The Rural and Diverse Student Scholars (RADSS) Program at George Mason University aimed to recruit, enroll, and retain talented diverse students from rural Virginia with majors in the College of Science. George Mason University, Virginia's largest public research university, is located approximately 20 miles west of the urban center of Washington, DC. The RADSS program aimed to directly support participants in undergraduate research experiences and provide an ecosystem of support for the progress toward an undergraduate degree (Figure 1). The program leaders also sought to develop and assess an effective recruitment process and evaluate the student population itself to understand the programmatic and socioecological variables which contributed to their persistence in STEM. 

Over the 7 years of the RADSS program, there were 25 participants: 88% were from rural Virginia, 40% identified as an underrepresented minority in STEM, and 76% identified as a woman. These participants formed two cohorts, the first was designated "Hydrogen", matriculated in September 2017, and the second, named "Helium", began in fall semester of 2018. The 5-year graduation rate for Hydrogen (80%) was better than the average for Mason (72%); the Helium graduation rate (33%) was significantly lower because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which began during this cohort's second year. The Helium cohort also experienced more academic suspensions (20% vs. 10% for Hydrogen), saw more students change their major out of STEM (33% vs. 0% for Hydrogen) and had more participants elect to leave Mason before graduating (33% vs. 20% for Hydrogen). Time to graduation was also different for the two cohorts; Hydrogen averaged 3.88 years and Helium averaged 4.30 years, which is more consistent with the average for Mason (4.36 years).

Recruiting from rural areas was challenging; personal and direct email contact proved most effective at recruiting students to this program. We also observed themes of family involvement, finances, and perceived opportunity as relevant to this population's decision to enroll. More findings regarding recruitment of this population are described in a publication by the PIs (Jones, R. M., & Cleaver, R. (2020). Recruiting and Enrolling Rural Students: A Model for Increasing Diversity in STEM. Innovative Higher Education, 45(3). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-020-09499-6).

Over the life of the program, we organized regular cohort meetings with topics including academic success, careers in STEM, undergraduate research, resume and interviewing skills, graduate school pathways and statements of purpose, graduate fellowships and funding opportunities, and how to be an effective online student. In 2018, we organized a common read of the book "Teach Yourself How to Learn" by Saundra McGuire and Stephanie McGuire. Participants also had the opportunity to attend professional conferences and work as Learning Assistants or peer mentors for summer STEM Bridge Experience.  

Ten participants had successful undergraduate research experiences during their time in the program; 2 were at other universities, 4 were with Mason faculty, and 4 enrolled in a College of Science Course Based Undergraduate Research Experience. Three participants presented their research in public settings. The pandemic was particularly impactful on this specific aim; many from Hydrogen were planning on or had already applied for research opportunities during summer 2020, which were all cancelled. Beyond advising students and identifying potential faculty mentors, we did not provide curated research experiences and we observed it was difficult for many to secure mentored experiences. We recommend better integrating the research opportunities into the program rather than relying on the students to find open positions. 

This program included a co-PI from the Office of Admissions, who directly supported the recruitment efforts related to the grant. The external project evaluator also served as a research collaborator; they assisted with the 6 revisions to the Institutional Review Board application, developed protocol with PI to study scholarship recipients, conducted on site focus groups in April 2019 and interviews in 2021 and 2022, and regularly mentored student research assistants in data processing. 

In our qualitative longitudinal assessment of the program, results shows the importance of community and mentoring in supporting student persistence and success (Figure 2). The participants identified experiences such as a summer bridge camp and group trips as extremely valuable. Mentoring from and relationships with program leaders were identified as key components of the holistic program design. Many participants described being rural as part of their identity and maintained significant relationships with home and family, even after matriculation. Additional findings will be available in an article entitled "Pursuing retention and success of rural and diverse STEM students: A qualitative investigation of a program ecosystem and undergraduate participants" by Rebecca M. Jones and Mary E. Emenike. The outcomes from this study may be useful to similar S-STEM program leaders who seek to appreciate the rural identity of their students and design programmatic supports for persistence and graduation.

Last Modified: 12/14/2023
Modified by: Rebecca M Jones