Flourishing Within S-STEM: Facilitating Graduation and Transfer Success Among Talented Community College Engineering and Computer Science Students

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 at Community College of Aurora. A total of 58 scholars pursuing associate's degrees in engineering, physics, computer science, and computer technologies will receive scholarships up to $15,000 for up to five years. Scholars will receive faculty and peer mentoring, and the project will build strong scholar cohorts through supplemental instruction and professional development activities. Additional activities for scholars include internships and hands-on workshops. The overall goal of this Track 2 Scholarships in STEM project is to increase STEM degree completion of academically talented, low-income undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. There is a significant national need to grow the STEM workforce and nurture key talent that will ensure economic competitiveness and provide domestic leadership across critical sectors. This project directly speaks to this need by supporting STEM student success, which will strengthen the workforce in computing, cybersecurity, quantum research, and other key areas of need. The project will be assessed by an experienced evaluator that will inform the engagement, capacity, and continuity of scholars who participate in the project, and the data generated will contribute to the knowledge base regarding effective strategies to support talented, low-income students in STEM. This project is funded by NSF's Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of academically talented, low-income 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. 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.