NSF Award
2303986
The University-Led Action on Student and Systemic Inequities in STEM Transfer (UL-ASSIST) project is funded by NSF’s Eddie Bernice Johnson Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (INCLUDES) Initiative as a Design and Development Launch Pilot (DDLP). The INCLUDES Initiative seeks to motivate and accelerate collaborative infrastructure building to advance and sustain systemic change to broaden participation in STEM at scale. DDLPs explore new strategies and models for collaborative approaches to broadening participation in STEM. The goal of UL-ASSIST is to increase access to STEM graduate school and employment pathways for community college students who transfer to four-year institutions. More than half of U.S. students begin their college careers in America’s community colleges, and there is strong intersectionality between community college and underserved and minoritized populations. Multiple studies indicate that transfer students who successfully complete STEM baccalaureate degrees lag in the attainment of their post-baccalaureate academic and professional goals. Investment in career readiness for STEM transfer students is a key strategy to aid in the development of STEM professional identity, and to address national participation and workforce challenges. UL-ASSIST’s pilot framework serves as a strong foundation for testing and expansion of promising practices that can be leveraged, replicated, and scaled regionally and nationally. UL-ASSIST provides a holistic approach to increasing participation among community college transfer students in STEM and advancing pathways to graduate study, STEM-sector employment, and career equity.<br/><br/>UL-ASSIST’s transfer-focused intervention model is grounded in nearly two decades of research, including high impact practices and development of STEM professional identity. The UL-ASSIST initiative addresses structural obstacles in the two-to-four year college transition by 1) increasing access to, and completion of multiple STEM undergraduate research experiences through a three-part bridge to research model that includes course-based research and mentored research by university faculty trained in transfer-informed multi-mentorship approaches, 2) mitigating gaps in STEM career knowledge by community college students and advisors through targeted professional development to community college STEM faculty and student services professionals that will enhance the quality of early career advising provided to community college students, and 3) supporting STEM professional identity-building and sector-specific career readiness of community college transfer students, which will increase access to post-baccalaureate outcomes such as graduate study and STEM-sector employment. The UL-ASSIST pilot tests six targeted interventions. Three are student-focused and three address higher education systems. Needs-assessment and intervention frameworks, results, and lessons learned are amplified through a UL-ASSIST Symposium to engage and inform project stakeholders and regional and national institutions. Additionally, UL-ASSIST regularly engages with the INCLUDES National Network to share formative, summative, and post-initiative learnings and outcomes.<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.
