Assessing the Academic and Social Growth of STEM Transfer Students
- Conference
- Location
-
Virtual Conference
- Publication Date
-
July 26, 2021
- Start Date
-
July 26, 2021
- End Date
-
July 19, 2022
- Conference Session
- Tagged Topics
-
Diversity and NSF Grantees Poster Session
- Page Count
-
7
- DOI
-
10.18260/1-2--36711
- Permanent URL
-
https://peer.asee.org/36711
- Download Count
-
266
Paper Authors
Thomas Woodson
Stony Brook University
orcid.org/0000-0001-8251-8425
Thomas S. Woodson is an associate professor in the Department of Technology and Society at Stony Brook University. He investigates the effects of technology on inequality throughout the world and the causes/consequences of inclusive innovation. For the past several years he has studied the effectiveness of scientific funding to have broader impact, and ways to improve diversity in STEM fields. He is currently the director of the $4 million State University of New York Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (SUNY LSAMP) and the $1 million S-STEM Scholarship Academic and Social STEM Excellence for Transfer Students (ASSETS) programs. These NSF sponsored programs help low-income, and underrepresented minority students persist and succeed in STEM majors and careers. Dr. Woodson received his B.S.E in electrical engineering from Princeton University and his Ph.D. in Public Policy for the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech).
Rachel Faye Perlman Stony Brook University
Rachel is a PhD candidate in the Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences at Stony Brook University. Outside of her research, she is devoted to accessibility in STEM higher education. She has experience working with several diversity and inclusion initiatives at her university, and is currently in her second year as the graduate assistant for this paper's program.
Marianna Savoca Stony Brook University
Marianna Savoca is both an administrator and faculty member. She teaches career development, leadership, and external relations, collaborates with faculty on research and programmatic initiatives, as well as oversees internships and practicum experiences for graduate and undergraduate students. She leads campus-wide efforts to scale career development and access to high-impact experiential education for students in all majors and degree levels. She is Co-PI on two NSF-funded projects with a focus on STEM student success and is a published author. She holds a PhD in Higher Education Leadership.
Lauren J. Donovan Stony Brook University
Lauren Donovan is Assistant Director for STEM Smart programs. After graduating from Stony Brook University with a BA in Anthropology, Lauren’s career in higher education began in the non-profit conservation organization within the Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University. This environment grew Lauren’s proficiencies for grant proposal and research, and program development. After a decade long tenure in Anthropology, Lauren transitioned to the Department of Technology and Society. She is currently the Assistant Director of STEM Smart programs, which include programs S-STEM ASSETS, LSAMP, and NASA NY Space Grant. Lauren has had the opportunity to participate in many professional development programs, such as the first cohort of the Research Foundation Leadership Academy, and Research Foundation Mentoring Program. Lauren received her Master of Arts in Higher Education Administration from Stony Brook University in May 2017. Her current research analyzes the gender equity in higher education, with a focus of females in STEM. With her research background, Lauren is a Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) affiliated member, and instructs the course, Society and Gender in STEM.
Abstract
Community college transfer students face unique hurdles when they attend a 4-year university. Universities usually cost more than community colleges, 4-year colleges are often located in a different community from where the transfer student lives, and academic expectations are different from community colleges to universities. To help fix the academic achievement gap between students entering as freshman and transfer students, Stony Brook University started the Academic and Social STEM Excellence for Transfer Students (ASSETS) program. ASSETS recruits community college transfer students from low income, marginalized communities and provides them with a scholarship, a 2-week math bootcamp, career counseling, and gives them a natural cohort of students to have a community on campus. Our initial findings show that ASSETS helps the students afford college and relieve a major stress of attending university. After the bootcamp, the students had a group of friends and mentors to advise them on academic and career decisions, help them navigate SBU, and support them during challenges.
Woodson, T., & Perlman, R. F., & Savoca, M., & Donovan, L. J. (2021, July), Assessing the Academic and Social Growth of STEM Transfer Students Paper presented at 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual Conference. 10.18260/1-2--36711
ASEE holds the copyright on this document. It may be read by the public free of charge. Authors may archive their work on personal websites or in institutional repositories with the following citation: © 2021 American Society for Engineering Education. Other scholars may excerpt or quote from these materials with the same citation. When excerpting or quoting from Conference Proceedings, authors should, in addition to noting the ASEE copyright, list all the original authors and their institutions and name the host city of the conference. - Last updated April 1, 2015