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Increasing Student Access, Retention, and Graduation Through an Integrated STEM Pathways Support Initiative for the Rio South Texas Region – Year One Activities and Results

Abstract

This paper discusses in general the first year activities and results of an integrated STEM pathways support initiative for the Rio South Texas Region that was described last year. This initiative is a collaboration between The University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA) and South Texas College (STC), both Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), to facilitate student engagement and success in STEM areas. With a recently funded College Cost Reduction and Access Act (CCRAA) grant from the Department of Education, both institutions are developing and supporting strategies that will facilitate the success of Hispanics and other low income students in STEM areas. The efforts supported by the initiative focus on four activities. The first activity enhances student services to foster success in Calculus I as it is a mathematics course known to be a roadblock for student success in STEM fields. The second activity supports the implementation of Challenge-Based Instruction (CBI) in selected key courses. CBI, a form of inductive learning, has previously been shown to be a more effective approach to the learning process than the traditional deductive pedagogy. The third activity supports faculty development workshops on CBI techniques and on other locally developed teaching tools with a focus on increasing student success. Finally the fourth activity develops and supports pathways to STEM fields between STC and UTPA. This paper discusses the results and modifications of the activities after the first year of implementation. Ultimately, we hope that this project will provide a model that will have a significant impact on the number of STEM graduates and that will be simple to replicate in other higher-education institutions.

Introduction

This paper discusses the first year grant activities and results of a College Cost Reduction and Access Act (CCRAA) grant designed to implement a series of activities that will, ultimately, increase student performance and retention at colleges and university in the South Texas region. This initiative is a collaboration between The University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA) and South Texas College (STC), a two-year community college, to facilitate student engagement and success in STEM areas. Both UTPA and STC are Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). The CCRAA grant funded four specific activities: ≠ Activity 1: Enhanced Student Services – STEM Advisement and Mentoring Program and STEM Calculus I Student Assistant Support Program; ≠ Activity 2: Curriculum Reform– Curriculum development based on Challenge-Based Instruction (CBI); ≠ Activity 3: Faculty Development – Faculty development seminars and workshops on CBI; and ≠ Activity 4: STEM Pathways Growth and Support – Dual enrollment programs at STC.

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Freeman, R., & Vasquez, H., & Fuentes, A., & Villalobos, C., & Crown, S., & Wrinkle, R., & Ramirez, O., & Gonzalez, M. (2010, June), Increasing Student Access, Retention, And Graduation Through An Integrated Stem Pathways Support Initiative For The Rio South Texas Region – Year One Activities And Results Paper presented at 2010 Annual Conference & Exposition, Louisville, Kentucky. 10.18260/1-2--16840