This project increases the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce by recruiting, mentoring, and supporting academically talented but financially needy students through degree completion, and partnering with employers to facilitate placement. This is accomplished by four objectives: Improve educational opportunities for students by awarding 40 scholarships annually for $2,500 each over a four-year period; Increase retention of students to degree achievement by creating supportive environments through changes in organizational culture and practices; Improve student support programs by providing mentoring, tutoring, study-groups, career counseling, internships, and placement services; Increase the STEM workforce by implementing the project collaboratively with industry partners to increase the number of well-educated and skilled employees in technical areas of national need. The Intellectual Merit of the project is to advance knowledge of effective practices that prepare students to pursue STEM careers from community colleges, by innovatively integrating student support and placement and providing students with skills to improve their academic competitiveness. The Broader Impact of the project will increase the economic diversity of the STEM workforce.
Tallahassee Community College S-STEM Grant 0631107 In the spring of 2006, Tallahassee Community College (TCC) was awarded one of the early S-STEM Grants at a community college. We have been able to support 139 students for up to two years toward completion of an Associate of Arts or an Associate of Science degree in STEM fields. In order to build community, the STEM Star program included a fall semester student success class for new scholarship recipients, volunteer and outreach events, opportunities for field trips and conferences, workshops, and individual mentoring by full-time science and mathematics faculty. Additional support was provided at the college through the Learning Commons, which has technology and tutors to assist students in any mathematics or science courses, and the STEM Study Center, which provided specialized support to STEM students. Promotion for the program included high school outreach events, such as TCC Preview, scholarship fairs, and visitations to area high schools each year. During the year, middle and high school students attending various outreach events were made aware of the STEM Star scholarship. Three measureable outcomes that we set as goals for the grant were to (1) retain at least 75% of S-STEM scholarship recipients after one year; (2) to graduate at least 70% of S-STEM scholarship recipients within three years or transfer students to baccalaureate institutions during this period; and (3) to attain a placement rate of S-STEM graduates in STEM jobs or baccalaureate institutions at a rate of at least 90% within one semester of graduation. In order to determine the programs efficacy, the TCC Office of Institutional Effectiveness compared students in the STEM Star program with a demographical equivalent control group. When compared to this demographic cohort, all STEM Star students from 2007-2010, whether or not they completed the program, had a 3-year graduation rate of 75% versus 35% for the control group. Another measure of success was that 69.5% of the STEM Star students completed TCC with grade point average of 3.0+ versus 28.3% of control group. A comparison of college algebra and trigonometry, two key gate-keeper courses for STEM majors, also shows a significant difference between the STEM Stars and the control group with a 27.0% higher success rate for college algebra and a 21.9% higher success rate for trigonometry. Such results are very encouraging since the STEM Stars were virtually equal in gender (49.6% female versus 50.4 % males) and had significant minority representation with 48% African-American. For the 60% of STEM Stars completing the program, 95% graduated with a 3.0+ average and transferred to a 4 –year school within one semester and 76% have maintained a STEM major at the university. Two STEM Stars are already pursing graduate degrees in STEM areas. In order to determine the overall effect of the program, we also looked at the entire group of students, whether or not they completed the STEM Star program, and found that 56% maintained a STEM major upon graduation. Though we had students with a wide variety of STEM majors, the greatest percentage was pursuing engineering (21%). The other science and technology areas ranged from a few percent to about 15% (1% physics, 1% geosciences, 11% chemistry, 15% biology, 9% mathematics, and 14% technology). In order to try to evaluate various components of the program, a survey of 90 former STEM Stars was conducted. STEM Stars were asked which programs were most beneficial and what would benefit new STEM Stars. Sixty-six percent replied providing valuable insight into the program. Over half (53%) cited their mentor as one of the most beneficial components. This was closely followed by the STEM Study Center (49%) because of workshops and networking. A variety of suggestions was provided with the key one being more connections with four-year schools to better understand what to expect in university programs. These suggestions will assist us in continuing to improve TCC’s STEM programs. The intellectual merit of this project goes beyond increasing the quantity of students graduating in STEM. The initiative advances knowledge of effective practices that prepare students to pursue STEM careers from community colleges by innovatively integrating student support and placement. The broader impact of this project was to provide students with skills to improve academic competitiveness; encourage them to pursue STEM careers; increase the retention of students in STEM fields; increase faculty involvement in mentoring students, and nurture permanent changes in organizational practices.
