Scholarships in STEM To Achieve Results (S-STAR)

East Los Angeles College, Monterey Park CA

Investigators

Abstract

Through the Scholarships in STEM To Achieve Results (S-STAR) project, East Los Angeles College (ELAC) will provide scholarship support for 15-20 students annually. The awards will be available on a competitive basis to all science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors who demonstrate finanical need and the aptitude to succeed in STEM disciplines. Data shows that attrition in STEM disciplines is disproportionately high among Hispanic students at ELAC. Building on the infrastructure established by the institution's Mathematics, Engineering, and Science Achievement (MESA) and Academic and Student Support to Improve Student Transfer (ASSIST) programs, S-STAR will provide not only scholarships, but also supplemental instruction, access to a STEM Study Center, one-on-one counseling, mentoring, research and internship opportunities, professional development workshops, and other support services that are strategically planned to foster student success. Being the state's largest Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), ELAC is implementing S-STAR to increase the number of academically talented, underrepresented STEM students successfully prepared for transfer to four-year STEM degree programs, and ultimately to high-skill, high-wage jobs in fields of local and national need. Additionally, this project will contribute to diversity in research. By increasing S-STAR students' competitiveness and encouraging them to participate in undergraduate research, these students will more likely to attend graduate school. S-STAR objectives are to: (1) alleviate economic burdens of college students with demonstrated financial need, while improving students' educational opportunities; (2) increase retention, success rates and degree completion; and (3) increase the number of skilled STEM students ready to succeed in technical areas of local and national need by increasing their competitiveness to participate in research and internship experiences within four-year institutions, industry, and/or national labs, while at the community college. Both qualitative and quantitative data collection efforts will be used to assess the attainment of the objectives. Ongoing dissemination of incremental outcomes, best practices and lessons learned is planned through scholarly articles focused on women and minorities in science and engineering, community college STEM student success, and through presentations at conferences that offer platforms to share knowledge among both community colleges and four-year institutions.