NSF Award
1930478
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. Over its five-year duration, this project will fund seven-semester scholarships to 30 students in the University of Toledo's University College. The Scholars will pursue bachelor's degrees in engineering and engineering technology and related computer science majors. Applicants to the College of Engineering who do not gain direct admission to their desired majors are admitted to the Department of Exploratory Studies within University College, where they receive curricular and co-curricular support in preparation for transfer to the College of Engineering. This project addresses the need to provide Exploratory Studies students with greater access to and success in engineering. Diversification of the STEM workforce is essential for the nation to remain globally competitive. Consequently, increasing the diversity of the local and regional engineering workforce is a long-term goal of this project. Under-represented minority students comprise only about 9% of students who are admitted to the College of Engineering from high school, but comprise nearly 50% of students in the Department of Exploratory Studies. Thus, each cohort of Scholars is expected to be more diverse than the students admitted into the College directly from high school, supporting the effort to broaden participation in engineering at the University of Toledo.<br/><br/>The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. Project activities are designed to create a supportive ecosystem that will promote student belonging, motivation, and success. Activities include community engagement, faculty and peer mentoring, and industry-focused professional development. The project is expected to improve the mathematics preparation and transfer rates of students from Exploratory Studies into engineering. The project will also contribute to the adoption of evidence-based inclusive mentoring and instructional strategies by faculty across the College of Engineering, which have the potential to positively impact all engineering students. The project's research plan focuses on analyzing the effects of proposed curricular and co-curricular supports on Scholars' motivation and sense of belonging, competence in and through pre-engineering, and success in completion of an engineering degree. Results from this research have the potential to increase the equitable recruitment, retention, student success, co-op placement, and graduation of students who aspire to careers in engineering. 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.<br/><br/>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.
