July 2010, Daytona State College was awarded a five-year STEM Talent Expansion Program (STEP) Grant from the National Science Foundation in the amount of $864,639 to support the STEM Community Scholars Program. A one-year no-cost extension was approved and the program ended on June 30, 2016.

The program was designed to increase the number and diversity of students entering STEM disciplines by addressing barriers to retention, persistence, and completion in STEM fields. The program created an intensive learning community for students in STEM associate programs by integrating a series of best practices: high expectations, continual and intrusive academic advising, strong social ties through academic opportunities, extracurricular activities, financial assistance, transfer assistance.

The program has recruited and served STEM AA and AS degree-seeking students, and enrollment, graduation, transfer figures reflect both populations of students.

Objective 1: Increase enrollment in STEM associate programs by 50 students (4%) annually.

Outcome 1: The average increase in enrollment in STEM associate programs annually was 19% over the six-year period.

Objective 2: Impact graduation rates in the program and across the college.

a) Support at least a 70% graduation rate among participants.

b) Increase the number of students obtaining STEM degrees by 20% annually beginning year two.

Outcome 2:

a) Resulted in a 63% graduation rate amongst participants.

b) There were no increases of students obtaining STEM degrees annually between years 2-5; however, in year 6 there was an increase in enrollment of 16%.

Objective 3: Assist 80% of participants in applying to a STEM-field baccalaureate program.

Outcome 3: Assisted 58% of participants in applying to a STEM-field baccalaureate program.

Objective 4: Institutionalize five strategies by the conclusion of the program.

Outcome 4:  Five strategies were identified by the program team and Internal Advisory Committee to become institutionalized post-funding. They include:

• One-on-one STEM mentoring;
• STEM-focused Student Success Course (SLS1122) sections;
• Computer science courses for dual-enrollment students at a local high school engineering academy;
• Organizing internship and externship opportunities for STEM students through the Career Center;
• The continuation of the STEM Expo annually.

Objective 5: Conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the strategies implemented in this program and produce a thorough summative evaluation report.

Outcome 5:  Semi-annual and annual evaluation reports were completed in Years 1-6 and submitted to the National Science Foundation.

359 students were served by the program since inception, 246 students met the participation requirements and were stipend-eligible between spring 2011-spring 2016. Scholars earned 194 degrees/certificates while enrolled at Daytona State College, and 90 students continued their studies at the baccalaureate level.

Lessons Learned from Program Stakeholders

Proposal development

• Know the culture of the college when determining the robustness of a proposed program.

• Account for the resources – existing and proposed – necessary to implement the program as designed.

• A guarantee of release time for the P.I. should be written into the proposal narrative.

Budgeting and reporting

• Ensure that all aspects of post-award grant management are understood and communicated to the responsible parties.

• The tasks associated with performance monitoring and financial tracking need to be revisited at least quarterly.

• The procedures for data collection must be standardized and followed by program personnel for the duration of the performance period.

• Enlist the help of a representative from the Office of Institutional Research early on to determine the best way to query and manage student- and program-level data.

• Use mid-year evaluation reports to make a case for changes to program structure and management.

Personnel

• Include all key players throughout the performance period as the program shifts from implementation to institutionalization.

• Hire high-caliber employees who are invested in the program’s success.

• Communicate when a challenge arises and seek help in determining a solution without delay.

Implementation

• Have a plan, use specific strategies tied to objectives.

• Survey student preferences before rolling out the activity and event calendar.

• Learning communities are essential for student success; consider unique approaches to create a cohort-like feel among STEM students who may not otherwise feel connected to the institution/ their peers.

• Schedule “smartly” to allow opportunities for the students to assemble in the same place and time as a cohort.

      • Begin to address sustainability by the program’s mid-point, allowing for some of the more successful components to become institutionalized before the program’s conclusion.

Collaboration

• Assemble a well-connected group of industry partners from the non-profit and for-profit sectors that can provide guidance on STEM internship and career opportunities (this may or may not take the form of an External Advisory Committee).

• Draw on existing institutional knowledge via an informed Internal Advisory Committee.

• Internal controls are essential -- know the departmental hierarchy.

• Create a master list of resources that mentors can use to direct mentees to the appropriate point-of-contact both within and outside the institution.

Last Modified: 09/16/2016
Modified by: Lakisha Holmes