A Roadmap to Success in STEM: Support for Mental Well-being, Academic Achievement, and Professional Development

Westfield State College

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 Westfield State University (WSU). Over its 5-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to 12 unique full-time students, in two cohorts, pursuing bachelor’s degrees in biology, chemistry, computer science, environmental science, and mathematics. Each student can receive up to five years of scholarship support. The project will help students develop the confidence and work-life balance skills needed to be successful academically and professionally through improving and building upon four pillars of institutional support: financial, academic, social, and professional development. Promoting student success through mental health literacy is central to this project and will add to the knowledge base of how mental well-being impacts student retention, graduation, and career pathways. The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The project will increase STEM student success through the following objectives, focusing on four pillars of student success. Fist is to recruit 12 academically promising, low-income students majoring in biology, chemistry, computer science, environmental science, or mathematics into the scholarship program. Second is to retain and graduate at least 80% of scholars (10 of 12). Third is to place at least 80% of the scholars in a STEM career or graduate school within one year of graduation through activities that focus on networking, professional development, and career readiness. Fourth, and finally, is to build a community of scholars and faculty who value mental health awareness. Students will be informed about life-long strategies to improve mental health. Faculty will gain increased understanding of mental health literacy, translating that knowledge into pedagogical practices to support student mental health. With a primary focus on creating a culture that values mental well-being as a support strategy that helps to ensure the academic and career success of the scholars, the proposed project seeks to promote mental health literacy among students and faculty within the STEM fields. With the hypothesis that increases in mental health literacy and the application of skills and practices that lead to a sense of mental well-being will allow for a greater likelihood of realizing improved STEM learning, identity, and future career success, the evaluation will include reviewing project strategies provided by the Counseling Center, the Wellness Course that includes the Koru Mindfulness Workshops, the incorporation of mindfulness exercises in the STEM courses, and other wellness-focused events and opportunities. Project results will be disseminated widely to WSU internal stakeholders, community members, and the broader scholarly community through publications and venues focusing on STEM education. 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.