Cheyney University of Pennsylvania will implement a five-year aggressive project called Building Engagement and Attainment in Mathematics and the Sciences (BEAMS). The overall goal of the Cheyney University BEAMS project is to increase the number of underrepresented minority students graduating from Cheyney with baccalaureate degrees and pursuing graduate studies in STEM disciplines.
This five-year project will focus on curriculum enhancement, pre-freshman preparation, student and faculty research and graduate school examination preparation to address the low graduation rates of underrepresented minority students from STEM disciplines. These activities have been shown to significantly increase success rates of students in the STEM disciplines.
The BEAMS project will support several workshop opportunities for faculty addressing current pedagogical approaches such as constructivism, and inquiry/discovery-based teaching. Several STEM courses will be revised to make them more research and laboratory oriented. Additionally, , a pre-freshmen summer program, student symposia, seminars, workshops, research opportunities, and GRE preparation will be provided. BEAMS at Cheyney University will provide a rich undergraduate education experience, which will result in an overall increase in the success rate of STEM majors.
Intellectual merit: The project will implement activities that have been shown to improve student success in STEM including a pre-freshman summer program, pedagogy training for faculty, undergraduate research opportunities, increased faculty research support, and curriculum enhancement.
Broader impact: The project will increase the number of underrepresented minority students who pursue STEM degrees and the number prepared for and enrolling in STEM graduate programs.
