Interim Awardee Outcomes after Four Years of a STEM Scholarship Program

This paper describes the results of a four-year follow-up of need-based scholarship awardees at a community college as they made progress toward their goal of associate's degrees and/or bachelor's degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. From 2014 through 2018, through National Science Foundation funding, need-based scholarships were offered for full-time STEM students with a minimum grade point average, and U.S. citizenship, or status as permanent resident alien or refugee alien. Spatial skills testing and practice, faculty mentoring, and a monthly luncheon workshop series with information on career and transfer were used to increase associate's and bachelor's degree attainment or transfer in STEM fields. Outcomes of these efforts are described, including spatial skills attainment and practice, and time elapsed from initial enrollment in the community college to subsequent bachelor's degree attainment. Outcomes by gender, race/ethnicity, and initial mathematics placement of awardees are also provided.