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 verified financial need. The project will support students at the University of Hawaii Maui College and Hawaii Community College, both of which are designated Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian serving institutions and serve the highest percentages of Native Hawaiian students in the nation. Over its five-year duration, the project will fund scholarships to 48 full- and part-time students who are pursuing associates degrees in Electronic & Computer Engineering Technology, Electronics Technology, Information Technology, Natural Sciences, and/or a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Technology. Scholarships of up to $10,000 for four years will be provided to incoming first year students, currently enrolled students, and students who transfer into the engineering technology degree program. In addition to receiving scholarships, Scholars will be mentored by STEM faculty, participate in cohort-building activities, and have leadership and undergraduate research opportunities. The project will provide STEM faculty with professional development on incorporating the Indigenous Ka’ao Model across STEM courses and on using a guided pathway tool for advising students. Moreover, the project will establish a hybrid, distance education program in engineering technology, with the aim to reach low-income, rural, and Native Hawaiian students on the Island of Hawaii and in remote areas of Maui County. The broader impacts of this project include transforming engineering education at the University of Hawaii to broaden the participation of low-income, rural, and Native Hawaiian students. As part of its intellectual merit, this project will study strategies to support retention, graduation, and transfer of low-income, rural, and Native Hawaiian students in engineering pathways. In addition, the project will determine the effectiveness of a hybrid distance education model for serving this population.
The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The three specific aims are to: 1) grow STEM faculty capacity to serve low-income students; 2) increase educational outcomes (retention, graduation, and transfer) of low-income Scholars; and 3) expand STEM education options for low-income students. This project is timely as it can help meet the growing need for engineering technologists on Hawaii Island. Although much is known about evidence-based practices to increase STEM student retention in general, little is known specifically about how to support low-income, rural, and Native Hawaiian students in Hawaii. Each year, 40% of students (20-25 students) who declare an engineering pathway at one of the two campuses either leave the major formally by switching to another major or informally by switching to courses outside the major. To understand this phenomenon and increase participation in engineering for low-income, rural, and Native Hawaiian students, the project will use a case study model to investigate: 1) What strategies support retention, graduation, and transfer of low-income, rural, and Native Hawaiian students in the engineering pathways? and 2) Does a hybrid distance education delivery model of the engineering technology degree increase enrollment of low-income, rural, and Native Hawaiian students? This novel research has the potential to increase understanding of factors that increase participation of underrepresented minorities in engineering. The project will provide nearly all STEM faculty at the two institutions with resources to improve low-income, rural, and Native Hawaiian student outcomes. It will also permanently establish the hybrid distance four-year engineering program on the island of Hawaii. 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.
