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Graduation Academy - Transitioning STEM Students to Graduation and Graduate School

Faculty #29
Discipline: Computer Sciences and Information Management
Subcategory: STEM Science and Mathematics Education

Larry Mattix - Norfolk State University
Co-Author(s): Valencia Ingram and Patrice Smith, Norfolk State University, Norfolk, VA



Despite gains in freshmen retention (now 77 percent) at Norfolk State University (NSU) and the number of STEM Graduates (57% increase, from 2001 to 2012), the increase in the six-year STEM graduation rate has been very modest and still hovers around 30 percent. The positive news for NSU is that the students who complete our STEM programs are very successful. They are frequently recognized through their presentations at national research competitions and post NSU students are earning graduate and professional degrees from some of the nation’s premier institutions of higher education. In the past, we have focused on freshmen to sophomore retention with our previous NSF (STARS/STARS-Plus) grant. We have assumed the traditional model with the first year called freshmen, the second called sophomore, third called junior and fourth called senior. When the first STARS program started in 2001, the STEM freshman cohort retention rate was 68%. However, only 19% of the STEM freshmen cohort was categorized as sophomores by the second fall. Therefore, the College of Science, Engineering and Technology at NSU has established a new project, entitled: ‘Graduation Academy: Transitioning STEM Students to Graduation and Graduate School.’ This new project focuses on the development of STEM majors at the sophomore, junior, and senior levels, building upon the great success of other STEM programs at NSU. The new project features the following: (1) A Graduation Academy (which focuses on moving the students toward graduation and then on to graduate school); (2) A new concept of a Sophomore Summer Bridge Program; (3) Departmental Junior Prep and Grad Societies for enhanced advising and mentoring of students at the sophomore, junior, and senior levels; (4) Transition weeks to lead juniors and seniors toward completion; (5) An existing Community College component (T-CUP) that focuses on juniors who transfer to NSU; (6) Scholarships and undergraduate research support; and (7) Faculty development to foster improvements in student performance in junior and senior courses. The new project encourages and support the participation of students from underrepresented groups in scientific meetings and activities of professional societies. A cascading mentoring component between undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty provides the interactions and community to help ensure successful outcomes.

Long Term Goals:
• To increase the matriculation rate of students from sophomore to junior by the third fall
• To increase in the number of students maintaining eligibility for Federal Financial Aid
• To increase the success-rate of students beyond the freshmen year
• To improve the freshmen STEM retention rate to 85% and the six-year graduation rate to 50%
• To increase the number of transfer students completing STEM degrees
• To increase in the diversity of the workforce in STEM fields

Project Objectives:
• To develop a STEM Graduation Academy to support sophomore, junior, and senior STEM majors toward graduation
• To improve faculty teaching and student learning in STEM, particularly for sophomore and junior
• To enhance the STARS Mentoring Center to support sophomore, junior, and senior STEM majors
• To build-upon the T-CUP model (supported by NSF) in Engineering and provide the same support to students transferring in as juniors
• To use a cascading mentoring model to enhance the success and maturity of both undergraduates and graduate students.

Funder Acknowledgement(s): National Science Foundation

Faculty Advisor: None Listed,

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This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant No. DUE-1930047. Any opinions, findings, interpretations, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of its authors and do not represent the views of the AAAS Board of Directors, the Council of AAAS, AAAS’ membership or the National Science Foundation.

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