Planning: Planning a Scalable, Evidence-Based STEM Support Model for Low-Income Students at a Rural University

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 the University of Charleston. Over its duration, this Planning Grant project aims to refine recruitment strategies, analyze course completion patterns, and optimize academic and social support. The project will engage stakeholders to inform the design of a future S-STEM proposal. By gaining insights into the current student experience, the project team will be positioned to generate innovative and effective strategies to support prospective S-STEM scholars. The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The specific project aims will support the project team in addressing the barriers to STEM persistence among low-income, rural students. By piloting outreach methods, collecting and analyzing student performance data, and evaluating cocurricular supports, the project will generate new knowledge on scalable recruitment and retention strategies. This planning effort will contribute to scholarship on effective student success interventions in STEM and provide a foundation for future large-scale implementation and dissemination. 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. 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.