This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at William Paterson University, a Hispanic-Serving Institution. Over its five-year duration, the project will provide scholarships to 26 full-time, first year and transfer students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in mathematics, computer science, and computer information technology. First-year students will receive up to four years of scholarship support and transfer students will receive up to two-years of scholarship support. The Scholars will have access to multiple supports and increased opportunities to engage in research and internships. Scholars will also be mentored by faculty trained in culturally-responsive mentoring, which includes issues such as cultural competence and implicit bias and normalizing feelings about being a low-income or first-generation student. The project aims to produce new knowledge about the potential for culturally responsive mentoring and individual development plans to support undergraduate student retention, graduation, and post-graduation placement in STEM-related employment or graduate work. The University has a tradition of educating first-generation college students, many of whom are children of immigrant parents. As a result, this project has the potential to broaden participation in STEM fields for a population diverse students, including Latinx, low-income students.
The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The project objectives include to: a) enroll three cohorts of low-income, academically talented students as Mathematics and Computer Science Scholars, supporting them with scholarships; b) improve year-over-year retention rates for Scholars who are first-time, full-time, first-year or transfer students; c) improve graduation rates for all Scholars; and d) perform a research study that investigates the relationship between college retention for low-income students and strength-based, culturally responsive mentoring. The intended project outcomes include strengthening recruitment of women into the target STEM majors, increasing enrollment across the targeted majors, and, consequentially, increasing the number of STEM graduates who enter the STEM workforce. These outcomes can contribute to the STEM workforce needs of New Jersey and the United States. The research plan will use methods consistent with Design and Development research projects described in the NSF Common Guidelines for Education and Research and Development and will focus on the project’s four objectives. Pertinent findings will be disseminated through the University website, meetings, conference presentations, and publications. 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.
