Planning: strengthening stem resources and programming for prospective low-income scholars

The National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate Education awarded Rider University $199,646 on August 1, 2026, under the STEM Education program (CFDA 47.076) to strengthen STEM resources and programming for low-income undergraduate scholars.

The two-year planning grant funds a project to gather and analyze data from students and faculty at Rider University to understand the circumstances, interests, and unmet needs of low-income, high-achieving STEM students, with a focus on identifying disparate outcomes between Pell-eligible and non-Pell STEM students. The project team will identify or create data sources to develop a holistic understanding of the college experience for academically talented, low-income students and will synthesize findings to generate effective strategies to close performance gaps. The project will collaborate with the Carleton College Science Education Resource Center to leverage comparisons with similar-sized institutions across the Mid-Atlantic region, with results intended to inform institutional change and provide a model adoptable at peer institutions. Work is performed in Trenton, New Jersey, with performance concluding July 31, 2028.

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 rider university. Over its two-year duration, this planning grant project aims to collect and analyze information from students and faculty to better understand current student circumstances, as well as their interests and unmet needs. The project will engage stakeholders to inform the design of a future S-stem proposal. By gaining insights into the current student experience, the project team will be positioned to generate innovative and effective strategies to support prospective S-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 specific project aims will support the project team in ascertaining the underlying factors that create disparate outcomes between pell-eligible stem students and non-pell stem students. The project team plans to (1) gather current student and faculty data to better understand their current circumstances,(2) identify and/or create data sources that inform a more holistic understanding of the college experience as IT pertains to academically talented, low-income students, and (3) synthesize findings to generate effective strategies to close the GAP for low-income students. In collaboration with the carleton college science education resource center (SERC), the project will leverage comparisons with similar-sized institutions across the mid-atlantic region to further attainment of project goals. Results of this project will inform potential institutional change and will provide a model that can be adopted at peer institutions. 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.- subawards are not planned for this award.