NSF Award
0969382
The PROMISE project is developing a campus-wide effort to encourage new freshmen and sophomore students to select STEM as a career choice. The proposed project is designed to prepare students to meet the challenges of college level work. Utilizing faculty and other personnel from across the institution, PROMISE is developing five key components to increase retention and graduation rates: 1) a summer pre-college program; 2) academic support structures in STEM courses; 3) research and peer opportunities with faculty and students; 4) career, job readiness and/or graduate school preparation for STEM majors and; 5) faculty development opportunities that integrate best practices in STEM.<br/><br/>PROMISE is focusing particular attention on three student freshmen and sophomore cohorts: 1) Black,<br/>Hispanic, American Indian and Women who are undecided about their major; 2) undecided and STEM<br/>freshmen and sophomore students and; 3) economically, culturally, socially, and educationally disadvantaged students recruited from nearby Chicago and suburbs.<br/><br/>By recruiting undecided students to major in a STEM discipline and by increasing the first and second<br/>year retention rates by at least 20%, the PROMISE project is producing a yearly increase of around 50 additional U.S. citizens who are completing a STEM bachelor?s degree, and ultimately, is producing a minimum of 250 new STEM majors over the project period. These goals are being met by utilization of strong institutional student support services already in place, and through the projects' strong intervention strategies that include: 1) Increasing first and second-year retention rates of undecided and STEM students through a variety of activities including clustering freshmen in STEM courses, providing supplemental instruction, improving academic advising, organizing peer-led study groups, providing financial aid advising, and improving awareness of STEM careers; 2) Establishing STEM learning communities in academic and residential settings that are increasing graduation rates through a summer math enrichment program, weekend math schools and research opportunities, and faculty workshops focused on improving instructional and cognitive strategies; and 3) Expanding the opportunities for undecided and STEM students to engage in interdisciplinary research with faculty mentors through a research apprenticeship program that is integrating projects that reinforce the content of core STEM courses, build teamwork skills, and utilize the greater experience of upper-level undergraduate peer mentors.
