Wright State University (WSU) and Sinclair Community College (SCC) are collaborating to develop a common first-year STEM experience with the following intended outcomes:
1. A 10% increase in first-to-second year retention of STEM majors at both institutions
2. A 10% increase in articulation of STEM majors from SCC to WSU. The result is expected to increase the number of WSU STEM graduates by at least 50 students per year by the close of the project. This model is readily transferable to other community college/university dyads in urban settings with comparable open admission policies.
Prior NSF support of WSU's National Model for Engineering Mathematics Education has shown that the introduction of EGR 101 "Introductory Mathematics for Engineering Applications," coupled with a significant restructuring of the early engineering curriculum, has resulted in a 10% increase in first-to second year retention as well as increased student motivation and confidence in math and engineering.
Based on this early success, this research:
1. Implements EGR 101 and the associated engineering curriculum reforms at SCC.
2. Develops a companion lab-based class for science majors (Scientific Thought and Method), SM 101/ASE 101, for instruction at both WSU and SCC.
3. Provides professional development opportunities for faculty at both institutions.
4. Trains STEM seniors/graduate students to serve as lab/recitation assistants, and peer tutors for any introductory STEM classes.
5. Disseminates the curriculum and associated first-year experience through production of a textbook and through presentations at professional meetings.
This project is a collaboration between Wright State University (WSU) and Sinclair Community College (SCC) to develop a common first-year STEM experience, which aims to increase first-to-second year retention at both SCC and WSU, as well as articulation of STEM majors from SCC to WSU. While STEM attrition is a problem throughout the 4-6 years of college study, the first-year experience (FYE) is most critical to retention of students in STEM disciplines. The primary barrier to success in Engineering/Technology is the traditional "gateway" calculus sequence; the barrier to success in Science/Mathematics is general innumeracy and scientific illiteracy. This project has successfully institutionalized groundbreaking innovations in first-year STEM curricula which have effectively uncorked the above traditional bottlenecks to student retention and success. These have included the expansion of Wright State's EGR 101 Introductory Mathematics for Engineering Applications to Sinclair Community College, the introduction of EGR 199 as a pre-cursor to EGR 101 for initially underprepared students, and the development of a companion SM 101 Scientific Thought and Method course for science majors. The above educational treatments have made the curriculum substantially more accessible to all incoming students, and particularly to those who have been historically underrepresented in STEM. Coupled with steadily increasing STEM enrollments, the result has nearly tripled the evaluation benchmark of 50 additional STEM graduates per year by the close of the project. Over the course of the project duration, the total number of STEM baccalaureate degrees awarded by Wright State University has increased from 339 in 2006-2007 to 484 in 2012-2013. Of those degrees, the number awarded to underrepresented minorities increased from 21 in 2006-2007 to 65 in 2012-2013, more than a factor of three. In addition, the number of STEM degree-seeking transfers articulating from SCC to WSU has doubled over the course of the project duration, increasing from 50 STEM transfers in Fall 2006 to 100 STEM transfers in Fall 2013. This highly successful model is intended to be readily transferable to other metropolitan university/community college dyads with comparable open admissions policies. As such, project materials and results have been widely disseminated through dozens of presentations, publications and workshops throughout the project duration.
