Building educational transitions into the engineering and computer science community

The National Science Foundation's Division of Undergraduate Education awarded $1.999 million to College of Lake County under the STEM Education program (CFDA 47.076) on October 1, 2025, to support retention and graduation of low-income students pursuing associate degrees in computer science and engineering. The grant will provide scholarships averaging $11,000 annually for up to five years to 65 high-achieving scholars with demonstrated financial need. Supporting services include faculty mentoring, cohort-based workshops, leadership and internship opportunities, faculty-led study halls, a summer bridge program, and scholar video projects designed to build community and enhance academic success.

The project directly addresses the national workforce shortage in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields by strengthening completion rates in computer science and engineering disciplines. An independent evaluator will assess project outcomes and measure scholar retention and graduation rates, with findings contributing to the broader knowledge base on effective support strategies for low-income STEM students. The award period extends through September 30, 2031.

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 college of lake county. A total of 65 scholars pursuing associate degrees in computer science and engineering will receive scholarships averaging $11,000 for up to five years. Scholars will receive faculty mentoring, and the project will build strong scholar cohorts through cohort workshops, leadership/internship opportunities, and a faculty-supported study hall. Additional activities for scholars include a summer bridge program and scholar video projects. The overall goal of this track 2 scholarships in stem project is to increase stem degree completion of academically talented, low-income undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. There is a significant national need to grow the stem workforce and nurture key talent that will ensure economic competitiveness and provide domestic leadership across critical sectors. This project directly speaks to this need by supporting stem student success, which will strengthen the workforce in computer science and engineering and other key areas of need. The project will be assessed by an experienced evaluator that will measure project fidelity and scholar success, and the data generated will contribute to the knowledge base regarding effective strategies to support talented, low-income students in stem. This project is funded by NSF's scholarships in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of academically talented, low-income 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.- subawards are not planned for this award.