Work in Progress: Increasing Interest in STEM and Improving Retention for At-Risk Students - A Two-Year Study

For the past two summers, California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB) has conducted a summer research program for at-risk students as part of its NSF IUSE grant activities. The program is intended to introduce students to real-world applications of STEM majors and encourage them to persist in their degree programs. Students are identified as at-risk primarily from their mathematical placement at the remedial and pre-calculus levels. While these students may be either freshmen or sophomores by university units, they are considered first year students from the perspective of their STEM majors since they are not calculus-ready. The goal of the program is to increase retention and improve persistence, particularly with respects to completing the mathematics sequence appropriate for their STEM major. Program participants completed pre-surveys and post-surveys to determine the effect of the program on their attitudes towards STEM. Additionally, retention in the STEM major, progress in the mathematics sequence, and overall academic progress has been tracked for program participants. The survey results for both years show this program has had a positive impact on participants’ attitudes towards STEM majors, STEM careers, and STEM research. The one-year retention rate of the first cohort is much higher than the baseline STEM retention rate at the start of the IUSE grant. The first cohort is also making satisfactory progress on completion of the calculus sequence for their STEM majors and their academic progress mirrors that of the overall CSUB population.