Intellectual Merit: 

SXU proposed to evaluate the program's success by assessing both persistence to degree and the institutional climate for inclusivity. This work focused on "average" students (those receiving a C in first-year biology/chemistry coursework) in order to connect these students to high-impact educational experiences, measure their persistence to a STEM degree, and track their post-graduation education and occupation plans.   

To improve inclusivity and sense of belonging, the STEM studio was created.  The STEM studio symbolized the institution’s commitment to STEM and served as a hub for STEM students to gather, socialize, and study.  It also served as a central location for peer-to-peer learning, tutoring, and mentoring.  A peer mentor leading study groups led to other students helping their peers, creating a chain of learning facilitated by the STEM Studio, extending the benefits of mentoring to more students. 

This work also aimed to provide high-impact educational experiences for students, especially those who may not normally have the access or opportunity to participate. The majority of our students are commuter students and live at home.  Due to busy work schedules, students are often unable to participate in high-impact experiences on campus.  The following high-impact experiences were offered over the course of the grant, at no cost to the students and many with stipends: Research fellowships during the summer and academic year in which students were paired with an SXU faculty or local industrial partner as a mentor (100 students total); Field Experience trip to Yellowstone National Park in collaboration with Yellowstone Forever (74 students total, some of which had never traveled without family or been on an airplane); Natural History of the Vertebrates Field Experience to Missouri (17 students total); GRE preparation class and financial support for the test (32 students); STEM Careers course (52 students total).  

For the STEM careers course, students visited local industrial companies to learn about potential job and career opportunities.  Self-reported data demonstrated that before the class, students knew little about STEM careers available to them, the application process and specific jobs and internships, but were much more knowledgeable after the class.  Students were able to effectively communicate their future career goals, plan the rest of their academic career, write a tailored cover letter, construct a resume, conduct themselves professionally in a formal mock interview, and utilize SXU’s Career Services for further support.  

Institutional Research was able to correlate participation in the grant with persistence and retention. For example, in 2019, students who participated in the grant in at least one activity had higher re-enrollment rates than students who did not participate.  In 2020, Students who participated in the grant were more likely to persist to the following year, replicating the 2019 trends. Among chemistry majors, 100% of participants were registered for fall 2020 compared with 83.3% of non-participants. Similarly, 94.1% of Biology majors who participated in the grant were registered for fall 2020 compared with 89.8% of non-participants.  These trends continued in 2021 and 2022: students who participated in grant activities – either in person or virtual – were more likely to continue into the next academic year. These trends were replicated when examining only the Latin-X students.  In 2023, preliminary data shows similar trends. Retention of STEM students in their first year increased from 85.2% in 2021 to 89.1% in 2022, a significant increase compared to their non-STEM counterparts who had a retention rate of 86.7% for the fall 2022 semester. 

Broader Impacts: 

The original hypothesis was that that retention/persistence will improve as well as validation of belonging among undergraduates who participate in the STEM studio, which will lead to an increase in Hispanics in STEM related occupations and/or graduate work in a STEM field. The STEM Studio hosted programs aimed at helping students cultivate their identities as scientists from the beginning, integrating preparation for graduate school and career mentoring into its academic support services. In 2022, over 65% of visits were accounted for by first year students showing an increase in awareness of grant activities and resources from the onset of the school year. Additionally, during the final year of the grant, Latin-X students accounted for over 60% of STEM studio visits (compared to overall SXU 2024 demographic profile of 51.7% Latin-X).  The increased usage of the STEM studio by first-year students demonstrated that we are making progress to help students identify as scientists early in their academic careers.  The strong participation of Latin-X students in the STEM studio and activities demonstrates that we have helped this group of students prepare for scientific careers.  Since the STEM studio has been institutionalized, it will continue to serve at least 100 students each year.  Although most data on graduate school and careers right after college is still preliminary, many students who participated in the grant have started graduate programs or jobs in STEM.