The Science Technology and Math Preparation Scholarships (STAMPS) program at the University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG) had three primary goals. The first was to identify and recruit academically talented and financially needy students, including women and those from minority and first-generation backgrounds, interested and able to complete degrees in an NSF-designated STEM discipline (see illustration 1). The second goal was to support those students through cohort building activities, providing financial support, participation in undergraduate research activities, peer and faculty mentoring, and field trips and colloquia speakers across the sciences designed to retain and then graduate STAMPS Scholars into STEM careers, graduate school, or professional school (see illustration 2). The third goal was to provide greater understanding as to what works, and why, for this population of students by investigating the impact of the provided support activities on the STAMPS participants sense of belonging, self-efficacy, and science identity to help universities identify activities that they can undertake to increase the likelihood that well-qualified students interested in STEM persist in and graduate as STEM majors.

Each fall a new cohort of students was recruited into the STAMPS program. There were four cohorts totaling seventy-four students. Thirty of those students graduated in their STEM majors. Eighteen more from the most recent cohorts are on track to graduate in their STEM disciplines within four years.  The 65% graduation/retention rate of STAMPS scholars in a STEM major exceeded the University?s overall four-year graduation rate of 46%. One third (twenty-six students) of those who started in STAMPS did not complete the program, twelve changed their majors to a non-NSF designated STEM discipline so they were no longer eligible to continue in STAMPS, two transferred to another university, and twelve left UNCG for financial or personal reasons or due to poor academic performance. (It should be noted that the last two and half years of this program occurred during the Covid pandemic.)

Upon entering, STAMPS program students were assigned both faculty and peer mentors. They completed a course together focusing on the nature of science, ethics, available support resources, and the development of skills needed to succeed in the sciences. Students were provided the opportunity to participate in field trips and other social events designed to build strong cohort connections. Trips included visits to Washington, DC, Stone Mountain (NC), and UNCG?s Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering.

STAMPS students completed online self-assessments at the beginning of fall and the end of spring academic semesters where they rated their perceived ?self-efficacy,? ?sense of belonging? and ?science identity.? Additionally, they completed end-of-the semester surveys gauging their satisfaction and quality of the program components.  Researchers conducted semi-structured focus groups to explore STAMPS participants? experiences, reactions, and opinions. STAMPS students participated in a focus group at the end of each semester while a STAMPS student at UNCG.  Finally, 2 students participated in a photovoice research project for 4 years. The data gathered showed significant gains in perceived self-efficacy, sense of identity, and sense of belonging. Increases in these attributes have been shown to improve students? persistence in obtaining their undergraduate degrees and successfully continuing on their chosen career pathways.

STAMPS students reported that the program was profoundly beneficial to their experience at UNCG.  They noted that having a like-minded cohort of peers to interact with was extremely important in helping them stay in school, particularly during the pandemic. A unifying theme in the summative evaluation was that STAMPS mattered. Participating in STAMPS opened doors and provided valuable linkages to undergraduate research opportunities and mentors and provided the financial support to allow them to continue at UNCG. Of the seventy-four students who entered the program, twenty-seven became involved in undergraduate research experiences, many of whom received additional support through STAMPS? funding. Sixteen of these students demonstrated their ability to research complex issues and to effectively communicate science by presenting the results of their research at academic conferences or through publication in academic journals.

Participation in the STAMPS program positively impacted student-scholars? self-efficacy, science identity, and sense of belonging through meaningful exposure to scientific research, development of mentee-mentor relationships, increasing knowledge of the interconnectedness of STEM fields and financial support. The program provided the guidance and resources to help those students stay in school, refine their career choices, engage in research, and to move on to the next stage in their career pathway. By the end of the program, the majority of STAMPS students had continued in higher education programs or had started their STEM careers. Much of what we learned concerning mentoring, cohort building, and how to involve students in undergraduate research is now firmly embedded in the culture of the university.   We also have a paper accepted to the Journal of College Science Teaching and have presented findings at more than half a dozen conferences and meetings. 

Last Modified: 07/26/2022
Modified by: Jeffrey C Patton