The S-STEM project at New Jersey City University (NJCU) encourages low-income, academically talented students to major in the natural sciences, mathematics and computer science, and provides them with the support that they need to succeed in their academic programs. As a publicly supported university located in urban northeastern New Jersey and as the only public, four-year institution in New Jersey that has been federally designated as a Hispanic-serving institution, NJCU provides a path of upward mobility for thousands of minorities, immigrants and economically and/or educationally disadvantaged individuals. In keeping with NJCU's role as an urban undergraduate institution, many of its students are products of urban school systems facing considerable economic pressures while seeking to advance through higher education.
The overall goal of the S-STEM project is to increase the number of low-income, academically talented students who enroll and persist in STEM disciplines. Together with strategic activities, the project accomplishes this goal by providing a total of 105 scholarships distributed over a 5-year period to students in NJCU's biology, chemistry, geoscience, mathematics, physics, and computer science programs. Incremental objectives of the NJCU S-STEM project are to: - Increase the number of students who complete lower level science, mathematics and computer science courses and proceed to more advanced study in these disciplines, particularly among underrepresented groups in STEM disciplines; - Increase enrollment and retention in science, mathematics and computer science programs, with the programs maintaining a predominately female and minority student population; - Improve the performance of students in gatekeeper STEM courses by providing a strong system of supplemental instruction and faculty mentoring; - Develop a feeling of community among STEM students by organizing a regular schedule of community-building activities; and - Increase the number of students who pursue graduate study and/or careers in STEM disciplines by providing them with graduate program and career information, as well as opportunities for undergraduate research and internships.
To achieve its aspirations, the S-STEM project has four major project components: (1) recruitment of students into STEM disciplines; (2) an organized system of supplemental instruction and faculty mentoring; (3) full utilization of the Web-based Student Early Alert System (SEAS) to maximize the impact of faculty advising; and (4) regularly scheduled community-building activities for STEM students. Through the array of strategies, this project provides an effective model for reducing attrition and increasing the graduation rate of economically disadvantaged students, in particular of underrepresented minorities in STEM programs in public urban institutions.
