ABSTRACT

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at Chandler-Gilbert Community College. Chandler-Gilbert Community College, a Hispanic Serving Institution is in the Southeast valley of Phoenix, Arizona where fast-growing high-tech manufacturing industries reside. Over its 6 year duration, this project will fund scholarships to at least 48 unique students who are pursuing Engineering, Engineering Technician, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning degrees. The project has the potential to contribute to the national needs for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by increasing the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students. The project team plans to educate a new generation of engineers and artificial intelligence specialists while collecting student success data. The project has the potential to benefit society by developing highly qualified personnel in the community to a growing high-tech workforce while promoting more racial, ethnic, and gender diversity to the engineering and artificial intelligence industries.

The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The project is to make accessible specialized educational opportunities in Engineering, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Maricopa County. The project has three components: 1) providing 192 scholarships to at least 48 students; 2) maintaining the eligibility of the recipients by providing academic support; 3) organizing and facilitating extracurricular events, industry partnerships, and professional development. The project will be measured through three indicators: 1) participants will complete their degrees at a higher rate than non-participants; 2) participants will have a higher sense of belonging to the scientific community than their peers; 3) the monthly individual development plan completed by the scholars and their mentors will lead to course completion and scholarship eligibility through up to four semesters. The project team plans to evaluate the project using data collection, surveys, and statistical analysis. The results of the project will be shared with the STEM education community through annual reports, presentations at regional and national conferences, as well as publications. This project is funded by NSF?s Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in STEM fields. It also aims to improve the education of future STEM workers, and to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income students.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

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