BOARD # 380: Innovative and Meaningful Mentoring to Enhance Retention, Success, and Engagement in STEM, an NSF S-STEM project

Emilie Hein; Rick Hough

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Conference: 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Publication Date: June 22, 2025
Start Date: June 22, 2025
End Date: August 15, 2025
Conference Session: NSF Grantees Poster Session II
Tagged Topics: Diversity and NSF Grantees Poster Session
Page Count: 6
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/55753
Download Count: 1

Paper Authors

biography

Emilie Hein Skyline College

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Emilie Hein is a professor of Physics at Skyline College at Skyline College in San Bruno, California. She completed her undergraduate education in France and received her PhD in Physics from the University of California, Irvine. She is a member of the nEXO collaboration, PI for the IMMERSE in STEM program (NSF S-STEM), as well as co-director of the MESA program at Skyline College.

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biography

Rick Hough Skyline College

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Rick Hough is a professor of Mathematics at Skyline College in San Bruno, CA about 10 miles south of San Francisco.He received his undergraduate degree from UCSB and Master from UC Berkeley.

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Abstract

Innovative and Meaningful Mentoring to Enhance Retention, Success, and Engagement (IMMERSE) in STEM supports the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low- income students with demonstrated financial need at Skyline College, a two-year Hispanic Serving Institution situated in Silicon Valley, a hub of STEM innovation with many high-demand jobs.

Over its 5-year duration, this project will fund 90 scholarships to at least 30 students who are advancing toward an associate degree or transfer to a four-year university to earn a degree in Biology, Biotechnology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or Physics.

IMMERSE in STEM is now in its second year and has supported 25 scholars, including 4 who have transferred to a 4-year university. All students receive up to three years of support. In addition to scholarships, the project incorporates a transformative approach to mentoring, and innovative supports intended to address financial and academic barriers. All participating students engage in a comprehensive set of evidence-based co-curricular services designed to support their persistence, completion, and transfer. Faculty mentors are trained on innovative and effective approaches to student retention and success, such as the implementation of ePortfolios.

The overall goal of this project is to increase the STEM degree completion of low-income, high- achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. There are three specific aims: 1) leverage existing high-impact, evidence-based processes already implemented on campus (such as ePortfolios and undergraduate research opportunities); 2) implement a cohesive multi-layer mentorship program to increase retention, student success, and graduation of scholars; 3) expand industry partnerships in association with workforce development programs to support the scholars’ academic and career opportunities with mentoring and internships.

The high cost of attendance in the San Francisco Bay Area leads to high unmet financial needs, and leads students to seek part-time or full-time employment while they are in college. By combining financial assistance with specific practices, such as multi-tiered mentoring, ePortfolio adoption or participation in co-curricular activities, we have observed the impact on the retention and success rates of underrepresented minorities in STEM.

This work is supported by the NSF S-STEM program under award number 2221696.

Citation
Format

Hein, E., & Hough, R. (2025, June), BOARD # 380: Innovative and Meaningful Mentoring to Enhance Retention, Success, and Engagement in STEM, an NSF S-STEM project Paper presented at 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Montreal, Quebec, Canada . https://peer.asee.org/55753

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Innovative and Meaningful Mentoring to Enhance Retention, Success, and Engagement (IMMERSE) in STEM supports the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low- income students with demonstrated financial need at Skyline College, a two-year Hispanic Serving Institution situated in Silicon Valley, a hub of STEM innovation with many high-demand jobs. 

Over its 5-year duration, this project will fund 90 scholarships to at least 30 students who are advancing toward an associate degree or transfer to a four-year university to earn a degree in Biology, Biotechnology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or Physics. 

IMMERSE in STEM is now in its second year and has supported 25 scholars, including 4 who have transferred to a 4-year university. All students receive up to three years of support. In addition to scholarships, the project incorporates a transformative approach to mentoring, and innovative supports intended to address financial and academic barriers. All participating students engage in a comprehensive set of evidence-based co-curricular services designed to support their persistence, completion, and transfer. Faculty mentors are trained on innovative and effective approaches to student retention and success, such as the implementation of ePortfolios.

The overall goal of this project is to increase the STEM degree completion of low-income, high- achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. There are three specific aims: 1) leverage existing high-impact, evidence-based processes already implemented on campus (such as ePortfolios and undergraduate research opportunities); 2) implement a cohesive multi-layer mentorship program to increase retention, student success, and graduation of scholars; 3) expand industry partnerships in association with workforce development programs to support the scholars’ academic and career opportunities with mentoring and internships. 

The high cost of attendance in the San Francisco Bay Area leads to high unmet financial needs, and leads students to seek part-time or full-time employment while they are in college. By combining financial assistance with specific practices, such as multi-tiered mentoring, ePortfolio adoption or participation in co-curricular activities, we have observed the impact on the retention and success rates of underrepresented minorities in STEM.

This work is supported by the NSF S-STEM program under award number 2221696.

AU  - Emilie Hein
AU  - Rick Hough
CY  - Montreal, Quebec, Canada 
DA  - 2025/06/22
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - BOARD # 380: Innovative and Meaningful Mentoring to Enhance Retention, Success, and Engagement in STEM, an NSF S-STEM project
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/55753
ER  -