Promoting Student Success by Establishing a Community of Learners at a Two-year Commuter College

Norwalk Community College, Norwalk CT

Investigators

Abstract

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at Norwalk Community College (NCC), a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). Over its 5-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to 21 unique students enrolled at least half-time and pursuing associate’s degrees in Engineering Science. Eligible students will receive up to three years of support. This project intends to include support services to increase the social integration of students. The project team plans to study the effectiveness of student support services at a two-year commuter college serving non-traditional students. The project has the potential to advance our understanding of how scholarships and supporting activities will promote to create a community of learners at an HSI. As NCC is an HSI, this project has the potential to broaden participation in STEM. The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need and to answer the need for a diverse, quality STEM workforce. There are three objectives: (1) enhancing the gender diversity of the pool of applicants by implementing high-impact outreach strategies; (2) easing the financial hardship of students by providing scholarships; (3) promoting a community of learners by implementing evidence-based support services. The project will support scholars through evidence-based activities such as study groups, faculty and peer mentoring, academic advising, undergraduate research experiences, and special events that involve students, the faculty, and students’ families to increase social interaction. This project will investigate the effectiveness of these support services in a commuter college. The results can inform other community colleges with transfer programs in identifying best practices to achieve student success. The project will be evaluated using a mixed-method design that includes qualitative and quantitative methods. The evaluation will consist of rigorous formative, summative, and process components guided by evaluation standards that include measures for project utility, feasibility propriety, accuracy, and evaluation accountability. The project results will be disseminated on STEM-Central, presented at Connecticut State Colleges and University's Annual Conference as well as the American Society for Engineering Education annual conference, and submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal with an open access option. 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.