1. Johns Hopkins University
Unpacking the Student Life Cycle – Strengthening College-Going Pipelines and Promoting Academic Success of Diverse Student Populations During Their First Semesters at a University
Norma L. Day-Vines, Ph.D.
Professor
Johns Hopkins University

2. STEM Degree Conferrals by Race
Whites and Asians
Bachelor’s 77%
Master’s 74%
Doctoral 86%
African Americans
Bachelor’s 8%
Master’s 7%
Doctoral 2%
National Science Foundation, 2009

3. Meyerhoff Scholarship Program (MSP)
The Meyerhoff Scholarship Program is a signature program at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). This program is designed to increase access to and success in STEM for Black students.

4. Salient Program Features
Financial Aid
Recruitment
Summer Bridge Program
Study Groups
Program Values
Program Community
Personal Advising and Counseling
Tutoring
Summer Research Internships
Research experience during the academic year
Faculty involvement
Administrative involvement
Mentoring
Community service
Family involvement

5. Salient Programmatic Features
The program emphasizes the pursuit of a STEM PhD

6. Barriers Faced by Academically Talented Students
Overwhelming course load
Social and cultural isolation
Stereotype thereat (Steele & Aronson, 1997)

7. Factors Important to Minority Student Success
Academic and Social Integration
Create community of shared intellectual interest
Develop a critical mass of talented peers of the same ethnicity
Knowledge and Skill Development
Develop critical abilities necessary for achievement (e.g. social and cultural capital)
Develop content expertise (e.g. study groups, intellectual engagement)
Support and Motivation
Financial, family faculty, and institutional support and internal motivation; Counterbalancing the difficulties related to learning in the sciences requires strong supports including faculty involvement, meaningful research experiences, an academically focused peer group, involvement with university staff; ethnic minority role models (including a mentoring relationship), and tutoring; horizontal and vertical networks (Astin & Astin, 1992; Barlow & Villarejo, 2004; Doolittle, 1997; Fries-Britt, 1998; Grandy, 1998; May & Chubin, 2003; Seymour & Hewitt, 1997)
Monitoring and Advising
Academic and career planning; identification of early warning systems
(Maton & Hrabowski, 2004)

8. Student Perceptions of Key Programmatic Feature of MSP
Financial Support
Summer Bridge Program
Formation of Myerhoff Identity
Belonging to the Meyerhoff Family
Developing Networks that facilitate academic and social development