Collaborative Planning Grant: Building Northwest Psychology Partnerships and Pathways for Talented Low-Income Psychology Students

Oregon State University, Corvallis OR

Investigators

Abstract

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by strengthening collaborations and planning for a future Track 3 S-STEM proposal that would support the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at Heritage University, Western Oregon University, and Oregon State University. Talented low-income students at Heritage University and Western Oregon University bring unique community and cultural connections to their educational experiences. Psychology is a popular STEM major across the U.S., and although some low-income, high potential students do not at first think of themselves as “scientists”, they are attracted to the discipline for many reasons. Often, they are highly invested in applying the fundamental, transferable skills in research design, statistics, human thinking and behavior to problems related to their communities, including problems related to environmental and climate science. This project will examine the needs of potential scholars and develop cross-institution and community partnerships in order to develop appropriate programs and supports to be integrated into a future Track 3 proposal. The overall goal of this project is to strengthen collaborations and prepare for a future Track 3 proposal to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The project has 3 main goals: 1) leveraging and expanding existing and new connections among the three higher education institutions; 2) strengthening partnerships with community groups relevant to the success of talented, low-income students; and 3) identifying the specific needs of potential scholars with an emphasis on their unique strengths. Specific aims include collaborating with financial aid to understand how high financial need is determined across sites, holding culturally informed focus groups to gather information from low income, high potential students on their needs and goals, collaborating with the STEM Learning research center at OSU to develop a plan for research centered on the population of prospective scholars; and developing an evaluation plan in consultation with the evaluation center at Western Oregon University. Pre-award grant support, cultural consultants, and other campus partners at Heritage University, Western Oregon University, and Oregon State University will assist in the planning of components necessary for a quality Track 3 S-STEM proposal. 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.