NSF Org:	DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education
Recipient:	COKER UNIVERSITY
Initial Amendment Date:	August 4, 2017
Latest Amendment Date:	October 12, 2021
Award Number:	1742366
Award Instrument:	Standard Grant
Program Manager:	Thomas Kim tkim@nsf.gov  (703)292-4458 DUE  Division Of Undergraduate Education EDU  Directorate for STEM Education
Start Date:	January 1, 2018
End Date:	December 31, 2024 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount:	$2,156,977.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date:	$2,156,977.00
Funds Obligated to Date:	FY 2017 = $2,156,977.00
History of Investigator:	Joseph Flaherty (Principal Investigator) jflaherty@coker.edu Tracy Parkinson (Former Co-Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office:	Coker College 300 E COLLEGE AVE HARTSVILLE SC  US  29550-3742 (843)383-8000
Sponsor Congressional District:	07
Primary Place of Performance:	Coker College SC  US  29550-4738
Primary Place of Performance Congressional District:	07
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI):	H9EECRX4W6S5
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s):	S-STEM-Schlr Sci Tech Eng&Math
Primary Program Source:	1300XXXXDB H-1B FUND, EDU, NSF
Program Reference Code(s):	9150, 9178, SMET
Program Element Code(s):	153600
Award Agency Code:	4900
Fund Agency Code:	4900
Assistance Listing Number(s):	47.076

ABSTRACT

Coker College, College of Saint Elizabeth, Ferrum College, Keuka College, Mercy College, and Thomas University will partner with the Yes We Must Coalition to implement a carefully planned and assessed series of activities with the intention of increasing the persistence of a large and diverse cohort of low-income students majoring in Biology across these six institutions. This NSF Scholarship in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (S-STEM) Track 3 project will contribute new information to the knowledge base regarding factors that affect retention and STEM degree attainment of low-income students. By creating cross-institutional partnerships between Biology students, faculty, project coordinators and external scientists, it will create a stronger network of support and scientific identity for the STEM scholars. This collaborative project will help increase the recruitment, persistence and graduation rate of STEM scholars and increase matriculation into a STEM-related graduate program or field of employment.

This S-STEM project builds on activities and best practices developed by each of the six collaborating institutions while implementing and assessing new activities including: (1) CATALYST, a "Jumpstart"-inspired program with a particular focus on helping students develop a sense of community and belonging; (2) an integrated first-year experience including a STEM-based first-year seminar, advising, and peer-assisted study sessions for gateway science classes; (3) intrusive advising and a faculty/peer mentors program where each student will be matched with a dedicated STEM faculty member and peer STEM mentor; (4) continuing hands-on research or project-based learning under faculty mentorship; (5) seminar series by scientists during which students will meet working professionals in STEM fields; (6) graduate school and career preparation through an intensive series of workshops and cohort activities to educate students about STEM career and graduate school opportunities; and (7) an annual institute that will bring the cohort of students and teams from the six collaborating institutions together organized by the Yes We Must Coalition. This last component will feature research conducted by the STEM Scholars, in addition to workshops designed to increase student success. The impact of all these activities on enrollment, retention, graduation, and post-graduate placement rates at the participating institutions will be examined. Formative and summative project evaluation and assessment will employ mixed methods including collection of student data, surveys, interviews, and focus groups. By addressing the project's central research question, what factors contribute to success of low-income students in Biology, new information will be added to the research literature specific to low-income students. The study will control for mediating effects of race, ethnicity and first-generation status by comparing the cohort of STEM scholars to current non-Pell eligible STEM students, in addition to historical data across the institutions participating in the collaborative research project. An additional feature of this project is that it will provide a scalable model of a geographically far-flung, multi-institutional S-STEM collaborative project.

Please report errors in award information by writing to: awardsearch@nsf.gov.