Abstract
The mission of the Virginia Commonwealth University Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (VCU LSAMP) program is to increase the retention and graduation rates of students from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors and those who matriculate into graduate programs. VCU LSAMP offers a hybrid summer transition program (HSTP) focused on facilitating the high school to college and two-year to four-year college transition process for students majoring in STEM disciplines. The goals of the program are to 1) build community among a cohort of students, 2) orient students to VCU, 3) prepare students for the academic rigors of their first year in a STEM discipline at VCU, 4) expose students to opportunities and careers in STEM, 5) engage them in the VCU LSAMP program, and 6) provide financial support. Five distinct components of the VCU HSTP are 1) a six-week online summer component, 2) a 1 week on-campus orientation, 3) a Design Project Challenge, 4) a transfer student track, and 5) an academic year component. Evaluation data reveals that the HSTP assisted participants with adjustment to the college schedule and setting, facilitated the formation of study groups, and increased overall motivation to graduate. The online courses helped familiarize students with both the academic topics in their chemistry and mathematics classes and the behaviors and norms of STEM majors. On average, participants in the HSTP had higher retention (85%) and graduation (73%) rates when compared with their peers (81% and 64%, respectively). Furthermore, those students who complete the online classes’ requirements had a higher probability of receiving a grade of B or better in their first mathematics or chemistry class.
Highlights
17Due to the uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, only the Online Summer Transition program was offered in 2020, the data from summer 2020 is omitted from the program analysis
Transfer students may declare information systems, but no Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) students in the hybrid summer transition program (HSTP) have majored in information systems. 19The National Science Foundation (NSF) defines historically underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities in STEM as African Americans, Alaska Natives, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Native Pacific Islanders
Results show that the HSTP which consists of a brief residential experience combined with online academic support (e.g., ALEKS) is achieving its intended goals of building community among a cohort of students, orienting students to Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), preparing students for the academic rigors of their first year in a STEM discipline at VCU, exposing students to opportunities and careers in STEM, engaging them in the VCU LSAMP program, and providing financial support
Summary
Each institution has designed evidence-based programs informed by research to achieve the goals of the Alliance and to meet the unique needs of their students within their institutional cultural contexts. As part of the VA-NC Alliance, the Virginia Commonwealth University LSAMP (VCU LSAMP) program has implemented its own set of community building, retention, and professional development programs to help achieve the overarching VANC Alliance goals of diversifying STEM and increasing graduate school matriculation rates. The VCU LSAMP anchor program for the past 7 years has been its hybrid summer transition program (HSTP). This paper describes the hybrid summer transition program’s evolution, implementation, and findings from assessment and evaluation data. Each of the HSTP components are presented along with the research which informed the design and implementation of each component.
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