The Division of Chemistry and the Office of Multidisciplinary Affairs jointly fund this award to the City Colleges of Chicago to establish an Undergraduate Research Collaborative. The PI for this project is Thomas Higgins, who will be assisted by Co-PIs Thomas Dowd, Gregory Ference, Yvonne Harris and Roger House. The collaborating partners in this project include: The seven campuses of the City Colleges of Chicago (Harold Washington College is the lead institution); William Rainey Harper College; Oakton Community College; and College of DuPage. Other partners are: Illinois State University, Youngstown State University, Chicago State University, and Hope College. Informal agreements to host summer students and/or build faculty collaborations have been made with DePaul University, Loyola University of Chicago, Northern Illinois University, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Case Western Reserve University. The DuPont-Northwestern-Dow Collaborative Access Team at the Advance Photon Source and the Chemical Engineering Division, both located at Argonne National Laboratory, are also working with the Collaborative. The goals of this project are to: (1) Identify and recruit promising young scientists from two-year colleges (2YCs) into the STEM disciplines, especially, from traditionally under-represented groups; (2) Train 2YC students to become effective practitioners of science; (3) Instill in 2YC students the confidence to pursue science as a profession; (4) Encourage 2YC students to complete their undergraduate and graduate STEM education; and (5) Transform the cultures of participating 2YCs by embedding intensive research experiences during the academic year and summer into their curricula and their courses. These institutions are located in the Chicago-metro area and collectively serve approximately 106,000 undergraduates annually, 42% of whom come from underrepresented groups. In City Colleges of Chicago, 70% of the 50,000 undergraduates are either Black or Hispanic.
To maintain its position as the leading producer of science and technology, the United States must increase the number of domestic students pursuing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees. To increase the quality of future STEM students, this country needs to increase the quality of undergraduate STEM education. To increase the quantity of these students, we must reach out to underrepresented and non-traditional student bodies. Undergraduate research with community college students, who are early in their academic careers, can do both. Undergraduate research is a powerful way to recruit and retain students into STEM and improving their practice of science. Community colleges educate almost half of all undergraduate students annually and this student body is diverse by almost any measure. This project, the STEM-ENGINES Undergraduate Research Collaborative, has taken what is successful in undergraduate research and adapted it to the needs of community college students. The core partners of this collaborative were ten Chicago-area community colleges (The seven City Colleges of Chicago, William Rainey Harper College, Oakton Community College, and the College of DuPage) and three Midwestern baccalaureate-granting institutions (Illinois State University, Youngstown State University, and Hope College). Collectively, these community colleges annually served approximately 106,000 undergraduates, with 42% from underrepresented groups. The project developed new models of undergraduate research that incorporated the effective practices of others and modified them to address the needs of community college students. Some of these needs were being underprepared for college-level work, struggling with economic and financial demands, and having important obligations to their families. Through the success of the STEM-ENGINES URC, there was the potential to not only have a positive impact on our own students, but also be an empowering role model for faculty at other community colleges. Three core ideas guided this work: Real research questions must challenge students and allow them to fully contribute to the production of new scientific knowledge; Scholarly communities of both peers and faculty mentors must support students so they can grow as both scientists and citizens; and Student transitions beyond the community college are the key to students’ long-term academic success and engagement with STEM as a career. The community research experience college was buttressed by professional development activities to build students’ skills, nurture their confidence, and expand their network of peer and faculty mentors; and by intense summer research experiences at our four-year college partners. Student impacts Over the five years of the project, 285 students participated. These students reflect the diversity of the ten community colleges in the collaborative. Age: 18-63, average 26 Gender: 52% female Race & Ethnicity: 22% Black 16% Latino/a 20% Asian 41% White No less than 22% of students were the first generation to attend college. Many also spoke a language other than English at home or considered English their second language. All students supported by the project were vetted by human resources to ensure they were US citizens or permanent residents. The retention and success statistics with the project were impressive. Of the 285 student participants, 274 completed the academic year portion of the project (96%); 135 students did summer research (47%); and at least 153 students transferred to baccalaureate institutions to complete an undergraduate degree (54%). The Survey of Undergraduate Research Experiences (SURE) was used to measure the impact of the experience on students. The SURE measured increases in students’ skills, their plans for further academic study, and their disciplinary preference. Students self-reported their gains in 21 skills germane to scientific research. These gains were measured on a 5-point scale, with 5 being high. In all 21 areas, the students reported meaningful gains. The five highest gain areas were: Understanding the Primary Literature (4.4/5.0) Understanding Real Problems (4.3/5.0) Readiness for More Research (4.3/5.0) Feeling Like Part of a Learning Community (4.2/5.0) Tolerance for Obstacles (4.2/5.0) The number of students considering a PhD increased 25 percentage points, from 19% before the research experience to 44% after. When masters degrees were factored in, 63% of our students expressed a desire to earn a degree beyond the bachelors. The number not considering graduate school fell 12 percentage points: from 16% to 4%. Students also reported an increased interest in chemistry as a profession: 37% indicated an interest in majoring in chemistry or biochemistry. The next most popular choices for a major were biology (28%), engineering (11%), and education (2%). Another area of success was facilitating and easing student transitions from the community college to the four-year college. One of the important lessons learned was the impact of building strong student/faculty connections that span the community college and the baccalaureate institution. These networks support students as they move from the familiar world of the community college to the unfamiliar world of a new institution.
