Under-represented minorities remain less likely to achieve a degree in STEM given initial interest. Four factors are often considered to be especially important for minority student success in STEM: academic and social integration, knowledge and skill development, support and motivation, and monitoring and advising. Interventions often focus on aspects of only one of these, with perhaps the most historically widespread remedial programs to increase knowledge and skill development. However, it is clear that the latter is insufficient alone as it emphasizes deficits of students rather than inadequacies of the institution. In this talk, I describe more holistic programs that incorporate an integrated set of components focusing on all four factors.
Results/Conclusions
One of the oldest and most successful of these programs is the Meyerhoff Scholars Program at University of Maryland Baltimore County, started in 1988 and now the top-baccalaureate-origin producer of African-American STEM PhD recipients in the U.S. Key program components include financial aid, a summer bridge program that emphasizes a family-like community, strong focus on academic achievement and mutual responsibility, advising that also addresses personal problems, study groups, and research experiences. The M-STEM Academies at the University of Michigan was started in 2008 and was modeled after Meyerhoff. While use of learning analytics models show participation in M-STEM results in significant increases in retention and GPAs in STEM, it has not been as dramatically successful as Meyerhoff. I focus on the challenges and lessons learned in applying this model to a larger, more research-focused institution.