Student Supports Organized to Achieve Results

Citrus Community College District, Glendora CA

Investigators

Abstract

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated computer scientists, mathematicians, engineers and physicists by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at Citrus College, a two-year designated Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). Over its 6-year duration, this project will provide scholarships to 60 full- and part-time students who are pursuing associate’s degrees in computer science, engineering, physics, and mathematics. Full-time scholars are eligible to receive two years of support and part-time scholars will receive three years of support. All scholars will have access to comprehensive co-curricular activities and student support services including mentoring, cohort activities, and experiential learning. The project will leverage existing evidence-based campus programs to strengthen and expand wrap-around services to increase retention, course success, program completion, and importantly, transfer to a baccalaureate degree-granting institution. Simultaneously, the project will increase success rates in calculus with a goal of mitigating outcome discrepancies between low-income students and their more economically privileged peers through an instructional redesign. The activities outlined in this project, including the calculus redesign, have the potential to broaden participation in STEM both at Citrus College and, through the dissemination of results, across the Nation. The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates in STEM fields with demonstrated financial need. To ensure that low-income, high-potential STEM students are fully engaged and successful with coursework and campus activities, this project will address both cognitive and non-cognitive needs of students. Evidence-based interventions include mentoring, cohort activities and workshops, wrap-around support services, experiential learning modules, internships, and research experiences. Additionally, the project team recognizes that completion of calculus in the first year of post-secondary education contributes to student persistence in STEM. Yet, the research shows that a large percentage of students nationwide, particularly low-income students, are unsuccessful in calculus. The project will support faculty as they reassess the calculus curriculum, adopt active learning pedagogies, and develop in-class modules and materials for each of the three Citrus College calculus classes (I, II, and III). Rigorous independent evaluation and research, coupled with broad dissemination via the project website, journal articles, and conference presentations, have the potential to advance knowledge and understanding of two-year college student engagement and support as well as the type of curricular and pedagogical transformations needed to improve the retention and persistence of low-income STEM majors. 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.