2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

To enhance the United States’ competitiveness in STEM fields, the University of Arkansas created the NSF-funded program, Closing American’s Innovation Gap through Collaboration with Industry (INNOV), to equip low-income students with innovative skills and improve their retention and success in STEM disciplines. The program combines academic innovation opportunities, scholarships, and retention programming, targeting Pell Grant recipients with high potential. INNOV aims to cultivate a cohort of STEM graduates through a curriculum that integrates innovation methodologies and practical industry experience.

INNOV consists of several key components. Curricular components include a credit-bearing bridge program conducted prior to their first fall semester, and a year-long sequence of innovation courses featuring industry-partnered projects, and innovation-themed field trips. The non-curricular aspect includes a residential living-learning community, peer and professional mentoring, faculty guidance, and team-building exercises, all designed to foster student success. Scholarships provide up to eight semesters of financial support, reducing economic barriers for participants.

The program accepted 28 students. Currently, the first cohort are seniors, and the second cohort are juniors. Scholars enter the program with a high school GPA of 3.50 or higher and ACT composite scores between 23 and 27 (SAT 1130-1300). INNOV has achieved an 89% retention rate across two cohorts, a significant success in supporting this population in their STEM pursuits.

Insights into the program’s impact on participants’ innovation training and satisfaction with the program are gained from the end of academic year anonymous response surveys. Separate analyses from the junior and sophomore year surveys are provided in the paper. Pooling the INNOV sophomore and junior survey data from May 2024, of the 20 respondents (11 sophomore, 9 junior), 90% reported feeling more comfortable expressing their ideas, and 95% felt more confident taking risks. Furthermore, 90% indicated that the innovation courses were valuable for their future educational and career goals, while 75% credited the program with enhancing their creativity and innovative thinking.

Surveys also highlighted the importance of INNOV's non-academic support. Of respondents, 85% felt that the Path program, which provides mentoring and peer support, was essential in promoting their sense of belonging, and 95% felt it helped them be more academically engaged. They emphasized that Path was integral to their motivation, with 85% affirming that it helped them continue in their chosen STEM degree program. Additionally, the program’s cohort-building activities and faculty-student interaction were crucial in maintaining students’ academic focus and commitment. These findings demonstrate the program’s success in creating a supportive and inclusive environment that fosters both academic and personal growth.

In conclusion, INNOV has effectively combined innovation education with comprehensive support mechanisms to prepare low-income students for success in STEM fields. By fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, industry engagement early in their academic careers, and a strong academic support system, INNOV has made a significant impact on retention, academic performance, and future aspirations. These results provide a roadmap for future initiatives aimed at improving retention in STEM disciplines, particularly among students from low-income backgrounds.

Acknowledgment

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science under Grant No. 2030297. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.