2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

NSF S-STEM: Advancing STEM Undergraduate Success and Persistence through Scholarship, Mentorship, and Increased Sense of Belonging

Presented at NSF Grantees Poster Session I

This paper examines the impact of a National Science Foundation Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (NSF S-STEM) Program at a large, Minority-Serving institution in the western U.S. Despite growing efforts to diversify STEM fields, underrepresented minority (URM) students continue to face significant challenges in persistence and success. This scholarship program addresses these challenges by providing financial support, faculty and peer mentorship, and skills development opportunities to academically talented and low-income URM STEM students. This study evaluates how participation in the program enhances key noncognitive skills, such as students' sense of belonging, leadership and collaboration skills, and science identity, which are critical to STEM persistence. Using both survey and university-based data among the 47 participating scholars, results reveal that program participants report strong levels of sense of belonging, high efficacy in leadership and collaboration skills, and strong science/math identities. Additionally, compared to university rates, scholarship students showed above-average retention and graduation rates, with the majority pursuing graduate studies or careers in STEM. These findings highlight the importance of comprehensive support programs that integrate financial aid, mentorship, and professional development to promote persistence and success among URM students in STEM fields.

Authors

Dr. Jen-Mei Chang California State University, Long Beach [biography]

Jen-Mei Chang is a Professor of Mathematics at California State University, Long Beach. She is also co-author of the book, The Power of Mathematics Workbook with Notes. She has been involved as a PI or Co-PI of three NSF S-STEM projects, DUE-0966039, DUE-1833753, and DUE-2322416.
Dr. Jelena Trajkovic California State University Long Beach [biography]

Jelena Trajkovic received her Ph.D. (2009) and MS (2003) in Information and Computer Science from the University of California, Irvine, and a Dipl. Ing. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Belgrade, Serbia (2000). She was a ReSMiQ Postdoctoral Scholar at Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal (2010-2012), an Assistant Professor (2012-2018), and an Affiliate Assistant Professor appointment (2018-2020) in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Concordia University in Montreal. She joined California State University Long Beach (CSULB) in 2018, where she is now an Associate Professor at the Computer Engineering and Computer Science Department at the College of Engineering. Her research
interests are network-on-chip, silicon photonics, multicore systems, parallel applications, and avionics systems. At CSULB she expanded her research interests to computing and engineering education and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Fonds de recherche du Québec, National Science Foundation, and the Center for Inclusive Computing have funded Dr Trajkovic’s work. Her work was recognized by three Best Paper Awards and the Teaching Excellence Award at Concordia University, Montreal.
Dr. Gino Galvez California State University, Long Beach [biography]

Dr. Gino Galvez is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at California State University Long Beach. He has played key roles as an investigator or lead evaluator on several grant-funded projects. Broadly, his research has focused on interventions that broaden participation in STEM, underrepresented student success, undergraduate research training, and the development of science identity.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025

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