Integrated Support and Community Engagement to Increase Undergraduate Recruitment, Retention, and Graduation in Physical Sciences

Weber State University, Ogden UT

Investigators

Abstract

With funding from the NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program, this project will support high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at Weber State University. Over the five years of funding, this project will provide scholarships to 30 students who are pursuing bachelor's degrees in the physical sciences including chemistry, geoscience, mathematics, physics, computer science, and engineering. The program will also support the Scholars through graduation with a system of academic support services that emphasizes the development of community leadership and involvement. Scholars will complete their coursework in cohorts, attend a weekly STEM seminar course, meet regularly with faculty mentors, and participate in leadership opportunities. The goal of the project is to improve the four-year graduation rate of the Scholars from 12% to 50%. Moreover, the project will investigate and assess which interventions are the most significant to improve student success and persistence to degree completion for this population of students. This project aims to lower the unmet financial need of low-income, high-achieving students, and implement evidence-based interventions to enhance student success. The interventions include targeted recruitment to STEM degrees, student academic cohorts, STEM faculty mentors, and a STEM seminar course responsive to students as they progress through the program. An important aspect of the program is a consistent focus on engaging the Scholars in their community, including participation in community engaged learning projects. By using student focus groups, the project will investigate students' perceptions of STEM careers and assess the effectiveness of these interventions within the context of regional student demographics. The research results will provide formative assessment to guide ongoing project improvements and will identify effective strategies for recruiting and retaining future students. These results can also provide information to other institutions that aim to increase the participation and success of STEM students from diverse, low-income populations in which cultural or religious beliefs may discourage pursuit of a STEM degree. 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.