2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Beyond Scholarships: A Comparative Analysis of Institutional Approaches to Student Retention and Academic Achievement

Presented at Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND) Technical Session 16

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program supports low-income, high-achieving STEM students through scholarships and tailored support services. This paper compares the implementation and impact of three different S-STEM projects across three diverse institutions—Rowan University, Albany State University, and Tennessee University, highlighting their distinct approaches and outcomes for diverse student populations.
At Rowan University (RU), a public R2 university in the northeastern United States, the 5-year S-STEM project — ¬Engineering Persistence: Support System for Low-Income Students to Catalyze Diversity and Success — targets undergraduate engineering students, offering scholarships and a robust support system that includes Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) leadership training. These efforts foster academic success and retention among underrepresented students. Evaluation findings showed a pre-to-post increase (3.1 to 3.7/4.0) in scholars’ intent to complete undergraduate engineering degrees but highlighted the need to improve peer engagement in DEI discussions, as evidenced by a decline (3.2 to 2.9/4.0) in DEI engagement.
At Albany State University (ASU), a public Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in the southeastern United States, the 6-year S-STEM project — It Takes a Village: Communities Leveraged to Advance Scholars’ Success (CLASS) — served undergraduate biology, chemistry, and forensic science majors. Student services included peer mentoring, career development, and a science communication learning community. The project emphasized community engagement through first-year courses and faculty and alumni mentoring. Evaluation findings indicated that self-reported survey data showed that 75% of the initial program participants stayed with the program the second year. Additionally, scholars demonstrated a strong commitment to completing undergraduate and graduate STEM degrees, with likelihood ratings ranging from 3.0 to 3.5/4.0.
At Tennessee State University (TSU), a public R2 land-grant HBCU in the southern United States, the 5-year S-STEM project — Scholars to Attract and Retain Students (STARS) in Graduate Engineering and Computer Science — supported graduate engineering and computer science students through financial assistance, mentorship, and professional development. A key project goal was to establish a graduate student association to sustain the student community post-funding. As of Fall 2022, retention for Cohort 3 (Fall 2021 entrants) reached 83%. Graduation rates by the fourth year were 100% for Cohort 1 (Fall 2019 entrants) and 86% for Cohort 2 (Fall 2020 entrants). These outcomes are comparable to the institutionally reported fall-to-fall retention rate of 86% for master’s students, excluding those who had already completed the program. Despite recruitment challenges, pandemic impacts, and post-grant sustainability concerns, the project successfully cultivated a supportive community, enhancing student success.
Using a quasi-experimental evaluation design, the paper evaluated retention, academic performance, and post-graduation outcomes. The findings indicated that tailored services, such as mentoring, early intervention, and professional development, enhanced the persistence and success of underrepresented and low-income STEM students. The findings underscored the importance of inclusive, evidence-based strategies in fostering a diverse STEM workforce and highlighted the need for institutional structures to sustain project benefits beyond the funding period.
This paper focuses on the diversity of S-STEM project implementation and outcomes, emphasizing how tailored support services contributed to the long-term success of underrepresented and low-income students in STEM fields and advocating for strategies to promote inclusivity and sustainability.

Authors

Ms. Mary J Combs Quality Measures, LLC [biography]

Mary J. Combs has over 20 years of experience in higher education and healthcare working with faculty as an instructional designer to create student-focused curricula using assessment data and program evaluation. She also has experience working with community-based organizations advancing health equity through data-driven strategies and providing performance feedback to improve clinical education. Combs excels in qualitative and quantitative analysis, project management, and delivering impactful training programs. She holds a Master’s degree in Occupational and Technical Studies. As a Senior Evaluator at Quality Measures, LLC, Combs is committed to fostering continuous improvement and ensuring that programs achieve their intended outcomes. Her expertise in stakeholder engagement and communication ensures that evaluation findings are disseminated and utilized for maximum impact.
Dr. Codjo AC Akpovo Quality Measures, LLC [biography]

Dr. Codjo AC Akpovo is a physicist with expertise in laser-produced plasmas, utilizing fast and ultra-fast high-power laser beams. From 2006 to 2024, he conducted and coordinated research activities for numerous scientific grants at Florida A&M University (FAMU). While coordinating research and program services for the NSF HBCU-UP Science Community for Active Learners to Enhance Achievement and Retention (SCALAR II) STEM research education grant at FAMU from 2019 to 2021, Dr. Akpovo continued conducting scientific research part-time. His experience with this grant sparked a strong interest in program evaluation, which led to an opportunity to step into the field as an independent contractor with Quality Measures LLC (QM) from 2019 to 2024. In 2024, Dr. Akpovo joined the Quality Measures, LLC team as a Program and Project Evaluator.
Dr. Gwen Lee-Thomas http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9063-2770 Quality Measures LLC [biography]

Dr. Gwen Lee-Thomas is the founder and CEO of Quality Measures, LLC—a Virginia-based consulting firm specializing in program and project evaluation and training in evaluation capacity building. She has been an external consultant for nearly 30 years serving businesses, government organizations, community-based organizations, and colleges and universities across the nation. In addition, Gwen has worked in executive leadership capacities as state board chair of the Indiana Minority Health Coalition (IMHC), Executive Assistant to two college/university presidents (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (RHIT) and Old Dominion University (ODU)), and commissioner on the Indiana Commission for Higher Education (ICHE). As the Director of Assessment at RHIT, she has worked with faculty in developing and creating rubrics for student learning outcomes (SLOs) as well as consulting with other universities on the creation and alignment of SLOs for regional accreditation. She has worked collaboratively with her board members, senior administrators, and legislative caucuses in navigating state budget cuts, developing a revenue-generating subsidiary, designing, and implementing an affiliation/de-affiliation agreement with local coalitions, and developing their 5-Year strategic plan. As the Executive Assistant to the President of RHIT, Gwen worked closely with the president in the restructuring of the organization’s administrative team—including retirements, reassignments, and promotions, provided the logistical work for the 5-Year strategic plan with the College’s 52-member board of directors, and supported the College in reducing their budget by 6% across all functional areas.
In addition to these experiences, Gwen has conducted over 130 grant-funded education and research-based evaluations, collectively throughout the United States. Gwen received her bachelor’s degree from Southeastern Louisiana University in 1984, a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction in 1996, and a PhD in Education Administration in 1999, both from Indiana State University.

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

« View session

For those interested in:

1st Generation
2 Year Institution
computer science
engineering
undergraduate