Summer bridge program characteristics and outcomes at institutions within the southeastern region of the United States

In response to the effort to increase minority enrollment in college science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors, STEM summer bridge programs were created to help minorities with the transition from high school to college with the long-term goal of increasing the diversity of professionals in STEM. The goal of this research is to collect and examine STEM summer bridge program information for institutions in the southeastern region of the United States. The institutions chosen for review have obtained accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). The states include Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. This study conducted a manual search via institution websites that resulted 107 non-STEM and 77 STEM summer bridge programs that have published reports as well as those who have not published reports to the extent that the information is documented and available. A survey was sent to collect information such as individual program characteristics and program goals. There were 25 non-STEM and 28 STEM summer bridge program respondents. The responses of program goals to the specific programs were compared to manual search results. The results show a need for more published reports for summer bridge programs, especially ones that target incoming freshmen in the STEM majors. Comparing the program goals from the survey and the manual search resulted in inconsistencies. This can be implied that the summer bridge program websites need to be more explicit program goals and be kept up to date. By doing this, applicants can interpret the benefits of participating in the summer bridge program.