Improving Recruitment, Retention, and Success of Marine Science Undergraduate Students to Enter the Blue Economy Workforce

该项目将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，方法是支持缅因州大学高成绩、低收入、有经济需求的海洋科学专业学生留校和毕业。在为期五年的时间里，该项目将为25名正在攻读海洋科学学士学位的全日制学生提供奖学金。所有一年级招收的学生将获得四年奖学金，二年级学生将获得三年奖学金资助。该计划将通过建立学者成功指导网络，并可选择参加各种计划活动，包括本科生研究体验、每月专业发展研讨会、网络机会、正式暑期实习/外部实习和各种队列建设活动，来支持学者的进步。作为该项目的一部分，学者们可以选择接受大使项目的培训，该项目教学生如何组装、储存和维护移动触摸式坦克，并将它们运送到全州的农村地区，向年轻人传授海洋生物和海洋科学职业。该计划为学者提供了有价值的领导力、促进和专业沟通技能方面的实践，并向学生、家长、教师和广大公众灌输了对STEM的积极看法。总体而言，该计划将为低收入学生进入STEM教育和需求旺盛的多元化蓝色经济劳动力培养大量能力。蓝色经济是一种寻求以可持续的方式利用海洋环境来支持就业和经济增长的经济体系。该项目的总体目标是提高低收入、高成就、在海洋科学方面有经济需求的本科生完成STEM学位的人数。预计到2031年，STEM劳动力将增长近11%，特别是蓝色经济，预计到2030年，增长速度将是其他经济部门的两倍。农村学生接受科学教育的机会不平等，限制了他们获得高级学位和进入STEM劳动力大军的能力。该项目旨在为从农村地区招收学生建立可持续的途径，并旨在提高一年级至二年级的保留率以及学者的四年毕业率。此外，这个项目将增进我们对指导、队列建设和专业发展在学生成功和促进学者职业发展方面的有效性的认识。这一项目的成果将通过在地方、区域和国家情况介绍以及通过大众媒体和同行评议的出版物进行介绍而公布。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 Marine Science students with demonstrated financial need at the University of Maine. Over its five-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to 25 unique full-time students who are pursuing a bachelor’s degree in marine science. All students recruited at the freshman level will receive a four-year scholarship, and sophomore students will receive three years of scholarship funding. This program will support the advancement of scholars through the establishment of a Scholar Success Mentoring Network, and optional participation in a variety of program activities, including undergraduate research experiences, monthly professional development workshops, networking opportunities, formal summer internships/externships, and a variety of cohort-building activities. As part of this program, scholars can opt to be trained in an ambassador's program that teaches the students how to assemble, stock, and maintain a mobile touch tank, and transport them to rural areas across the state to teach youth about marine life and careers in the marine sciences. This program gives scholars valuable practice in leadership, facilitation, and professional communication skills, and instills positive perceptions of STEM to students, parents, teachers, and the public at large. Overall, this program will build significant capacity for low-income students to enter the STEM education and the diverse Blue Economy workforce which is in high demand. The Blue Economy is an economic system that seeks to use ocean environments in a sustainable way to support jobs and economic growth.The overall goal of the project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need in marine science. The STEM workforce is projected to grow by almost 11% by 2031, and the Blue Economy in particular is predicted to grow at double the rate of the rest of the economy by 2030. Unequal access to science education by rural students limits their ability to attain advanced degrees and enter the STEM workforce. This project seeks to establish sustainable pathways for recruiting students from rural locales and aims to increase first to second year retention rates, as well as four-year graduation rates for scholars. Moreover, this project will advance our knowledge of the effectiveness of mentoring, cohort building, and professional development in student success, and in promoting scholars’ career advancement. Results of this project will be made available through presentations at local, regional, and national presentations, and well as through both popular press and peer reviewed publications. 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.