S-STEM Grant

S-STEM


Cohorts Concentrating on Completing and Competing in the STEM Technical Workforce (C4) in Urban Polynesia

Sponsored by the National Science Foundation


Program Overview

The primary goal of this project, Cohorts Concentrating on Completing and Competing in the STEM Technical Workforce (C4) in Urban Polynesia, is to develop financial and programmatic supports for talented, low income Native Hawaiian and other underrepresented students to complete the College’s 2-year Associate in Science in Natural Sciences (ASNS) degree, successfully transfer and persist in their junior and senior years, complete UH M&#257noa STEM baccalaureate degrees, and be better prepared to compete in the STEM technical workforce. Financial supports include a total of 110 C4 S-STEM scholarships that will be awarded to annual cohorts of Kapi'olani sophomores, transferring juniors, and completing seniors. Annual average scholarship funds are $122,400 (61.2% of total grant funds). The Project Principal (PI) and Co-Principal Investigators (Co-PI) will work closely with a Scholarship Selection Committee and Financial Aid Specialists at Kapi'olani and the University of Hawai'i at M&#257noa to provide C4 scholarships at the two campuses. Kapi'olani Academic Advisors and Job and Career Placement Specialists will support students in entering STEM baccalaureate majors and the technical workforce. A Cohort Support Specialist (.50 FTE), working with the project PI and Co-PI will develop cohort support activities such as peer mentoring, community service and research opportunities, STEM-related internships, conferences and meetings, Hawaiian cultural enrichment, and monthly STEM enrichment gatherings with STEM business and industry representatives. Annual University of Hawai'i at M&#257noa cohorts will mentor Kapi'olani cohorts to assist with their transition to the research university. Annual cohorts will provide their best writing products and STEM faculty from Kapi'olani and the University of Hawai'i at M&#257noa will participate in summer institutes to assess and improve students’ abilities to write-to-learn science. Kapi'olani institutional researchers and an external, third party, researcher will develop comprehensive tracking databases and research designs to evaluate the impact C4 program strategies.


Intellectual Merit

The C4 project will build an evidenced based model that provides a strong STEM experience to community college students, particularly low income, Native Hawaiian and underrepresented students, that enables them to succeed at high levels in a four year degree program and/or in the technical workforce. This two-year-four-year transfer process is an essential component in systematically: increasing the participation of talented, low income, Under-Represented Minority students in STEM majors and careers; creating the large workforce multiplier effect America will need to advance its economy to compete in the evolving global system and deliver on its promise of opportunity and upward mobility for all. The model will evaluate, assess, and conduct research on the contributions and impact of the following strategies to STEM student degree completion and entry into the technical workforce:
    1. STEM associate degree concentrations and transfer pathways;
    2. C4 scholarships and cohort supports;
    3. writing-to-learn-science curriculum and teaching practices;
    4. experiential learning through service-learning, Undergraduate Research Experience (URE), and internships; and
    5. academic advising and job and career placement services.


Broader Impact

Since the establishment of the (ASNS) at Kapi'olani in 2008, this innovative degree has been developed at all six other University of Hawai'i community colleges. With NSF support, the College also led the development of transfer pathways from 4 University of Hawai'i community colleges to the University of Hawai'i M&#257noa College of Engineering. Adoption and adaptation of the Kapi'olani’s ASNS model across the UH System has increased access to STEM career pathways in biology, physical sciences, mathematics, computer sciences, and engineering to financially needy academically talented students, particularly Native Hawaiians. C4 products, materials, strategies and results will be shared with:
    • public housing partners in Palolo Valley, Hawaii K-12 public schools, community colleges and universities;
    • TCUP institutions and other minority serving 2-4 year colleges and universities;
    • NSF EPSCoR and SENCER, National Council for Science and Environment, Campus Compact, NERCHE, AACU, and Teagle Foundation; and
    • SACNAS, NCUR, and Emerging Researchers Network. C4 products, materials, strategies and results will also be disseminated through the College?s comprehensive STEM and Office for Institutional Effectiveness websites.


Objectives

The 4 objectives of the C4 efforts are:
    • Increase student demand for C4 awards:
        • (i)Increase student enrollment and demand in the C4 scholarship by 50 students, persisting through their junior year by 30 students, completing baccalaureate STEM degrees by 30 students, and entering the STEM technical workforce or graduate studies by 25 students. (ii) Market the C4 scholarship as a 3-year scholarship providing a financial pathway from ASNS degree concentrations to STEM baccalaureate degrees and entry into STEM technical workforce.
    • Communicate more effectively that the ASNS degree is an important goal on the path to a STEM baccalaureate degree and entry into the STEM technical workforce:
    • Form C4 awardees into cohorts at Kapi’olani and the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and build mentoring relationships between Kapi’olani students completing the ASNS degree, Kapi’olani ASNS students as juniors, and Kapi’olani ASNS students as seniors in STEM at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa through new activity
    • Use C4 scholars writing as a means to make student thinking and learning visible and assessable from their sophomore to their junior and senior years in STEM degree programs.


Accomplishments

After five years of grant implementation, Financial supports included a total of 226 C4 S-STEM scholarships (205% completion). By the end of year 5, 64 S-STEM students have been supported, which exceeds the original expectation (128% completion). Out of the 64 participants,
  • 31 (103% completion) have completed their two-year associate degree and graduated with a four-year baccalaureate STEM degree
  • 15 (68%) out of the 31 have joined the workforce (7 students are in a non-STEM workforce or unknown status), 5 are still in graduate school (master’s or PhD program), and 1 graduated with a master’s degree.
By the end of the grant period,
    • 1 scholar is still pursuing his/her ASNS two-year degree,
    • 24 have transferred to a four-year university as a STEM major and are still on track to graduation,
    • 1 has transferred to a four-year university as a NON-STEM major,
    • 25 graduated with a four-year degree in STEM and joined the workforce,
    • 5 have transferred, graduated with a four-year degree in STEM and are still in graduate school,
    • 1 has transferred, graduated with a four-year and a master’s degree in STEM,
    • and 7 either dropped out of College, or stopped qualifying for S-STEM due to low GPA or change to non-STEM Majors at some point in the past 5 years.
A summary of the Bachelor’s degrees obtained by S-STEM participants are listed below
    • 8 degrees awarded in Mechanical Engineering
    • 6 degrees awarded in Electrical Engineering
    • 3 degrees awarded in Global Environmental Science
    • 2 degrees awarded in Molecular Biosciences and Biotechnology, in Biology, in Chemistry, and in Computer Sciences
    • 1 degree awarded in Physics, Civil Engineering, Biochemistry, Botany, Medical Technology, and Natural Resources and Environmental Management.
 
Disciplines
Number of Bachelor’s degree graduates
Mechanical Engineering
8
Electrical Engineering
6
Global Environmental Science
3
Molecular Biosciences and Biotechnology
2
Biology
2
Chemistry
2
Computer Sciences
2
Physics
1
Civil Engineering
1
Biochemistry
1
Botany
1
Medical Technology
1
Natural Resources and Environmental Management
1
 


Assessment

Several indicators have been investigated to assess the efficacy of the S-STEM program

  • To evaluate the efficacy of the S-STEM program in transferring S-STEM students from Kapi’olani to a four-year institution in STEM, a transfer comparison was done between S-STEM students, and the other students in ASNS who were not supported by the program. A risk factor of 4.06 (significantly greater than 1.0) demonstrates that the program has been successful in graduating and transferring students supported by S-STEM compared to ASNS students who were not supported by the program. The risk ratio of 4.06 indicates that the treatment had a considerably positive effect on the total number of students who graduated and transferred to a the University of Hawai’i 4 year institution when compared to ASNS students who were not supported by the S-STEM program.
  • To evaluate the efficacy of the S-STEM program in supporting S-STEM students through their academic journey, three course success comparisons were done:
    • 1) 93% of the S-STEM students obtained a number grades C or higher during the last two semesters at Kapi’olani compared to 72% of the other students in ASNS who were not supported by the program, leading to a risk factor of 1.30.
    • 2) 48% of the S-STEM students obtained a number grades C or higher after transferring to a four-year institution in STEM at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa compared to 41% of the other students in ASNS who were not supported by the program, leading to a risk factor of 1.19.
    • 3) 50% of the S-STEM students obtained a number grades B or higher after transferring to a four-year institution in STEM at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa compared to 93% of the other students in ASNS who were not supported by the program, leading to a risk factor of 1.26.