2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Board 403: The NSF S-STEM Program at a Rural, Hispanic Serving Institution

Presented at NSF Grantees Poster Session

The NSF S-STEM program at XYZ University, a minority serving institution provided academic, social, professional, and financial support to academically gifted students from the engineering, computer science, and mathematics disciplines. This project created a pathway for a) underprivileged students from rural areas, b) minority pupils, mainly of Hispanic descent, and c) college students who are first-generation to successfully enter the STEM workforce. There was a total of 49 students served through this S-STEM scholarship program in a five-year span. The overall retention to graduation rate was 71% (41/58). Of the 71 % retained or graduated, 56% were female (23) and 42% (17) were Hispanic/Latino.

Through this scholarship program, students combined into a single cohort received academic support through Peer Led Team Learning (PLTL) study groups, tutoring and mentoring activities. Professional and social activities organized for the S-STEM scholars in an on-campus and online format included technical talks given by subject knowledge experts, project leadership seminars, teambuilding skills workshop, industrial visits, and community service activities. This paper will discuss the overall outcomes of the project including the project design, recruitment and retention strategies used, and the student experiences obtained through the focus groups.  The academic success stories of the scholars which predominantly comprised of underrepresented minorities, low-income individuals, and first-generation college students entering a STEM workforce will also be discussed in this paper. A comparative analysis detailing the overall success of the students involved in the S-STEM scholarship program as compared to students who were not a part of this program will also be discussed in this paper to assess the effectiveness of the approaches adopted.

Authors

Dr. Anitha Sarah Subburaj West Texas A&M University [biography]

Dr. Anitha Subburaj is an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at West Texas A&M University (WT). She has been named the inaugural appointee to the McFather Professorship of Engineering, Computer Science and Mathematics at WT, 2022. Dr. Subburaj received her M.E. in Applied Electronics from the Anna University in 2007, India and her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at the Texas Tech University (TTU) in 2014. She was a post-doctoral research associate at TTU before coming to WT. Dr. Subburaj is a Senior Member of the IEEE society. She teaches electrical circuits design, signals, control systems, renewables, and electric power systems. Dr. Subburaj has several publications in Renewable & Sustainable Energy Review Journal, IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, and International Journal of Renewable Energy Research. Her research interests include Educational research methods, Broadening Participation in Engineering, renewable energy, control systems, battery energy storage system, and battery connected to grid applications.
Dr. Vinitha Hannah Subburaj West Texas A&M University [biography]

Dr. Subburaj joined the School of Engineering, Math, and Computer Science at West Texas A&M University (WTAMU) in 2017. She received a M.S. in Computer Science from Texas Tech University in 2010, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Texas Tech University
Dr. Pamela Renee Lockwood-Cooke West Texas A&M University
Dr. Emily M. Hunt P.E. http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8608-9760 West Texas A&M University
Dr. Audrey Meador West Texas A&M University [biography]

Dr. Audrey Meador is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics in the College of Engineering at West Texas A&M University. She was previously a K-12 mathematics educator for seven years before moving into higher education, where she currently teaches pre- and in-service mathematics education courses. Her scholarly contributions include 10 articles, and four book chapters in the areas of the instructional routine of Number Talks, preservice teacher education, and the recruitment and retention of undergraduate students in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. She is current Co-PI on two funded National Science Foundation grants in the Division of Undergraduate Education.

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