The Student Preparation and Retention Collaborative (SPARC) is providing financial and programmatic support for two cohorts of 7 to 8 high achieving, socioeconomically disadvantaged women from rural and inner city schools in Georgia through four years of a Wesleyan College undergraduate major in Biology, Chemistry, or Mathematics. The need for SPARC is great in Georgia, where there is a disparity in high school mathematics and science achievement in terms of race and socioeconomic status. The current success of the college in recruiting and retaining a diverse student body provides an ideal environment to support SPARC Scholars. Since 1836, Wesleyan College has emphasized the importance of science as well as classical learning in the education of women. This history has paid modern benefits since over seventy-six percent of natural science and mathematics graduates pursue advanced degrees or are employed in mathematics or science-related occupations. Of these graduates, twenty-five percent are women of color.
Intellectual merit: Scholarship students receive the following: integrated academic support; faculty, peer and alumnae mentoring; summer academic boot camps; and early engagement in undergraduate research are being provided. As a result of these programs, it is anticipated that eighty percent of these scholars will graduate and ninety percent of these graduates will pursue advanced study or employment in STEM fields.
Broader Impact: The project is increasing the national diversity of women who graduate with degrees in Biology, Chemistry or Mathematics, informing the design of initiatives at other, larger institutions that have adopted smaller learning communities, and encouraging retention in mathematics and science fields. Boot camps are providing models for summer undergraduate academic preparation and helping students develop enthusiasm for and confidence in the study of math and science.
