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 the University of San Diego. Over its five-year duration, this project will provide scholarships of up to four years to 16 full-time students who are pursuing bachelor's degrees in STEM. Student majors will include behavioral neuroscience, biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, environmental and ocean sciences, mathematics, and/or physics. The entering first-year Scholars will be recruited from partnering community organizations that serve populations of students who are eligible for the S-STEM program. The project aims to increase the success of these Scholars by leveraging community engagement, along with individualized faculty mentoring. Scholars will also have opportunities such as access to research experiences and internships, and to community- and career-building activities. The project seeks to advance knowledge about the effectiveness of these activities on students' sense of belonging and STEM self-efficacy. The project will create and assess the effectiveness of institutional changes in the admissions process and institutional supports for the Scholars. Examples of notable institutional supports include development of a "Flourishing in STEM" student success course and a "Changemaking in STEM" course to encourage scholars to apply their STEM knowledge to issues affecting their communities.
The project is centered on a mutually-beneficial and equitable collaboration between the University and community partners that will benefit the scholars, the community, and the University, and advance understanding of how a community-based approach, including meaningful community engagement, affects the scholars' persistence and success in STEM. The project will also investigate how the participation of the faculty mentors in a community of practice to share and discuss successful mentoring strategies, including culturally-informed practices, manifests itself in their mentoring and advising of students. It will also investigate the effects of these faculty mentoring strategies on the scholars' sense of belonging and STEM self-efficacy, which are qualities that support persistence in STEM. Progress toward achieving the project's goals and objectives will be evaluated annually by an external evaluator who will provide regular formative feedback. This input will be complemented by both an internal advisory board comprised of individuals invested in the success of the program, and an external advisory board to provide additional perspectives to aid in institutionalizing the project's initiatives. Findings will be disseminated in appropriate journals and conferences and through an online presence. 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.
