Developing STEM Identity Through Holistic Student Support and Engagement

Guilford College, Greensboro NC

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 Guilford College. Guilford College is a coeducational, liberal arts institution located in Greensboro, NC and the only Quaker-founded college in the southeastern United States. Over its 5-year duration, this project will provide scholarships of up to four years to 10 full-time students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in biology, chemistry, or computing technology and information systems (CTIS). The project aims to increase student persistence in STEM fields by linking scholarships with opportunities to engage in a breadth of opportunities: peer and faculty mentoring; undergraduate research experiences; an interdisciplinary seminar experience; alumni speakers; internship opportunities; participation in discipline-specific conferences; and exploring pathways to graduate school. The project's financial and wrap-around cohort resources will provide scholars with the opportunities, community, motivation, and skills to be successful in their STEM studies and careers. The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. There are four specific aims: (1) recruit 10 low-income, first-year students planning to major in biology, chemistry, and CTIS and who have high academic potential and unmet financial need into two cohorts of 5, (2) retain at least 80% of Scholars into their second year; (3) graduate at least 75% of Scholars within five years of matriculation; and (4) yield 100% of Scholar graduates securing STEM employment or graduate school placement within six months of graduation. The external evaluation of the proposed effort is aimed at deepening understanding of the contributions that proposed student supports, when paired with scholarships, can make to a liberal arts institution’s goals of increased retention and graduation of low-income STEM students. Knowledge generated will be widely disseminated through conferences, peer-reviewed journals, student presentations and papers, institutional media, webinars, websites, and other forums to inspire and share lessons learned. 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.