This project will contribute to the national need for highly skilled scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians. To do so, it will support the retention and graduation of eighteen high-achieving, low-income undergraduate students with demonstrated financial need at Caldwell University. The project focuses on supporting the needs of STEM students who live off campus and commute to college. The project will provide two-year scholarships to two cohorts of nine undergraduates who major in biology, chemistry, or mathematics. In addition to scholarships, the project will provide the Scholars with enhanced academic supports and increased opportunities to interact with faculty and peers, as well as with practicing STEM professionals. The project team will study how well these opportunities help commuter students develop meaningful relationships with resident students and with faculty. The project will generate new knowledge about the impact of supplemental instruction on commuter students' science identity, retention, degree attainment, and career choices. These findings may help other colleges and universities across the country better support the success of STEM undergraduates who commute to campus.
The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The project has three objectives: 1) increase the number of students enrolled in biology, chemistry, or mathematics by enrolling a total of eighteen Scholars; 2) provide additional academic student support for Scholars, and increase and enhance interactions between faculty and Scholars; and 3) graduate 78% of Scholars in four years and have 90% of Scholars accepted into STEM graduate programs or professional positions within six months of graduation. The project will build on Caldwell University's current recruitment, outreach, and summer programs, as well as on existing industry connections. Faculty will support Scholars through mentoring relationships and weekly virtual office hours. Industry will support Scholars through an extended weekly first-year seminar and internships. Peers will support Scholars through weekly supplemental instruction, peer mentoring, and a collaborative learning space designed to help commuter students meet other like-minded students. The program will investigate how supplemental instruction enhances the development of students' science identity by examining student attendance, student reflections, and semi-structured interviews with supplemental instruction leaders. Results of the project will be broadly disseminated, thus contributing to current knowledge about how to support the success of undergraduate STEM commuter students. This project is funded by NSF’s Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in STEM fields. It also aims to improve the education of future STEM workers, and to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income students.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
