Supporting Undergraduate STEM Students through an Integrated Community of Biology and Mathematics Scholars

Elizabeth City State University, Elizabeth City NC

Investigators

Abstract

This project will help meet the national need for highly-skilled scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians. It will do so by giving scholarships to a cohort of twenty rural, academically talented undergraduate students. The Scholars will receive up to four years of support to pursue bachelor’s degrees in mathematics or biology. As part of the project, Scholars will have the opportunity to live together in an environment that provides collaborative learning activities. The project will apply evidence-based practices in other student support experiences, including a summer computation camp, early research experiences, and parental education. The project activities are expected to broadly benefit STEM students and faculty at the University, thereby extending the program's impact beyond the Scholars who will be directly supported by the project. The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. Project aims include to: 1) recruit twenty Scholars and increased overall enrollment in mathematics and biology majors; 2) Adapt, implement, and sustain curricular, co-curricular, and support services to achieve a 90% five-year graduation rate of Scholars; 3) Ensure that Scholars are prepared for entry into STEM careers or graduate school in biomathematics; and 4) Generate knowledge about the effectiveness of the projects’ activities. Scholars will participate in a one-week residential computational skills camp in the summer before their first year. This experience will provide Scholars with a review of algebraic functions and introductory statistics, thus enhancing their success in college mathematics courses. The project will adapt a learning community and peer mentoring model that was previously funded by the NSF to support the success of student cohorts in STEM courses, particularly mathematics. In this adaptation, peer academic coaches will assist with math recitation sessions. The project will support an "S-STEM Navigator” who will serve as a mentor to help first-year students adjust socially and academically to the University. This project will contribute new knowledge about the education of rural, academically talented, low-income students pursuing STEM degrees. This project is funded by the NSF 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.