An Approach to Improving Student Success in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM ) Career Pathways

Abstract

In this article, we report on an 11-year study that explores approaches to improve student success in college by a five-week summer program in Mathematics and Lan­guage Arts for entering freshmen. To recruit students into the program, we invited stu­dents accepted at the university and listed as underrepresented and economically disadvantaged (Pell-eligible) by the Office of Institutional Research at California State University, Northridge. The program con­sisted of all-day Math and English enhance­ment in mixed ability groups. Results of this program examining Math and English performance at California State University, Northridge showed that students com­pleting the summer programs during the 11-year study period had improved pass rates in Math and English at California State University, Northridge compared with students in a control group who did not participate in the summer program. The results show that intensive pre-college enhancement for entering freshmen can improve student success in college. Student graduation data from the early cohorts (2010, 2011, 2012) were obtained from Institutional Research. The summary results showed that students from the accepted/ attending group had substantially increased GPAs and graduation rates, essentially clos­ing the achievement gap. Increased interest in biomedical research careers was also de­veloped by the program, as demonstrated by a five-fold number of summer enrich­ment participants entering the PhD, MARC (Minority Access to Research Careers) and RISE (Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement) programs than students who did not attend summer enrichment. Ethn Dis.2020;30(1):33-40; doi:10.18865/ed.30.1.33

Interventions to boost enrollment in nursing doctor of philosophy (PhD) programs

“…Most studies outlined strategies for boosting PhD enrollments or enrollment intentions in underrepresented minority (URM) populations, typically defined as ethnic or racial groups which have historically received fewer PhDs. However, other authors also included rural (Oppenheimer et al, 2020;Salerno et al, 2017), socioeconomically disadvantaged (Salerno et al), or firstgeneration students (Coronado et al, 2012), as well as individuals who are disabled (Salerno et al) in their definition of URM.…”

“…Detailed setting and sample characteristics can be seen in Tables 1 and 2. Interestingly, California and the Midwest appear to be the sites of much research surrounding PhD student enrollment strategies in the last 10 years (Davis, 2010;DeAngelo, 2010;Oppenheimer et al, 2020;Pasick, Kagawa-Singer, Stewart, Pradhan, & Kidd, 2012;Phelps-Ward & DeAngelo, 2016;Posselt et al, 2017;Salto et al, 2014;Sens et al, 2017;Slovacek et al, 2012). Five studies examined students from multiple universities across the US (Aikens et al, 2016;Eagan et al, 2013;Griffin & Muñiz, 2011;Remich et al, 2016;Schultz et al, 2011), and those remaining looked at single universities in other sites (Coronado et al, 2012;Junge et al, 2010;Pender, Marcotte, Domingo, M., & Maton, 2010;Salerno et al, 2017).…”

Socioeducational gaps derived from the impact of digitization in Spain 2020

“…Inés M. González Vidal & Adriana Gewerc Barujel. Página 5 de 24 process that integrates STEM content with interdisciplinary methods (Oppenheimer, Mills, Zakeri, Payte, Lidgi & Zavala, 2020;Zapata-Ros and Lévy, 2018). Within this framework, the impact of digitization in universities can be mitigated with an adequate symbiosis between the University and the STEM approach in teaching, allowing to update the scientific, mathematical and technological skills of students, with a view to improving digital skills required in the current labor market (Simó, Couso and Rodríguez, 2020).…”

“…In this sense, there is a need to promote better ICT learning programs that raise the level of ICT skills; thus, helping Spanish graduates to access an international job market and at the same time making our programs attractive to foreign university students (Roig-Vila, & Moreno-Isac, 2020;Serra & Roca-Piera, 2011). In short, new institutional policies are required that consider integration modalities, a new vision of the teaching and learning process that integrates STEM content with interdisciplinary methods (CEOE, 2017;Oppenheimer, Mills, Zakeri, Payte, Lidgi & Zavala, 2020;Zapata -Ros and Lévy, 2018).…”

Training the Next Generation of Health Equity Researchers: Exploring STEM Pathways and Best Practices

“…Intensive pre-college program for entering freshmen improved student success in college: increased GPAs and graduation rates (Oppenheimer et al). 15 Summer programming prepares entering college students for STEM rigor to overcome the achievement gap (White et al). 16 Program has 77% success rate in promoting a career in biomedical research among participating students, with 100% of minority participants entering a graduate program and/or career focused on health equity (Smalley and Warren…”