Supporting Low-Income Students Studying Biology, Chemistry, and Biochemistry from First Year to Graduation in Rural Wisconsin

University Of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Stevens Point WI

Investigators

Abstract

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income, primarily first-generation college students. The project will take place at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, which is a regional public institution in rural, central Wisconsin. Over six years, the project will fund scholarships to 30 unique, full-time students pursuing undergraduate degrees in biology, biochemistry, or chemistry. The project will support scholars as cohorts in multiple ways including early, structured peer-to-peer interactions, supplemental instruction in STEM courses, career development planning, increased advising, and paid multi-year undergraduate research opportunities. Faculty are key in STEM students’ success and will be engaged in professional development on evidence-based teaching, effective research mentoring, and academic advising. This project has the potential to broaden participation in STEM fields, especially for students from rural regions, and generate knowledge about how to support retention and graduation in STEM for these student populations. The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. To achieve this goal, this project will pursue four objectives. The first objective is to increase retention and degree attainment of low-income and first-generation students pursuing degrees in biology, chemistry, or biochemistry between the first and second. The second objective is to implement and study the impact of a faculty-mentored undergraduate research experience for scholars. The third objective is to increase the number of first-generation and low-income students in the regional STEM workforce with the goal of having the majority of scholars pursue a STEM-focused career. The final objective is to create more inclusive, supportive learning environments that result in a culture of success for low-income, first-generation college STEM students on the campus. Evaluation will be conducted by an external evaluator who will collect on-going evidence from students and faculty through surveys and focus groups, as well as tracking of student success measures such as grades, GPA, retention data, and graduation rates. Insights gained from this project will be disseminated in the university system, regionally, and nationally to contribute to the collective understanding of best practices to retain and graduate low-income, high-achieving students in STEM, especially those students from rural areas. 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.