Achieving Community College Excellence, Success and Scholarship (ACCESS) in Engineering and Computer Science

Montgomery College, Rockville MD

Investigators

Abstract

This National Science Foundation Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) project at Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland will provide scholarships and support services to academically-talented students majoring in engineering and computer science who demonstrate financial need. The project will address the need for larger numbers of engineering and computer science professionals, as well as the need to increase the proportion of these professionals who are from groups underrepresented in these fields. Main goals of the Achieving Community College Excellence, Success and Scholarship (ACCESS) in Engineering and Computer Science S-STEM program at Montgomery College will include increasing the number of community college students who earn bachelor's degrees in engineering and computer science, and contributing to the development of a scalable engineering education model for students transitioning from community colleges to four-year institutions. Students will be recruited from high schools and college-level math and science courses, and selected based on academic potential demonstrated via cognitive and non-cognitive correlates of academic success. The five-year ACCESS project will provide 136 scholarships and support five cohorts of students by expanding on best practices and building on current practices involving high school outreach, intensive faculty and peer support, undergraduate research opportunities, transfer support, and strong articulation agreements and programmatic enhancements with select four-year engineering colleges. Throughout the project, its success will be evaluated via analyses of multiple data sources, including assessments of student support services, student skills development, and student responses to interview and focus group questions. The project is expected to contribute to understanding attributes and practices of successful student scholarship and support programs, such as integrated, inquiry-based instructional methodologies; student support systems; structured two-year/four-year program articulations; and transfer and career advising.