This National Science Foundation (NSF) Project Grant award under the STEM Education (formerly Education and Human Resources) program (CFDA 47.076) provides $100,000 to Syracuse University to develop plans for new STEM pathways and support services to increase retention and graduation of low-income, high-achieving undergraduate engineering students in the Central New York State region.
The key objectives are to: 1) build partnerships between Syracuse University, local community colleges, and regional STEM employers to create smoother transfer pathways and improve talent retention in the region; 2) conduct a comprehensive needs assessment to determine best ways to support low-income engineering students before, during, and after their transfer to Syracuse; and 3) develop an educational research plan to study the impact of a scholarship-based cohort model on outcomes for low-income community college transfer students in engineering. This one-year project aims to lay the groundwork for a future S-STEM Track 3 proposal to provide scholarships and comprehensive support to these high-need students.