The STEM Center: Creating a Model for Success in Community College STEM Education

摘要

In 2012, President Obama called for 1 million new STEM graduates within the next decade. This call to action was met with a myriad of local and federal educational initiatives, STEM-specific grant funding, and an emergence of STEM programming at every level of our education system. This new momentum also focuses on the under-representation of minorities and women pursuing STEM. As a federally-designated Hispanic-serving community college, our goal of fostering more STEM-educated students is embedded within a complex web of obstacles and challenges. In response to these challenges, The STEM Center at Canada College identified four key obstacles faced by a majority of our community college students interested in STEM: 1) exponential attrition - the longer the course sequence the less likely students are to persist, 2) lack of social and academic integration, 3) lack of awareness of academic options, and 4) low self-efficacy - students do not believe that they can succeed in STEM. In an effort to address these obstacles and integrate all STEM student support services within STEM academic study, we created the STEM Center. Leveraging multiple grants and a variety of STEM programs and services with a unified vision, the STEM Center now provides a one-stop destination for everything from study groups, tutoring, and club meetings to bridge programs (like the award-winning Math Jam), a STEM Speaker Series, STEM specific academic counseling, STEM career exploration programs for high school students, internship and scholarship opportunities, and STEM faculty professional development. While success of the STEM Center's individual programs is specifically linked to program objectives and outcomes, gauging success of the STEM Center as a whole is done through a broad-based examination of four primary indicators: increased enrollment in STEM courses; reduced time to complete STEM course sequences; increased student engagement, retention, and persistence; and an increase in the number of STEM majors. This paper will outline STEM Center development, highlight the programs and services that are offered, examine success indicators, and discuss obstacles that have been addressed throughout this process.