PROSTARS

Programs in STEM Academic Retention and Success (PROSTARS) is a National Science Foundation grant that designs, implements and evaluates programs geared toward increasing retention and graduation rates of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) students at Boston University. Activities are largely focused on underserved STEM students, including students from urban schools, women in physical sciences and engineering disciplines, and students who matriculate with test scores and other indicators that our data demonstrate lead to a higher than average STEM program attrition. PROSTARS’s three main components are (1) data analysis of a historical cohort generating indicators, (2) interventions focused on first year students, and (3) broader, infrastructure development across the University.

Data Analysis and Program Feedback examines the longitudinal trends of 8,500 student records in the STEM fields at Boston University between 1996-2006, focusing primarily on indicators of retention and graduation rates in the STEM areas. Initial analysis reveals a positive correlation of high math SAT scores for males, but interestingly, females revealed a bimodal distribution on a preliminary investigation, with both high and low SAT scores leaving STEM fields. This finding was later seen as inconsistent with a finding from an updated dataset, and the discrepancy is currently being investigated.

With our recent approval from the BU Institutional Review Board, we can focus more efforts toward retrieving follow-up and longitudinal data from our PROSTARS cohort as well as from designated comparison groups of students who did not participate in our programs but are pursuing a STEM curriculum. Surveys designed for probit analysis, as well as focus groups, will be used to evaluate the varying levels of importance of those factors that affect student attitudes toward STEM and in turn their retention rates.

Comparison groups will be devised for the Summer Bridge program, Women in Science and Engineering Residency program and the Freshman Seminars. Overall, our goal is to examine the variations in STEM grades, attitudes and retention rates between the two groups to determine the efficacy of the PROSTARS programs.

First Year Programs and Interventions
The Freshman Seminars are discipline-based courses for incoming students. The Freshman Seminar in Physics (PY195) is an introductory course that explores unanswered questions in modern physics as well as developing academic preparedness. The freshman seminar course was expanded to Chemistry in the fall of 2009 and was titled Freshman Seminar for Chemistry Majors (CH195). The second semester laboratory-based exploratory nanoscience course called a Directed Study in Interdisciplinary Nanoscience course (PY192) was run for the second time in Spring 2010. Evaluations of the PY195 participants have shown notable increases in STEM knowledge, confidence and social networks.

The Summer Bridge Program is a two-week preparatory program in physics, calculus, writing and numeracy at BU for incoming students who have one or more risk factors, such as lower than average Math SAT scores, greater financial need, first generation college attendants, lower than average high school GPAs or no AP credits. In 2009, 27 incoming BU students participated in the Summer Bridge program. Students became acclimated to the expectations of college-level coursework and the campus while making lasting friendships with their peers.

The Women in Science and Engineering Residency Floor at Warren Towers (WISE@Warren) is a residency hall program that blends academic and social programs. The 2010 academic year marked the third year for the WISE floor. 43 female students, including 7 upperclassmen students that acted as Peer Mentors and Peer Leaders for the floor, lived and engaged in bi-monthly activities.

PROSTARS’ Undergraduate Summer Research Program supported 12 undergraduate research slots for the ten-week research program for underrepresented, freshman and sophomore BU STEM students in various fields including Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Photonics and Engineering.

Institutional Programs
PROSTARS designed, implemented, and is supporting a ten-week summer Community College program that gives 6 students from Roxbury Community College, Bunker Hill Community College and MassBay Community College the opportunity to work in BU’s research facilities with faculty. One of the main goals of the program is to aid in the transfer of community college students to BU. These students have the opportunity to be awarded scholarships through BU for continued education at our university. One community college faculty member is also awarded a research internship each summer.

PROSTARS helped design and currently supports the Educational Resource Center’s Peer Tutoring Fellows, liaisons working with professors, teaching fellows, and departmental resources to help bridge the gap between class instruction and tutoring services. PROSTARS supports 2 new Peer Tutoring Fellows in Chemistry and Physics.

In collaboration with Boston University’s Center for Excellence in Teaching (CET), PROSTARS initiated a series of professional development workshops in Spring 2009 called iUSE: Innovations in STEM Education to integrate innovative methods in undergraduate STEM education to directly address ineffective modes of instruction in introductory and gateway STEM courses. Our desire for participation is to focus on groups of faculty that co-teach a given intro STEM course, as well as other interested teaching faculty. The material that is presented and discussed at the workshops can then be incorporated across all sections for a particular class.