Development and Preliminary Assessment of the Enrichment Workshop Program

The Enrichment Workshop Program, developed and implemented in the Department of Chemistry at Illinois State University, was designed to positively impact the experiences of underrepresented minorities majoring in science. Eligible students were incoming freshman who were enrolled in the introductory general chemistry courses required for the majority of science majors (biology, chemistry, biochemistry/molecular biology and physics). Here we describe how the program was designed, and we provide some preliminary data from our investigation into the effectiveness of the program. This study includes both qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis. Although we were limited by various factors such as the number of students involved in the Program and the fact that students were self-selected, positive outcomes were observed including the improvement of grades in general chemistry compared to underrepresented minorities not involved in the program. A z-test analysis showed that EWP students received the highest percentage of A grades and the lowest percentage of F grades (0%) compared to non-EWP participants, all other underrepresented minorities (URMs), whites and the entire class in General Chemistry I and General Chemistry II.