The STEM Excellence through Engagement in Collaboration, Research, and Scholarship (SEECRS) project at Whatcom Community College is in year four of a five-year NSF S-STEM funded program aiming to support academically talented students with demonstrated financial need in biology, chemistry, geology, computer science, engineering, and physics. This program offered financial, academic, and professional support to three two-year cohorts of students and is in the final year of the third and final cohort of the currently funded grant cycle. The SEECRS project aimed to utilize a STEM-specific guided pathways approach to strengthen recruitment, retention, and matriculation of STEM students at the community college level. Over the course of the program 39 individuals received scholarship support.
The program supported scholarship recipients through participation in the SEECRS Scholars Academy, a multi-pronged approach to student support combining elements of community building, faculty mentorship, targeted advising activities, authentic science practice, and social activities. Key elements of the program are: a required two-credit course that emphasized STEM identity development, course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) in Biology, Chemistry and Engineering courses, funded summer research opportunities, and paring of each scholar with a faculty mentor.
This paper presents data from the first four years of the program including participant outcomes and feedback on their experiences. Results from project evaluation activities such as pre and post surveys, focus groups, exit interviews, and faculty surveys are also presented and analyzed to compare how gains reported by program participants regarding such attributes as their STEM identities and sense of belonging compare to responses from a control group of students who did not participate in the program. Preliminary identification of some program best practices will also be presented.
Jason Babcock is the Director of the Learning Center at Whatcom Community College. Dr. Babcock earned his Ph.D. From the University of Washington in 2017. His teaching and research interests center on the development of STEM identity, and the negotiation of belonging by students holding identities traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields.
Dr. Tommaso A. Vannelli is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Whatcom Community College in Bellingham, WA. He holds a B.S. in Chemistry with a minor in Environmental Studies from Tufts University. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D in Chemistry from the University of California at San Diego. He is the co-Principal Investigator (co-PI) of the NSF-funded S-STEM scholarship program at Whatcom Community College. Tommaso is actively developing a research program at Whatcom Community College and is interested in providing students with authentic practice of science experiences through their courses and independent study.
Dan Hanley directs an educational research and evaluation team at Western Washington University. Over the past 15 years, Dan has developed and conducted studies and evaluations for numerous organizations, including the National Science Foundation, Washington State OSPI, Washington Student Achievement Council, the Office of Naval Research, and the Colorado Department of Education. In 2000-2001, Dan was the recipient of a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship, where he examined Norway’s system of school-based evaluation. His current research interests include preK-16 STEM education reform and STEM teacher preparation.
Eric Davishahl serves as professor and engineering program coordinator at Whatcom Community College in northwest Washington state. His current project involves developing and piloting an integrated multidisciplinary learning community for first-year engineering. More general teaching and research interests include designing, implementing and assessing activities for first-year engineering, engineering mechanics, and scientific computing. Eric has been an active member of ASEE since 2001. He was the recipient of the 2008 Pacific Northwest Section Outstanding Teaching Award, chaired the PNW Section 2017-2019, served on the ASEE Board of Directors as Zone IV Chair 2022-2024. and currently serves as Program Chair for the Two-Year College Division.
Are you a researcher? Would you like to cite this paper? Visit the ASEE document repository at peer.asee.org for more tools and easy citations.
