Learning Experiences and Progression Support for Community College Students Pursuing Biological Sciences Degrees

Seminole State College Of Florida, Sanford FL

Investigators

Abstract

This project will contribute to the national need for skilled scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians. It will do so by providing scholarships and other supports to twenty high-achieving, low-income undergraduate students at Seminole State College. The Scholars will pursue Associate of Arts degrees in biology-related fields. The project will provide Scholars with supports to increase their success in introductory and higher-level biology courses. Scholars will also receive a customized guided pathway of coursework that is aligned with their academic and career goals. Other supports include research opportunities and mentoring by faculty who have cultural responsiveness training. The project expects that these supports will decrease the amount of time Scholars need to achieve a transferrable Associate of Arts degree. It also expects that Scholars will be more likely to successfully transfer to four-year institutions, where they will earn four-year degrees. Seminole State University has an ethnically and racially diverse student body, as well as a high proportion of first-generation and lower-income students. By increasing academic success of a diverse group of Scholars, this project will contribute to building a stronger and more capable STEM workforce. The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The specific aims include increasing the: 1. Success of Scholars in first semester biology; 2. Enrollment and success of Scholars in upper-division biology courses; 3. Retention and graduation rate of Scholars; and 4. Successful transfer and post-transfer success of Scholars. Beyond the impact on Scholars, the project expects the proposed project activities will improve the STEM learning environments at Seminole State, thus benefiting many students at the college, particularly those from underrepresented groups. The project will generate new knowledge through program evaluation and through replication of a 2014 research study by Harackiewicz and colleagues, which focused on increasing the achievement of first-generation students in college biology. Data collected through these efforts will contribute to the body of knowledge about the complexities of implementing high impact education practices that help diverse STEM students succeed. 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.