students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in one of eight engineering disciplines: biomedical, civil, chemical, cyber, electrical, industrial, mechanical, and nanosystems engineering. First-year students will receive up to four years of scholarship support. This project aims to increase retention rates of undergraduate engineering students while also decreasing debt upon graduation by pairing scholarship funds with academic and career readiness experiences. Discipline-specific faculty mentors will play a critical role in encouraging and empowering the scholars to success by leading professional development seminars as they serve as official academic advisors for the students. This project will increase a sense of community among both scholars and faculty. Because the College of Engineering and Science at Louisiana Tech University offers very few needs-based scholarships to first-year engineering students, this project has the potential to greatly broaden participation in STEM fields. The combined significance of directed academic support, career readiness activities, deeper community, and faculty mentorship will inform the University and the greater STEM education community on effective practices to increase retention.The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. There are four direct outcomes for the participants in the study: (1) reduction in financial stress, (2) improved academic progress, (3) perseverance to graduation, and (4) a path to enter the workforce or a graduate school program in a STEM field. Additionally, there are two indirect outcomes: (1) increased confidence in chosen career field and (2) increased confidence in academic ability. Student scholars selected to participate in the project will be identified prior to the Fall Quarter of their first year of studies. Enrichment activities will be strategically sequenced to meet the evolving needs of the scholars as they move toward graduation. The first year will focus on community building, academic excellence, professional development, and career applications. The sophomore year will continue providing academic support activities while incorporating more discussion on internships and summer research programs. Junior year activities will shift towards career preparation while maintaining resources for community building and academic excellence. Finally, career preparation and life skills will be the focus of the senior year as students complete their degrees. The scope of this project will include studying the effect of ongoing, discipline-specific faculty mentorship on academic progress as well as exploring the impact of academic community on student confidence and retention. Results of this project will be made available to the STEM education community through conference presentations, peer-reviewed conference publications, journal articles, and workshops. 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.