Expanding Access to Graduate Education and the Advanced STEM Workforce

提高美国STEM劳动力的竞争力取决于从美国各地招募更大，更多样化的STEM研究生群体，包括历史上代表性不足的群体：少数种族和民族，特定STEM领域的性别少数群体，来自美国STEM研究生学位获得率不成比例低的地区的学生，残疾人，第一代学生，低收入学生，和退伍军人该项目将通过扩大国家名称交换（NNE）来支持这一目标，NNE是一个完善的计划，将代表性不足的本科生与寻求多样化研究生课程的机构联系起来。通过研究和交流活动，该项目有可能以三种方式消除STEM研究生学习的障碍。首先，它将提供一个技术平台，扩大从代表性不足的群体中招收研究生。第二，使用NNE数据的研究将用于了解学生进入STEM研究生课程的差距，并为国家和大学招募和支持代表性不足的学生的战略提供信息。第三，该项目将设计、测试和不断改进资源，以支持未来的研究生和寻求招收他们参加STEM研究生课程的大学。该项目旨在加快从代表性不足的群体中招收研究生。通过扩大现有的技术基础设施，将代表性不足的研究生与STEM研究生课程联系起来，该项目将生成所需的数据，以加深我们对学生进入研究生院途径中的差距和中断的理解，并通过信息和资源来弥补这些中断。从NNE的学生入学者收集的数据将与国家学生信息交换中心的记录相匹配，以确定NNE参与者是否以及在什么时间范围内参加研究生课程。运用逻辑回归，研究小组将探讨少数民族地位，自我报告的本科GPA，本科研究经验，卡内基分类和本科院校类型的其他方面的影响。通过探索在预期的本科学位完成后的不同时间间隔入学的概率，将有可能考虑这些人口和教育因素如何影响研究生学习的途径。除了生成有助于大学改善招聘工作的数据外，该项目的评估活动将帮助NSF确定这一技术和数据基础设施的有效性，以加速和扩大代表性不足的学生在STEM研究生课程中的参与。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的评估来支持影响审查标准。

Increasing the competitiveness of the American STEM workforce depends on recruiting a larger and more diverse group STEM graduate students from across the United States, including those from historically underrepresented groups: racial and ethnic minorities, gender minorities in specific STEM fields, students from U.S. regions with disproportionately low STEM graduate degree attainment, persons with disabilities, first-generation students, low-income students, and veterans. This project will support this goal through the expansion of the National Name Exchange (NNE), a well established program that connects underrepresented undergraduate students with institutions seeking to diversify their graduate programs. Through research and communication activities, the project has the potential to remove barriers to STEM graduate study in three ways. First, it will provide a technological platform for expanding the recruitment of graduate students from underrepresented groups. Second, research using NNE data will be used to understand gaps in student pathways to STEM graduate programs and inform both national and university strategies for recruiting and supporting underrepresented students. Third, the project will design, test and continuously improve resources to support prospective graduate students and universities seeking to recruit them to STEM graduate programs.This project seeks to accelerate the recruitment of graduate students from underrepresented groups. By expanding an existing technological infrastructure for connecting underrepresented graduate students with STEM graduate programs, the project will generate data needed to deepen our understanding of gaps and interruptions in student pathways to graduate school and to remedy these interruptions with information and resources. The data collected from student enrollees in the NNE will be matched with National Student Clearinghouse records to determine whether and on what time frame NNE participants enroll in a graduate program. Using logistic regression, the research team will explore the impact of minoritized status, self-reported undergraduate GPA, undergraduate research experiences, Carnegie classification and other aspects of undergraduate institution type. By exploring the probability of matriculation at different intervals following expected undergraduate degree completion, it will be possible to consider how these demographic and educational factors affect pathways into graduate study. In addition to generating data that will help universities improve their recruitment efforts, the project’s assessment activities will help NSF determine the effectiveness of this technological and data infrastructure for accelerating and scaling the participation of underrepresented students in STEM graduate programs.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.