Enhancement of the College Experience for STEM Students Towson University CoSMiC Scholarship Program

NSF CoSMiC Scholarships  Martha Siegel, Mathematics (PI)  Gail Gasparich, Associate Dean of the Fisher College & Biological Sciences  Gabriele Meiselwitz, Computer and Information Sciences S-STEM is a program of the National Science Foundation

NSF S-STEM Program  Need-based scholarships based on FAFSA  STEM discipline majors (Mathematics, Computing Sciences, MB3)  Open to US Citizens or Permanent Residents  Maximum stipend - $5,000/year for undergraduates

CoSMiC Scholars Program  Computing, Sciences, and Mathematics in College  Towson University  Fisher College of Science and Mathematics  Third grant; this funded through 2015  Open to select freshmen, transfer students and native students  Majors: Computer Science, Computer Information Technology, MB3 (Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Bioinformatics) & Mathematics

Features of the Program  Advising and monitoring Grades must be maintained – B average required Group advising sessions Interdisciplinary Course Designated tutors Networking among the Scholars Sponsored field trips and guest lectures Yearly evaluations by outside evaluator

Features of the Program  Group Activities Related to the Profession Panel discussion featuring alumni from the STEM disciplines One campus-wide lecture each year by an outside speaker Field trips to NASA, Cryptology Museum, and so on Baltimore Symphony performance with Hubble Space Telescope Director narrator.

Features of the Program  Group Activities (continued) Dinners and pizza parties Activities with campus Science Clubs and Mathematics Clubs Contact with Advisory Board members Complementary Membership in Professional Organizations

Features of the Program  Intervention Program Planning Student Conferences Tutoring Services Financial Planning Individual Career Advice Graduate School Advising

What We Learned  Community counts for our students  Freshmen applicants have to be treated differently  Students who transfer good grades do well  Many benefit from peer advising  Students appreciate the interdisciplinary nature of sciences

What We Learned  Transfer students get special attention  Schedules make group activities difficult, but students who attend love them  Our required course gets super-high ratings  Graduation rates are excellent  Career and Graduate School Orientation is required

Our New S-STEM Grant  CoSMiC Scholars  Need-based scholarships for undergraduates  $600,000  Majors: Mathematics, Computer Science, Computer Information Technology, MB3 – Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, and Bioinformatics

Our New S-STEM Grant  Undergraduates: up to $5000/year  Required course work in our Interdisciplinary Course – Exploring Careers and the Profession  More advising on summer research opportunities and internships

Our New S-STEM Grant ADDITIONAL GOALS  A CoSMiC Office and Student Resource Center  Cooperative Effort on Recruitment and Advising with other Scholarship Programs in STEM  Early Identification of Eligible Students

Transfer Students and CoSMiC  Towson recruits at high school and community colleges  Close relationship with some schools Articulation agreements in some of the sciences, computer science, and mathematics We link to S-STEM grants at community colleges

Transfer Students and CoSMiC  “Bridges to the Baccalaureate” Program with Baltimore City and Baltimore County  TOPS Program with Baltimore City  CCBC (Baltimore County) linkage  Students can be funded for up to four years

Evaluation of CoSMiC  Overall the participants rated their academic experience in the CoSMiC Scholars program very highly. 92% rated the program as very good or excellent. The most common rating was excellent. The 93% response rate was very good. Almost every student is reported to be doing well in their major. Many have gone on for advanced degrees.

Evaluation of CoSMiC  The program participants were asked to list the major benefit (other than financial support) of the program to them. Faculty/staff and interaction with other CoSMIC Scholars were the most commonly reported benefits (benefits frequently mentioned in previous surveys).

Evaluation of CoSMiC  Commonly reported strengths of the program were mentors, access to help, events and meetings, other students and trips.  The most commonly reported weaknesses of the program were scheduling conflicts and communication.

Conclusions  Bringing students and faculty of similar interests together on a formal basis, but outside of the classroom, provides a warm and welcoming atmosphere for native and transfer students.  Students, faculty, and especially dedicated staff provide mentorship and direction.

Conclusions  S-STEM students from the community colleges are able to continue their education in specified majors seamlessly and without financial burden.  In the CoSMiC program, students will have to enroll in the one-credit IDNM course, which we have described as advising, study skills, lectures, career education, and professional development.

Contacts Directors:  Dr. Martha Siegel  Dr. Gail Gasparich  Dr. Gaby Meiselwitz  Assistant: Natasha Walker