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Examining STEM Performance within a Comprehensive College Transition Program

Elise Swanson,
Joseph Kitchen,
Tatiana Melguizo,
Francisco Martorell

We examine the impact of the Thompson Scholars Learning Community (TSLC), a comprehensive college transition program serving students with a variety of majors, on students’ science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)-related outcomes. We use an explanatory mixed-methods design, which prioritizes the quantitative analyses and uses qualitative analyses to contextualize and explain our quantitative findings. Overall, participating in TSLC does not make students more likely to declare a STEM major, although we do find a positive effect for students of color. TSLC students earn higher overall GPAs than their scholarship-only peers, and TSLC students majoring in STEM outperform scholarship-only STEM majors in STEM courses. Qualitative analyses suggest these results stem from the student-centered and proactive support the program provides students. Our results suggest that a disciplinarily-agnostic program can support student success in STEM, and may increase equitable representation in STEM fields.

Education level
Post-secondary education
Topics
Pathways to and Through Postsecondary
Tags
Higher education,
Science education,
Equity
Download 09/2020
Document Object Identifier (DOI)
10.26300/t0d9-mr28
EdWorkingPaper suggested citation:
Swanson, Elise, Joseph Kitchen, Tatiana Melguizo, and Francisco Martorell. (). Examining STEM Performance within a Comprehensive College Transition Program. (EdWorkingPaper: -287). Retrieved from Annenberg Institute at Brown University: https://doi.org/10.26300/t0d9-mr28

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