Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC) is awarding 11 to 15 scholarships each year for four years to full-time students (SciTE Scholars) in the A.S. programs in Engineering, Computer Science, and the Biological and Physical Sciences. Research has identified the combination of elements that contribute to student success: completing the first two years of college with no loan debt, attending full time, taking a summer course, and reducing the need to work long hours after class. The scholarship funds reduce both unmet financial need and subsidized loan amounts for Scholars. Scholarships also are awarded for summer session. As a result, there are increasing numbers of full-time students in the targeted academic plans and of SciTE Scholars returning to PVCC for a second year, graduating, and/or transferring to a four-year institution.
Faculty from STEM disciplines and staff from the Financial Aid Office and Student Services are selecting the SciTE Scholars and serving on an advisory committee. The faculty are rotating as facilitators of regular SciTE Scholar meetings. SciTE Scholars are visiting four-year institutions, working on interdisciplinary projects together in self-managed teams, and attending regional and national conferences.
The success of the scholarship program is evaluated by comparing the graduation and transfer rate of Scholars to non-Scholars in the same academic plans, by surveying Scholars annually, by interviewing Scholars who leave the program, and by tracking how many Scholars graduate from four-year institutions. Progress reports and outcomes are presented at national and regional conferences and at Peer Group meetings of community college faculty, and are being submitted for publication in refereed journals.
