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Abstract The University name of Program is an NSF Scholarships in STEM (S-STEM) Track 3 (multi-institution) funded program built on the theoretical framework of legitimate peripheral participation with an emphasis on inclusivity, community, and belonging. The Program has increased Scholar retention, academic performance, and engagement with student support services relative to peers. The Program received renewed NSF funding in 2022 to expand the Program to include a collaboration between a local Two-Year Community College (TYCC) and the University (U) to create a seamless pathway for students from local high schools, through five TYCC STEM majors (Biology, Computer Science, Engineering Science, Liberal Arts and Sciences, Math) to the University, culminating in a STEM BA/BS degree and entry into a STEM profession. It will accomplish these goals by augmenting the original Program with components to address challenges specific to the Community College: a summer research experience, ALEKS for math placement support, joint Community College/University advising, and an annual Community College/University STEM faculty conference to strengthen curricular ties across institutions. The original Program developed and utilized five components at the 4-year institution: integrated support services, a STEM writing and metacognition seminar, dynamic hierarchical mentoring, financial support for Pell-eligible students, and a responsive program structure. Both the University and Community College are located in a community in which >= 93% of high school students are minoritized in the sciences and >= 65% are low income. Our objectives are to: (1) shorten the length of time to earn STEM AS and BA/BS degrees, (2) increase feelings of belonging and identity with Community College and University, (3) increase identity and confidence as STEM students and professionals, (4) consistent engagement with student support services (e.g., academic success, career counseling and placement), (5) catalyze interdisciplinary and inter-institutional pedagogical collaborations, (6) identify curricular and co-curricular factors contributing to student success and career entry, (7) institutionalize sustainable, high impact practices, and (8) adapt and develop processes for other institutions to follow. The expanded Program will support 90 unique Scholars. The University Entryway will recruit STEM majors who were academically strong in high school and who initially underperform at the University. The Community College/University Entryway will recruit local, academically successful high school students. Our goal is to increase University and CC/U Scholar retention, transfer, and graduation rates by 25% relative to peers. This work-in-progress paper will focus on the TYCC and importance of recruitment, perseverance, and retention/transfer rate to the University. It will detail the Program's model and discuss the challenges and achievements of the first year of implementation of the community college cohort, summer research program, and the faculty collaborations between the institutions including the jointly hosted day-long faculty workshop.
Albers et al. (Sat,) studied this question.