SUCCESS-LEADERS: Leading Educational and Academic Directions to Enhance Retention in STEM

Union College, Schenectady NY

Investigators

Abstract

With funding from the National Science Foundation's Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program, SUCCESS-LEADERS is providing support to low-income students with demonstrated financial need and academic promise to succeed in STEM disciplines at Union College. This S-STEM Track 2 project is funding a total of 20 students over five years who are pursing a bachelor's degree in Mathematics, Science, Engineering, or Computer Science. The project will recruit from rural areas and provide scholarships for academically-talented students from under-resourced, rural high schools. The project will increase the number of Union College's STEM majors coming into the school and increase significantly the retention of these students; thus many more will graduate and enter the STEM workforce. SUCCESS-LEADERS scholars will be supported in several different ways, including access to experiences in industry, working on research in STEM areas, and belonging to a community to support them during their college years. The principal investigators will use evidence from a retrospective longitudinal study to assess the long range impact of Union College's prior and current NSF S-STEM-funded initiatives designed to retain at-risk populations in science and engineering disciplines. The SUCCESS-LEADERS project will further strengthen Union College's curricular offerings and co-curricular enrichment programs in science and engineering by developing, refining and implementing learner-centered practices that advance understanding of the factors affecting retention and career pathways of low-income, at-risk populations. SUCCESS-LEADERS scholars will be provided four-years of scholarship aid and individualized support to help achieve success by meeting the educational and financial needs unique to their situation and background. The overall goals of the project are to: 1) increase the number of applications and admissions from academically-talented students with demonstrated financial need, drawing primarily from under-resourced, rural high schools; 2) improve retention and success of these students in STEM fields at Union by specifically addressing the challenges faced by students with limited academic opportunities; 3) increase the number of women in engineering, physics, mathematics and computer science, and underrepresented groups in all disciplines; 4) provide students with opportunities to enhance their education through early introduction to research opportunities, connections to industry and internships through the College's Industry Mentoring Program, study abroad, and leadership training; and 5) improve undergraduate educational experiences and promote professional advancement by facilitating fruitful mentoring relationships in order to address and overcome typical areas of attrition in STEM. 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.