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 Louisville. Over its five-year duration, this project will provide 60 scholarships to 20 unique undergraduate students who are pursuing bachelor?s degrees in Computer Science and Engineering. Two cohorts of five first-year students will receive up to four-years of scholarship support, and two cohorts of five transfer or junior students will receive up to two-year scholarships. The project aims to increase student persistence in STEM fields by linking scholarships with effective supporting activities including mentoring, undergraduate research experiences, service learning, graduate school preparation, and outreach efforts to complement the university?s emerging collaboration with the local and national technological workforce. The project also aims to improve both STEM retention rates and overall graduation rates of scholars through exposure to improved computer science and engineering gateway courses and access to state-of-the-art technological tools and resources. The knowledge, experiences, and lessons generated by this project will enable the project team to identify the most effective discipline-specific curricular and co-curricular activities for supporting students. Improving graduation rates for computer science and engineering students will help address workforce needs in Kentucky and beyond.
The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The project has four specific objectives: (1) to increase the number of enrolled low-income, academically talented students in computer science and engineering over a five-year period; (2) to achieve retention rates of at least 90% in Year 1 and 80% in Year 2 and Year 3, and to improve graduation rates significantly for participating S-STEM scholars; (3) to ensure that at least 90% of the project participants obtain career-related employment or enroll in a graduate program within six months of graduation; and (4) to advance understanding of the effectiveness of the proposed educational activities in improving the retention and graduation rates of low-income, academically talented students in computer science and engineering. Students from low-income backgrounds often work more hours, have fewer social connections, and are less likely to take a full-time course load or enroll continuously from one semester to the next. These factors adversely impact retention and graduation prospects. In addition to providing students with improved financial stability through scholarships and the potential for emotional support through cohort identity and community, this project will adapt and implement high-quality evidence-based practices to improve retention, graduation, and employability. These strategies include the improvement of computer science and engineering gateway courses, better preparation of students for engineering co-ops and employment, training of undergraduate teaching assistants for the purpose of gateway course support, bi-weekly cohort meetings and networking to build a sense of community. The impact of program components and services will be measured through use of instruments such as Likert-scale surveys at the beginning and end of each semester to probe students? satisfaction and self-confidence in learning, intention to persist in their field of study, and the perceived impact of each activity or student support service. External oversight will include monitoring of programmatic and research activities, provision of timely, periodic feedback to inform improvement of these activities, and summative reviews of the goals and quality of work near its completion. Dissemination of the project?s progress and outcomes will be provided at regional and national conferences, via educational materials and implementation documents, and published reports in journals or conference proceedings. 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.
