Innovative and Meaningful Mentoring to Enhance Retention, Success, and Engagement in STEM

该项目将为全国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，方法是支持高成就、低收入、有经济需求的学生留在天际学院并毕业。天际学院是一家两年制拉美裔服务机构，位于硅谷，是STEM创新的中心，有许多高需求的工作岗位。在为期5年的时间里，该项目将为至少30名正在攻读副学士学位或转到四年制大学以获得生物、生物技术、化学、计算机科学、工程、数学或物理学位的学生提供90个奖学金。所有学生都将获得长达三年的支持。除了奖学金，该项目还将采用一种变革性的指导方法，以及旨在解决经济和学术障碍的创新支持。所有参与的学生将参与一套全面的以证据为基础的联合课程服务，旨在支持他们的坚持、完成和转移。通过将财政援助与学术支持和导师指导相结合，该项目应该会增加STEM领域的学生数量，特别是来自代表性不足群体的学生。教师导师将接受有关留住学生和取得成功的创新和有效方法的培训，例如实施ePortfolios。该项目的总体目标是增加低收入、高成就、有经济需求的本科生的STEM学位毕业率。它有三个具体目标：1)利用校园中已经实施的高影响力、基于证据的流程(如ePortfolios和本科生研究机会)；2)实施有凝聚力的多层次导师计划，以增加留住学生、学生成功和学者毕业的机会；3)结合劳动力发展计划扩大行业合作伙伴关系，通过指导和实习支持学者的学术和职业机会。旧金山湾区高昂的入学费用导致了大量未得到满足的经济需求，并导致学生在大学期间寻求兼职或全职工作。然而，对于结合具体做法，如多层次指导、ePortfolio采用或参与学习社区，一旦财政障碍降低，如何影响代表人数不足的少数群体在STEM的留住和成功，人们知之甚少。该项目的成果将通过在地区和国家会议上向参与STEM教育的其他教育工作者介绍调查结果，并利用现有的传播基础设施和渠道来公布。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 demonstrated financial need at Skyline College, a two-year Hispanic Serving Institution, situated in Silicon Valley, a hub of STEM innovation with many high-demand jobs. Over its 5-year duration, this project will fund 90 scholarships to at least 30 students who are advancing toward an associate degree or transfer to a four-year university to earn a degree in Biology, Biotechnology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or Physics. All students will receive up to three years of support. In addition to scholarships, the project will incorporate a transformative approach to mentoring, and innovative supports intended to address financial and academic barriers. All participating students will engage in a comprehensive set of evidence-based co-curricular services designed to support their persistence, completion, and transfer. By combining financial assistance with academic support and mentor guidance, this project should increase the number of students in STEM fields, especially from underrepresented groups. Faculty mentors will be trained on innovative and effective approaches to student retention and success, such as the implementation of ePortfolios. The overall goal of this project is to increase the STEM degree completion of low-income, high- achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. There are three specific aims: 1) leverage existing high-impact, evidence-based processes already implemented on campus (such as ePortfolios and undergraduate research opportunities); 2) implement a cohesive multi-layer mentorship program to increase retention, student success, and graduation of scholars; 3) expand industry partnerships in association with workforce development programs to support the scholars’ academic and career opportunities with mentoring and internships. The high cost of attendance in the San Francisco Bay Area leads to high unmet financial needs, and leads students to seek part-time or full-time employment while they are in college. Little, however, is known about how combining specific practices, such as multi-tiered mentoring, ePortfolio adoption or participation in learning communities, can impact the retention and success of underrepresented minorities in STEM once financial barriers are lowered. Results of this project will be made available by presenting findings to other educators involved in STEM education at regional and national conferences, and leveraging existing dissemination infrastructure and channels. 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.