Suffolk County Community College (SCCC) is providing 140 S-STEM scholarships to students from multiple STEM disciplines. The goal is to graduate and transfer more STEM students by expanding the existing program, increasing the use of technology to expand collaborative partnerships, and enhancing peer mentoring. Participants receive financial aid, transfer and career counseling, internships, job shadowing, partner institution tours, and invited speaker presentations. The project aims to (1) Integrate Research and Education with experiences at SCCC, Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), and Stony Brook University (SBU), and (2) Integrate Diversity into NSF Programs by recruiting students in programs for underrepresented populations, including the Collegiate Science and Technology Education Program (CSTEP), Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP), Liberty Partnerships Program (LPP) and Empire State Diversity Scholarship (ESDS).
The intellectual merit of the project includes: (1) An innovative joint program led by a diverse team; (2) A co-PI who designed and directs the College's first STEM gender equity program; (3) A co-PI who directs minority recruitment through CSTEP, STEP, and LPP; and (4) Educational and research opportunities offered through a collaborative partnership with BNL and SBU.
The broader impacts follow from enhancing diversity among NSF S-STEM Scholars by collaborating with CSTEP to recruit low income and underrepresented students. This enables participants to receive CSTEP support services, leveraging NSF resources with state- and county-funded programs, such as STEP, LPP, and ESDS. SCCC's 2006-2011 scholarship participants demonstrated graduation and transfer rates greater than twice the average of their peers at SCCC. The extended project is graduating more STEM students from populations underrepresented in STEM professions and assisting them to transfer and complete their educations, directly addressing the significant national shortage of STEM professionals. Results are being disseminated to the STEM education community through a regular series of presentations at national venues.
