Purpose

This study examines the impact of participation in a STEM Enrichment Summer Bridge Program, funded by the NSF Houston-Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, on undergraduate student success outcomes, particularly for under-represented students.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses propensity score matching and logistic regression analysis to examine the effects of participation in the STEM enrichment program on graduation and retention in STEM after matching on baseline socio-demographic and pre-college characteristics.

Findings

The analysis found that program participation had a significant effect on increasing both the graduation rates and retention of under-represented minority students in STEM fields. In addition, results indicated that program participation had a particularly strong impact for Pell-eligible students in terms of course grades.

Research limitations/implications

Data obtained for this study were limited to a single Hispanic-serving/Asian-serving institution, and therefore are not necessarily representative of the graduation and retention trends of the larger population of underrepresented minority (URM) students across the nation.

Originality/value

This study uniquely adds to the existing body of literature surrounding the retention of URM students in STEM fields by accounting for baseline variables, such as pre-college academic achievement and socio-demographic characteristics, that could lead to bias in estimating results. Specifically, this study addresses limitations of previous studies by comparing participants and non-participants of the STEM enrichment program who are matched on a selection of baseline characteristics.

中文翻译：

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密集的多学科 STEM 充实计划对代表性不足的少数族裔学生成功的影响

目的

本研究探讨了参与由 NSF 休斯顿-路易斯斯托克斯少数族裔参与联盟资助的 STEM 充实暑期桥梁计划对本科生成功成果的影响，特别是对于代表性不足的学生。

设计/方法/方法

该研究使用倾向得分匹配和逻辑回归分析来检查在匹配基线社会人口和大学前特征后，参与 STEM 丰富计划对 STEM 毕业和保留的影响。

发现

分析发现，项目参与对提高 STEM 领域代表性不足的少数族裔学生的毕业率和保留率都有显着影响。此外，结果表明，就课程成绩而言，项目参与对符合佩尔资格的学生产生了特别强烈的影响。

研究限制/影响

本研究获得的数据仅限于单一的西班牙裔服务/亚洲服务机构，因此不一定代表全国更多少数族裔 (URM) 学生的毕业和保留趋势。

原创性/价值

这项研究通过考虑可能导致估计结果偏差的基线变量，例如大学前的学业成绩和社会人口特征，独特地增加了围绕在 STEM 领域保留 URM 学生的现有文献。具体来说，本研究通过比较在选择的基线特征上匹配的 STEM 浓缩计划的参与者和非参与者来解决先前研究的局限性。