Integrating Scholarships, Academic Assistance, Professional Development, and Wellness to Increase Undergraduate Retention in Engineering and Computing

University Of South Carolina At Columbia, Columbia SC

Investigators

Abstract

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need. Over its five-year duration, the project will fund four-year scholarships to 27 students who are pursuing Bachelor of Science degrees Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Computer Science, or Integrated Information Technology at the University of South Carolina at Columbia. Engineering disciplines include Aerospace, Biomedical, Chemical, Civil, Computer, Electrical, and Mechanical Engineering. By providing an integrated set of academic supports, social supports, and professional development opportunities, including support for career planning and for wellness, the project aims to improve retention of STEM students in engineering and computing fields. It also seeks to generate new knowledge about academic persistence of low-income, first-generation STEM students to support broadening participation in STEM education and careers. The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. It aims to deliver an integrated suite of evidence-based retention strategies to increase persistence and retention, with a campus living/learning community approach at the center. The project includes a comprehensive wellness intervention across the four years of the project, with a focus on four key areas: grit/resiliency, loneliness, imposter syndrome, and general health & well-being. These key areas will also be central for training faculty and peer mentors to support the Scholars. Career pathways support includes workshops and seminars from local industry, interactions with the campus Career Center, and access to internships and undergraduate research opportunities. A mixed methods convergent parallel research design is planned to examine the impact of project elements on Scholars' self-efficacy, sense of belonging, and persistence, relative to a comparison group constructed via propensity score matching. Project evaluation will provide formative feedback regarding the effectiveness of program elements and collaborative partnerships, as well as summative evaluation of the extent to which the project meets retention and graduation targets. This project is funded by NSF's Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in STEM fields. It also aims to improve the education of future STEM workers, and to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income 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.