This project will contribute to the national need for highly skilled scientists, mathematicians, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students. The project is centered at Carlow University, a private, liberal arts university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Over its five-year duration, the project will fund scholarships to 18 full-time students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in biology, chemistry, and/or data analytics. First-year Scholars will receive up to four years and transfer Scholars will receive up to two years of scholarship support. The project will support Scholars within a cohort-based Scholar learning community that includes mentoring and other high-impact support practices. The project also features a STEM faculty learning community centered on shared interest in Scholar outcomes, with the goal of enhancing STEM teaching and implementing best practices in Scholar support. The Scholar/Faculty learning community model is intended to foster connections among students and faculty that will contribute to successful graduation and pursuit of STEM careers. The project’s research study will provide insight into the effectiveness of a potentially replicable, dual learning community approach for supporting STEM student success.
The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. Specific project objectives include: 1): Recruiting 18 low-income, academically talented, full-time students who pursue degrees in biology, chemistry, and data analytics over the grant period; 2) Increasing first-year retention and graduation rates of the Scholars; 3) Placing a high proportion of Scholars in STEM-related jobs or graduate school within six months of graduation. The project will also examine the impacts of participation in learning communities on women in STEM. Despite abundant research on learning communities, few studies have examined the extent to which learning communities contribute to success of low-income women in STEM. A social science researcher will address this gap by conducting a research study measuring the impact of learning communities on Scholars’ confidence in overall college success and their attitudes, learning experiences, and intrinsic motivation in STEM, including their academic abilities, interest in working in STEM fields, and ease in the social transition to college. A project assessment and evaluation plan, conducted by an external evaluator, will inform improvements throughout project implementation. Results of this evaluation will be disseminated via local, regional, and national conferences and publications to inform the academic community and provide opportunities for replication. 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.
