Implementation Project: Improving Majors Participation and Completion Through STEM at Dillard University (IMPACTS@DU III)

Implementation Projects in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities - Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) provide support to design, implement, study, and assess comprehensive institutional efforts to increase the numbers of students receiving undergraduate degrees in STEM and building STEM education research capacity.​ This implementation project at Dillard University aims to Improve Majors Participation and Completion Through STEM at Dillard University (IMPACTS@DU III), by introducing innovative strategies, including micro-credentialing, faculty-student research collaborations, and industry partnerships, to prepare students for the workforce. The project is grounded in evidence-based practices, specifically leveraging student research experiences to bolster engagement and retention in STEM. The project is guided and informed by an ongoing evaluation, as well as by internal and external advisory committees. The goals of the project are to 1) increase the retention of STEM majors from sophomore to senior years, (2) redesign upper-level STEM curricula to integrate Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs), and (3) enhance research and workforce development infrastructure. By leveraging data-driven decision-making and industry collaborations, the successful completion of this project has the potential to advance knowledge and understanding in STEM education in the areas of degree attainment, to include student retention and persistence, enhance career readiness, and establish a scalable model for supporting 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.