This project will contribute to the national need for highly skilled scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need. The project will take place at Riverside City College, a public Hispanic serving community college in Riverside, California. Over a five-year duration, this project will provide scholarships to 40 full-time students who are pursuing associate degrees in chemistry or biochemistry. These Scholars will be recruited in four annual cohorts of 10 students and receive up to two years of scholarship support. The project aims to improve the education of future STEM workers, while generating knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income students. Riverside City College has a high population of underrepresented students. Consequently, this project has the potential to broaden participation in STEM fields and to increase understanding about how efforts to develop students' science identity can support graduation and transfer of this student population.
The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. There are four specific aims: to increase student success in chemistry/biochemistry through curricular and co-curricular adaptations; to enable students to complete the chemistry/biochemistry pathway, earning their Associate of Science for Transfer degree within two years and transferring into a baccalaureate degree program; to develop science identity, STEM self-efficacy, and career awareness of students, including those from diverse, underrepresented backgrounds; and to contribute to the body of knowledge about effective techniques and evidence-based practices that improve the recruitment, retention, and success of academically talented, low-income STEM students. Research shows that transfer students who are engaged with their institution are more successful and that developing students' identity as scientists improves both their engagement and retention. The overarching research question of this project is to explore how Scholars’ participation in project activities enhances their development of science identity, science self-efficacy, community cultural wealth, and transfer capital. This work has the potential to advance understanding about how combining financial support with academic supports and social integration at the community college and university levels affects student graduation and transfer. This information can inform state and national discussions regarding ways to decrease college debt while increasing STEM bachelor’s degree attainment for low-income and traditionally underrepresented minorities. The project will be evaluated though a mixed-methods approach using data from surveys, observations, participation records, and student performance records. These data will be analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical techniques such as gap analysis and repeated measures analysis. Results of this work will be disseminated through multiple local and national venues such as newsletters, conference presentations, and peer reviewed publication. 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.
