| NSF Org: |
DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education |
| Recipient: |
|
| Initial Amendment Date: | August 31, 2016 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | September 4, 2019 |
| Award Number: | 1564656 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Connie Della-Piana
DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education EDU Directorate for STEM Education |
| Start Date: | September 1, 2016 |
| End Date: | August 31, 2022 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $980,002.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $1,121,789.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2018 = $141,787.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
|
| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
4333 BROOKLYN AVE NE SEATTLE WA US 98195-1016 (206)543-4043 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
|
| Primary Place of Performance: |
4333 Brooklyn Ave. NE Seattle WA US 98195-0001 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
|
| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
|
| Parent UEI: |
|
| NSF Program(s): | S-STEM-Schlr Sci Tech Eng&Math |
| Primary Program Source: |
|
| Program Reference Code(s): |
|
| Program Element Code(s): |
|
| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.076 |
ABSTRACT
Low-income students are underrepresented in engineering and more likely to struggle in engineering programs. Research has found that increasing first and second-year retention enhances the ability of academically talented low-income students to successfully graduate with engineering degrees. In this collaborative research project six institutions will replicate, improve, and test a model of student success originally developed at the University of Colorado, Boulder. The model is designed to increase the retention, success, and graduation of low-income (Pell-eligible) academically talented students from underserved populations. The project will make scholarship awards to 800 students across a consortium of the six partner institutions. To support the students, the project will adapt and implement an ecosystem of high quality evidence-based curricular and co-curricular activities. Members of the consortium are: the University of Colorado, Boulder; the University of Washington; Washington State University; Boise State University; the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; and the University of California, San Diego.
The Redshirt in Engineering Consortium is committed to propagating the "Redshirt" model, which focuses primarily on the first-year of college and consists of intrusive academic advising, an innovative first-year academic curriculum, community building, and career awareness. The term "redshirt" refers to the idea of providing an extra year of preparation for the rigors of engineering curricula. A quantitative and qualitative mixed methods research study will examine the implementation of the model under different conditions and with different student populations. A comparative longitudinal study will examine differences in expected student outcomes between scholarship recipients and similar students who are pursuing engineering degrees. The primary analytic approach for the ethnographic research will be the Constant Comparative Analysis, which will involve concurrent engagement in data collection and data analysis.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
Note:
When clicking on a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) number, you will be taken to an external
site maintained by the publisher. Some full text articles may not yet be available without a
charge during the embargo (administrative interval).
Some links on this page may take you to non-federal websites. Their policies may differ from
this site.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
The Washington STate Academic RedShirt (STARS) program began at the University of Washington (UW) and Washington State University in 2013 to address challenges that students from low-income backgrounds face in obtaining admission to engineering and computer science majors. STARS is based on the successful GoldShirt program at the University of Colorado, Boulder. UW STARS is an intensive wraparound support program that annually serves approximately 30 students, who come from high schools in Washington where at least 30 percent of students are eligible for free-or-reduced-price lunch. Effectively, it is a “redshirt year” in the NCAA sense: STARS students spend five years at UW, using the first year (and now two years) to develop the learning skills to succeed in engineering or computer science.
This collaborative NSF S-STEM grant was awarded in 2016 to establish the Redshirt in Engineering Consortium consisting of CU-Boulder, UW, Washington State University, and three new Redshirt institutions: Boise State University, the University of California, San Diego, and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. The Consortium partners met regularly over the lifetime of the grants to assist the three new universities in starting their programs; share best practices; answer questions; and exchange ideas and curricula. The Redshirt model has evolved to center on four key pillars that were implemented at all six universities:
- Intrusive advising
- Mastery of STEM basics
- Professional and personal skills development
- Community building.
Over the six years of the S-STEM grant at UW, 138 STARS students received scholarships with an average amount per student was $4058. Some students received scholarships in more than one year. The six-year graduation rate from UW of the first four cohorts of STARS students was 90.6%; this compares favorably with the overall six-year UW graduation rate of 83%. Over the first nine STARS cohorts, 43% of STARS students are women; 83% are Pell-eligible; 47% are underrepresented minorities; and 69% are first-generation college students.
The STARS staff made many adaptations during the pandemic and STARS students were successful even during online learning.
The STARS program’s internal evaluation team from the Center for Evaluation & Research for STEM Equity (CERSE) has found that survey data across the Redshirt Consortium show that, compared with non-Redshirt students, Redshirt students:
- are more attached to the field of engineering or computer science;
- are more confident in their math and science abilities;
- are more confident in their time management, networking, and interviewing skills;
- are more familiar with campus resources; and
- are buffered from the usual decline in self-confidence of engineering first-year students.
Along with a second grant that STARS received in 2016 from the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship, this S-STEM grant helped UW demonstrate the success and impact of the STARS program. A major success is that in 2019 the Washington State Legislature awarded $500K/year in permanent funding to sustain the STARS program program at UW.
Last Modified: 12/11/2022
Modified by: Eve A Riskin
Please report errors in award information by writing to: awardsearch@nsf.gov.
