Scholarships for Success

San Mateo County Community College District, San Mateo CA

Investigators

Abstract

While community college is a gateway to higher education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines for large numbers of U.S. students, for many students this gateway does not lead to success. By combining financial assistance with academic and support services for students who are low-income and academically talented, this project at Skyline College in California is designed to increase the numbers of students who successfully attain an associate degree and/or transfer to a four-year university on the pathway to a career in a STEM field. In addition to scholarships, the project will incorporate evidence-based methodologies intended to address barriers faced by many community college students. This project is expected to have a broad impact on underrepresented groups because the college is a Hispanic serving institution, has a comprehensive plan to recruit underrepresented students, and has a history of success in recruiting and retaining students from underrepresented groups such as Latinos, African Americans, Pacific Islanders, and women. A research study will explore the impact of components of the project on attrition points for students pursuing STEM associate degrees and transfer to four-year universities. A formative and summative evaluation will document program implementation and outcomes and facilitate the potential replication of effective strategies. The project will disseminate lessons learned about the project model, tools used for the research study and program evaluation, their findings, and case studies, to other institutions seeking to improve outcomes for low-income, academically talented students in STEM disciplines; thereby helping advance post-secondary STEM education, and serving the larger goals of building a skilled, diverse workforce and a more globally competitive U.S. economy. Skyline College will award scholarships to students as they progressively deepen their commitment to a STEM pathway and advance toward a degree or transfer within six semesters. Along with the scholarships, students will participate in a set of core program elements, the impact of which will be tested through evaluation: (a) detailed mapping of a STEM pathway in the Student Education Plan (SEP), (b) enrollment in a cohort-based bridge program that supports success in pre-transfer level and gateway STEM courses, (c) intensive STEM pathway retention support, including academic, career, and transfer advising, (d) access to the college STEM/MESA Center, (e) STEM faculty mentoring, (f) Academic Excellence Workshops, and (g) for students enrolled in gateway STEM courses, engagement in an Embedded Peer Instruction Cohort (EPIC). First-year students will enroll in a cohort-based, intensive bridge programs such as MESA, the BioBridge Career Advancement Academy, or the Engineering and Technology Scholars (ETS) Learning Community. These programs incorporate accelerated and/or contextualized math and foundational science instruction, advancing students beyond common attrition points. Additionally, all scholarship students will participate in a comprehensive set of evidence-based, co-curricular services designed to support their persistence, completion, and transfer.