California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB) is a four-year degree granting institution whose service area covers nearly 25,000 square miles, encompassing Kern, Tulare, Inyo, and Mono counties, along with parts of Los Angeles and Kings Counties. The area's need for workers with science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) degrees are high (5% of Kern County's total workforce), but the pool of potential applicants is low (less than 1% of the population has related STEM degrees). CSUB is in a unique position to meet that need. In 2009, CSUB was cited in a research report by the Center for Urban Education as one of the twenty-five Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) with the potential to become an exemplary provider of STEM education because of CSUB's commitment to providing equitable opportunities in STEM fields. This project is designed to help CSUB realize that potential by overcoming a number of barriers found to limit student retention in STEM. Studies have found that in order to have high interest and motivation, students need to believe that a STEM major is worth the effort, that they have the ability to complete their degree, and that the degree is very useful for future employment. It has also been shown that classroom climate and activities play critical roles in determining the students who do, and do not, persist. This project is designed to provide freshman and sophomore STEM students with confidence in their ability to deal with demanding courses taken early in their academic career and the tools to do so, early exposure to real-world applications of their major, positive insight into potential careers and strong mentorship opportunities with upper-classmen in their major.
Specific goals include: increase the 2-year retention rates of STEM fields students by 15% of the Fall 2011 figure, to 63.3% for freshmen and 59% for transfers by the end of the three year grant period for lower division students; increase the number of women and underrepresented minority (URM) students who persist in STEM fields; increase the average student grade in the supported pre-calculus and calculus sequence. A number of mechanisms will be used to accomplish these goals. A student ambassador program will be established linking upper classmen and lower classmen in STEM fields via a mentorship program. In-class student tutors will be established in pre-calculus and calculus courses in addition to designing these courses to be co-taught by both mathematics and science (including computer science) faculty. A summer enrichment program will be established for freshmen and sophomores. In order to help students realize the job opportunities available in fields related to their STEM studies the project will establish enhanced opportunities for undergraduate research and internships with industries related to STEM majors.
