STEM Connections HBCU-UP

Benedict College, Columbia SC

Investigators

Abstract

Through the NSF Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP), Benedict College will implement a comprehensive project called STEM Connections which includes: Support for enrichment and extension of STEM student experiences; Acquisition of instrumentation for curriculum design and delivery; and Faculty development activities that encourage research and the use of technology and other creative methodologies. The project activities were developed during an HBCU-UP planning grant. STEM Connections overall goal is to increase the number and highlight connectivity between scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians to strengthen the National STEM workforce. This program recruits, develops, and connects participants locally and nationally - both students and faculty, beginning as early as high school and through the undergraduate years and beyond. Intellectual Merit: STEM Connections activities include: (1) exposure for high school students to STEM with an opportunity to earn dual college credit in their junior and senior high school years; (2) sustainable tracking, monitoring, incentive and intervention activities targeting STEM undergraduate class attendance, satisfactory academic progress, and participation in performance enhancement offerings; (3) early and continuous involvement in activities that facilitate successful graduate school application and matriculation; (4) the establishment of a new discipline-integrated instructional team and student cohort approach to undergraduate studies in computer and electrical engineering, adapting concepts from SC ATE, a NSF funded engineering technology initiative; and (5) faculty/student collaborations on research that enriches the undergraduate experience, provides professional development opportunities for junior and senior faculty, and connects faculty/students in a manner that promotes networking with renown scientists for collaboration beyond the undergraduate years. Broader Impact: STEM Connections activities will: (1) significantly increase the number of undergraduates entering the STEM majors; (2) retain STEM majors through the completion of their bachelor of science degree - thereby reversing the current low retention trend with emphasis on success in gate-keeping courses; (3) improve preparation of STEM students for graduate studies as measured by performance on standardized examinations, increase the number of STEM students participating in internships, summer research and other enhancement programs, and increase in the number of successful Benedict applicants to STEM graduate programs; (4) increase the number of computer and electrical engineers in the Nations workforce, with the implementation of a discipline- integrated curriculum which infuses laboratory technology directly in the lecture environment; and (5) increase the number of undergraduate STEM majors that enter the professional arena and graduate school with recognized participation and exposure to ground-breaking research, as measured by laboratory assistance and investigative work resulting in national publications and presentations under the mentorship and as apprentice collaborators with STEM faculty.