Enhancing Retention and Graduation of Resident and Commuter Undergraduate Students in STEM Fields

Neumann University, Aston PA

Investigators

Abstract

This project will contribute to the national need for highly skilled scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians. To support this goal, the project will provide scholarships and additional supports to twenty-four high-achieving, low-income undergraduate students who have unmet financial need. The Scholars will pursue bachelor’s degrees in mathematics, biology, computer and information science, data science and analytics, or cybersecurity. The availability of STEM careers in the United States continues to grow. Unfortunately, many of these well-paying positions remain unfilled because of the lack of qualified STEM professionals. In Philadelphia County, twenty-five miles from Neumann University, the average income is 34% less than the national average. With strong STEM programs and a diverse student body, the University has strong potential to launch students into well-paying STEM careers. This project aims to increase the number and diversity of STEM professionals by recruiting academically talented, low-income students from a diverse base and helping them graduate and enter the STEM workforce or advanced STEM studies. During their freshman year, Scholars will be enrolled in a special section of a first-year experience course and will be paired with upper-level peer mentors. The Scholars will have opportunities to participate in an internship or research experience. The project team will investigate the impact of the project’s student support activities, including scholarships and peer teaching assistants, on Scholars’ retention and graduation. The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. To this end, the project will recruit academically talented, low-income students from a diverse base and provide them with scholarships to help them overcome financial barriers, while also addressing other barriers to success. Measurable objectives include the recruitment of two cohorts of twelve S-STEM Scholars majoring in mathematics, computer and information science, biology, data science and analytics, and cybersecurity. In addition, the project team aims to increase the first-to-second year retention rate of Scholars by 25% over baseline, and to achieve a 75% four-year graduation rate and 100% placement rate in a STEM job or STEM graduate programs six months after graduation. The project will generate new knowledge by determining the impact of teaching assistants who have been trained to enhance commuter STEM student success. Specific measurements include impact on student engagement, persistence in a STEM major to graduation, perceived career readiness, and learner agency. The teaching assistant training and other program supports will likely contribute to improvements in academic performance, student engagement, and retention in STEM for the teaching assistants themselves, as well as the students in their classes, which include non-traditional adult students and low-income students who are not Scholars. 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.