Foundations for success: empowering transfer student scholars for graduation and stem career readiness

This six-year, $748,577 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's STEM Education program (CFDA 47.076) will fund Delaware Valley University's Foundations for Success project. The project aims to increase retention, graduation, and career readiness of 21 low-income, high-achieving transfer students pursuing bachelor's degrees in various STEM fields through scholarships and targeted support services. Students will receive two-year scholarships and participate in new student orientation, career mentoring, and faculty/peer mentoring to facilitate on-time graduation with less debt. The university will provide curricular roadmaps and community college advising to help transfers complete prerequisite courses to decrease time to degree. Evaluation will assess which interventions most increased persistence and graduation rates and determine the impact of experiential learning opportunities on retention and sense of belonging. Results will be shared with regional transfer officials to bridge two- and four-year school knowledge.

Abstract

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 demonstrated financial need at delaware valley university. Delaware valley university is a small private university with a special emphasis on the natural sciences and experiential education. Over its six-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to 21 unique full-time students who are pursuing bachelor?s degrees in biology, chemistry, conservation wildlife management, environmental science, and plant science. Students will receive 2-year scholarships. The goals of the project are to increase the retention and graduation rate of stem transfer students and prepare students for the stem workforce and graduate education through discipline-specific experiential learning opportunities. The project will provide targeted new student orientation, career pathway mentoring, and faculty and peer mentoring. This project will also facilitate the on-time graduation of students with less debt load. This project will deepen the understanding of interventions designed specifically for transfer stem scholars. The overall goal of this project is to increase stem degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The project will provide curricular road maps for transfer students to decrease time to graduation. Advising of current community college students will ensure they complete foundational courses in their major prior to transfer. A goal is to advance the understanding of how to provide students with a sense of belonging and increase their likelihood of graduating. The effectiveness of stem-focused experiential learning opportunities on retention and graduation will be determined via the college persistence questionnaire and a measure of ?sense of belonging.? The expectation of the project is that retention, graduation rates, and sense of belonging will be positively impacted. Project evaluation will investigate which interventions were the most effective at increasing persistence and graduation rates of the scholars. Results will be presented at the regional transfer admissions and advising committee, with a mission of bridging the knowledge GAP between two-year and four-year schools. 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.