Developing an Ecosystem of STEM Success for Built Environment Majors

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 New York City College of Technology (City Tech), an urban, public Hispanic-serving institution. Over its six-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to about 60 unique full-time students who are pursuing an associate or baccalaureate degree in one of the Built-Environment majors.

The Built-Environment majors included in the project are Civil Engineering Technology, Construction Engineering Technology, Electrical Engineering Technology, Mechanical Engineering Technology, and Environmental Control Technology. Associate degree students will receive up to two-years of scholarship support and baccalaureate degree students will receive up to four-years of scholarship support.

The project will leverage existing student and academic supports to develop an ecosystem of success. It will implement evidence-based effective practices and assess the impact of these practices, degree attainment and entry into the U.S. workforce or graduate programs in STEM. The project will develop a cohort of faculty and students in the built-environment majors, provide students with opportunities for internships and undergraduate research, and provide professional development for faculty and students.

The project will increase the number of low-income STEM students achieving social and economic mobility through the pursuit and achievement of degrees in the Built-Environment. The project will produce a better understanding of the key factors that contribute to the successful transition of low-income academically talented students from their baccalaureate degree attainment to either graduate degree STEM programs or to STEM careers.

The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The project will add to the vitality and the viability of New York City by increasing opportunities for the overall economic mobility of the students while promoting a diverse workforce. Project objectives are 1) To select, retain, and graduate a total of 60 S-STEM Scholars in the Built Environment majors; 2) To increase the one-year retention rates of participating Scholars 3) To produce more graduates in the Built Environment majors; 4) To increase the enrollment and retention of female students in the Built Environment Majors; 5) To promote S-STEM Scholars’ academic success through cohort development, faculty mentoring, and engaging Scholars in activities such as workshops, field trips, research, workforce internships, and networking sessions; and 6) To identify strategies successful in promoting academic success of low-income students.

While there is a large body of literature on first-generation college and low-income students’ experiences in college, their academic support experiences are not well-researched. The project will advance understanding related to diversity and inclusion in STEM academic support by performing two distinct studies to determine the impact on low-income students and female student in the built environment majors.

The project will be evaluated using a social science research approach to collecting both formative and summative quantitative and qualitative data. Results of this project will be disseminated at multiple levels: local, regional, and national including, but not limited to publications in open access journals and participation in conferences. This project is funded by the 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.