Abstract:

Research studies have indicated that a large percentage of high school graduates in the United States are arriving at college ill-prepared, and as a result being assigned to some form of remedial instruction. Hence, sustained focus on improving the quality of undergraduate education, especially science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), has become a challenging goal. However, there are compelling reasons for our nation to face up to the challenge of improved educational quality, at the college level. Colleges and universities have proved to be highly varied in their capacity to meet effectively the needs of underprepared students as more students aspired to postsecondary education. Real educational success for the much larger numbers and greater diversity of students now pursuing higher education requires careful attention to undergraduate educational quality and the student experience. Increasing the number of low-income and minority students with a college education will both expand the economy and reduce economic inequality. In simple economic terms, the earnings potential gained by college graduates over those with less education remains high compared with the past generation.

In the paper, a two-phase project – The Vikings Enhancement STEM Innovation and Collaboration (VESTEMic) Model – funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) will be presented. The NSF-funded project provided Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) to design, implement, study, and assess comprehensive institutional efforts to increase the number of students receiving undergraduate degrees STEM and enhance the quality of their preparation by strengthening STEM education and research. The current project (Phase 2: 2018-2023) at ECSU builds upon the previous successful phase (Phase 1: 2013-2018) to improve retention and academic quality of STEM majors, specifically in chemistry, computer science, mathematics, and physics.

The goals of this project are:
(i) increase retention and persistence rates for STEM students,
(ii) develop a comprehensive professional development plan to continue improving STEM instructional practices, and
(iii) increase the number and quality of students entering STEM graduate programs and workforce.

The VESTMic project addresses the retention and persistence of STEM majors through early contact, beginning in the last semester of high school and continuing throughout the sophomore year. The theoretical framework of the VESTEMic model consists of three tenets: mentoring, research, and education/training. The project activities included, the STEM Boot Camp, Self-Regulated Learning, Sophomore Bridge Program, STEM Faculty Journal Club, Course Redesign, Faculty Development, Pedagogical Lab, and STEM Innovation Research Lab.

Promoting excellence and enhancing undergraduate experience for STEM majors is necessary to ensure that we have the STEM-literate workforce required to solve the societal and technological challenges of the twenty-first century and beyond. The theoretical framework, detailed implementation strategies, project components and activities, key learning, and outcome results will be discussed in the final paper.

Keywords:

STEM Education, Pedagogy, Broadening Participation, Mentoring, Undergraduate Experiences.