Foundations for STEM Success: Implementing National Best Practices in a Liberal Arts College Setting

摘要

The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology has indicated that the US Higher Education system needs to produce more graduates in STEM fields to maintain a competitive position in the global economy. Increasing retention in STEM fields has been identified as an efficient approach to achieve these objectives. The Foundation for STEM Success (FS2) program is a model for STEM student success that uses a student-centered approach to academic preparation and learning, and creates an integrated institutional network of supports that increases students' self-efficacy, sense of belonging to their major, and belief in the importance of their contributions to society. These are key factors that affect retention in STEM fields. The FS2 program is funded by the National Science Foundation (Grant # DUE-1217285), focuses on engineering and computer science (CS) majors and is designed to improve retention and graduation rates.