Angela S. Kelling, Ph.D. - US grants

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at the University of Houston Clear Lake, a Hispanic-serving Institution. Specifically, the project will provide 46 students with two-year scholarships and specialized support services. The Scholars will pursue BS and/or MS degrees in computer engineering, computer information systems, or computer science. Scholars will progress through the program in six cohorts, four cohorts of ten undergraduate students each year beginning in the first year of the project, and two cohorts of three graduate students in the third and fourth year of the project. The project stands out because of its attention to encouraging undergraduate students to pursue advanced computing degrees and in supporting both undergraduate and graduate students.

The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduate and graduate students with demonstrated financial need. In particular, the project intends to address the workforce needs of STEM-dependent industries including software development, engineering, aerospace, petrochemical processing, and biomedical industries. The project research plan is designed to provide evidence to answer three research questions: (1) What impact does membership in a Scholar cohort have on student success? (2) How does inclusion of (and scholarship support for) graduate students influence the success of undergraduate cohort members? and (3) How does financial support increase and broaden participation in STEM degrees and careers? The project will offer Scholars a range of targeted support activities through collaboration with university offices, including Academic Affairs, Enrollment Management, University Advancement, Student Affairs, Strategic Partnerships, and the Department of Computing Sciences' Industrial Advisory Board. Dissemination activities will be designed to reach audiences from the local to the national level. Local dissemination will occur through faculty development days that include university and community college faculty. The project team will present project outcomes at regional and national meetings, and publish results in journals such as the Journal of Research in Science Teaching. This project is funded by NSF?s Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in STEM fields. It also aims to improve the education of future STEM workers, and to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income students.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.