S-STEM National Science Foundation (NSF) Grant

About the Project

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at Coast Community College, an open access community college.

Over its six-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to 75 unique full-time students who are pursuing associate's degrees designed to prepare students for transfer into Biology, Chemistry, Geology, Mathematics, and Physics four-year programs. First-year students will receive up to two and a half years of scholarships, along with support to maximize their success.

The over-arching goal of this project is to build and evaluate the effects of a cohesive scientific community that establishes student support. This community of support will include dedicated students, faculty, and local professionals. Targeted support designed to increase retention, graduation rates, and student success will be tailored to meet the academic and social needs of low-income students. Focus will be on helping students to build and leverage their confidence and motivation. Integration of academic support services, faculty and industry mentors, work-based learning opportunities, and supplemental instruction has been designed to facilitate transition from community college into STEM four-year degree programs and careers, thus broadening participation in STEM.

Findings will be disseminated via conference presentations and journal article publications. This project provides a unique opportunity to contribute to the body of higher education research regarding methods that promote student success, equity, and diversity in STEM degree programs at the community college level.

3D printing to make PPE (personal protective equipment).

Students identifying and measuring animals collected at Newport Beach's Back Bay.

Students participating in Marine Life Inventory.

• Student Needs

  Tuition and longer time to degree completion are typical barriers for low-income students, particularly with regard to STEM degree completion. As such, financial scholarships will help Coastline College to recruit and support a broader group of low-income, underrepresented, academically promising students by offsetting the cost of college attendance.

• Goals

  Goals of this project include recruiting and supporting low-income, academically talented students in Coastline's Associate Science Degree for Transfers through:

  1. scholarship support
  2. academic support, including supplemental instructors in STEM courses
  3. use of individualized academic plans crafted jointly through academic advising and with student scholars
  4. inquiry-based learning and research opportunities

  These will lead to increased student success, fall-to-fall retention, graduation, transfer, and employment rates in the STEM fields.

• Evaluation

  A clear evaluation plan will examine the impact of community support on community college student confidence and motivation in associate degree completion. Findings will be disseminated across other regional community colleges, as well as through publications and presentations in journals focused on post-secondary S-STEM student success.

• Funding

  This project is funded by NSF's Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in STEM fields. It also aims to improve the education of future STEM workers, and to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income students.

  This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

• Project Team
  • Tanya Hoerer, Ph.D., Principal Investigator - tmurray8@coastline.edu
  • Steven Fauce, Ph.D., Co-Principal Investigator - sfauce@coastline.edu
  • Lisa Demchik, Ph.D., Co-Principal Investigator - ldemchik@coastline.edu
  • Deborah Henry, M.D., Co-Principal Investigator - dhenry@coastline.edu
  • Kelly Ruppert, M.S., Co-Principal Investigator - kruppert@coastline.edu

  Faculty Mentors

  • Mitchell Alves - malves@coastline.edu (math)
  • Dr. Steven Fauce - sfauce@coastline.edu (biology)
  • Dr. Lisa Demchik - ldemchik@coastline.edu (biology)
  • Dr. Jean Dupon - jdupon@coastline.edu (chemistry)
  • Dr. Tanya Hoerer - tmurray8@coastline.edu (biology)
  • Dr. Lisa Lee - llee@coastline.edu (math)
  • Dr. Son Nguyen - snguyen8@coastline.edu (math)
  • Kelly Ruppert - kruppert@coastline.edu (geology)
  • Hao Nhien Vu - hvu132@cccd.edu (math)
  • David Devine - ddevine@coastline.edu (physics)

Contact Information

Tanya Hoerer, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator

tmurray8@coastline.edu