The Graduate and Transfer STEM Talent Expansion Program at Montgomery College -- a public, culturally diverse, three-campus community college -- provides a systematic and comprehensive approach to increasing the number of students who attain an associate's degree and/or transfer to four-year institutions as STEM majors. Major foci of the program include 1) revision of gateway STEM courses to incorporate active-learning strategies and supplemental instruction, 2) engagement of students in research, within and beyond the classroom, early in their undergraduate years, and 3) technology-assisted mathematics tutoring for pre-calculus students. These core strategies are supported by enhanced academic advising and support, faculty and peer mentoring, a summer bridge program for entering students, and professional development of faculty and staff across the three campuses.
Intellectual Merit: The project builds on well-established best practices for increasing retention in and recruitment of students into STEM degree and transfer programs. Project elements are being developed in parallel at each of the three Montgomery College campuses; project staff members then engage in system-wide dissemination and professional development of faculty and staff.
Broader Impacts: The project is increasing the number of students who attain an associate's degree and/or transfer to four-year institutions as STEM majors, with particular emphasis on serving the diverse students and returning veterans who attend Montgomery College. In the longer term, the project enhances institutional capacity (e.g., curricular reform, support structures, and professional development) for continued support of increased STEM degree attainment and transfer. In addition, it is serving as a model approach to developing and integrating a systematic program across a multiple-campus community college, which informs institutions considering similar efforts elsewhere in the nation.
