Supporting Graduation and Transfer of Community College Students in STEM Through Opportunities in Research

Valencia Community College, Orlando FL

Investigators

Abstract

With funding from the National Science Foundation's Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program, this project will support high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at Valencia College, a two-year college and Hispanic-Serving Institution. Lack of knowledge and skills combined with limited access to educational resources are significant barriers to the success of many low-income, high-achieving students in STEM academic and career pathways. This S-STEM project aims to strengthen and diversify collegiate STEM degree completion and, ultimately, the STEM workforce by creating a STEM support program at Valencia College. This project will provide low-income, academically talented students with comprehensive wrap-around support early in their college experience, with emphasis on STEM research, mentoring, coursework, and advising to support STEM degree completion. The project aims to generate a STEM research community that nurtures student development and encourages continuation in STEM education and careers. Over the five years of funding, the project will provide 60 one-year scholarships to 30 students pursuing associate degrees in biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, or physics transfer pathways. Students who successfully transfer to a four-year STEM baccalaureate program will receive a one-time scholarship to support their studies. Since Valencia College has unique, non-traditional student demographics, including a considerable population of low-income students, the project will address existing disparities of low-income student completion in STEM degrees. The project will accomplish this goal by determining optimal conditions for the post-secondary research experiences, the support network, and scholarship assistance to maximize positive impact on student persistence in STEM to successful transfer. The goals of the project are to: 1) increase the enrollment and diversity of low-income, academically talented students in STEM degree pathways; 2) adapt evidence-based practices and leverage existing resources to create a sustainable student support model; 3) increase student success rates through integrated support services promoting full-time enrollment and degree attainment; and 4) assist student transfer to four-year degree programs and support them to gain access to upper division undergraduate research. The project will advance knowledge through a research study focusing on the impact of early experiences in undergraduate research at a two-year institution and on early interventions including mentoring practices that incorporate growth mindset interventions. The project will disseminate these results to inform the design of curricular methods and educational practices that other institutions of higher education can adapt to support low-income, academically talented STEM degree-seeking students. 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.