Supporting Underrepresented Minority and First Generation Students in STEM

• Activity Number: 514 - Section on Statistics and Data Science Education P.M. Roundtable Discussion
• Type: Roundtables
• Date/Time: Thursday, August 6, 2020 : 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Statistics and Data Science Education
• Author(s): Shurong Fang*
• Companies: John Carroll University
• Keywords: Underrepresented Minority; First Generation; STEM; retention; support

Abstract

Nationwide, retention of students in STEM disciplines is less than 40%, with underrepresented minorities and first generation college students experiencing unique challenges throughout the pipeline. This discussion will address curricular and co-curricular supports from a NSF-supported S-STEM program focused on improving retention and persistence of low income, high potential students in STEM, particularly for underrepresented minorities and first generation college students. The roundtable leader will describe successes and challenges of an institutional support program to spark discussions, and participants will be encouraged to share their experiences. The objective of this event is to gain insights from the discussions and navigate potential collaborations to strengthen efforts to support and retain underrepresented minorities and first generation college students in STEM.