Crossing the Divide: Building Strong Two-Year/Four Year Partnerships

1. Attract 37 more students per year to Stonehill’s target STEM majors.

2. Reduce Stonehill’s attrition rate in the target STEM majors from 47% to 23%.

3. Increase Liberal Arts Transfer Science (LATS) enrollments at Massasoit by 35 students.

4. Increase the number of students from underrepresented groups in STEM degree programs at Stonehill by 24.

5. Increase the number of graduates with targeted majors by 20 in year five with an ultimate goal of 49.

Overall Project Objectives(Project targets all STEM majors that require chemistry)

1. Theme-Based General Chemistry I

2. Enhanced Mentoring, Tutoring and Advising

3. Early Research Experience

4. Career Exploration

5. Summer Bridge Program (only Stonehill)

6. Advanced Placement Chemistry and Biology Laboratories (only Stonehill)

Strategies

Theme-Based General Chemistry I

Stonehill:• Themes: Forensics (2007), Food and Nutrition (2007),

Environmental (2009), Medical (2009), and Art (2009)• Format: Lecture/Lab combined (six hours a week)• Extent: All sections (8 sections, 24 students per section)

Massasoit:• Themes: Food and Nutrition (2008) Environmental (2011) • Format: Three lectures and one laboratory each week• Extent: one out of nine total sections (24 students per section)

Enhanced Mentoring, Tutoring and Advising

Stonehill:• Upper-class student mentors for all students in General Chemistry• Mentors also PLTL leaders

Stonehill/Massasoit:• Articulation agreement that insures Massasoit students can transfer

as science majors at junior level• Stonehill student serve as chemistry tutors at Massasoit

Massasoit:• Faculty member assigned task of coordinating the advising and

mentoring of LATS students• Science students all assigned science faculty as their advisors• Provides special information sessions and transfer days just for

science students

Early Research Experience

Stonehill:• Four first-year students each year join faculty research groups

consisting principally of upper-class students• Faculty nominate students based on student’s interest and

enthusiasm for science (GPA requirement of 2.0)• Particularly interested in students at risk of dropping out of

sciences

Massasoit:• Two to four Massasoit faculty do research each summer at

Stonehill College• Two Massasoit students work with each faculty member• Massasoit groups work either as extensions of Stonehill

research groups or completely independently

Career Exploration

Stonehill:• Alumni return for career night dinners in both chemistry and

biology• Career related seminars as part of departmental seminar series• Tours of local industries that require a scientifically trained

workforce

Massasoit:• Career related seminars during activity period• Possibilities beyond nursing and allied health • Pamphlets on science careers distributed to all LATS students

Intermediate Objectives

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Proj. Actu. Proj. Actu. Proj. Actu. Proj. Actu. Proj. Actu. Increase in STEM-STEP grant majors

1

31

15

64

44

103

90

174

132

234

Increase in minority students

0

2

3

1

8

2

16

15

24

----

Increase in Massasoit LAT S students

0

11

10

43

20

141

30

314

35

----

1st - 2nd year Stonehill science attrition rate

38%

30%

34%

22%

30%

29%

25%

23%

20%

----

20062007

20082009

2010

LATS

LAT non-science0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

Tota

l Stu

dent

Enro

llm

ents

Fall Semester

30

4%

in

crease

15

7%

in

crease

Massasoit Total STEP Grant Students

20062007

20082009

20102011

STEP STEM Majors*

Non-STEP STEM Majors**0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

Tota

l S

tuden

t E

nro

llm

ents

Spring Semester

Stonehill Total STEP Grant Students

* biochemistry, biology, chemistry, neuroscience, environmental studies, physics** psychology, math, computer science

05/0606/07

07/0808/09

09/1010/11

Fourth-Years Majors

Third-Year Majors

Second-Year Majors

First-Year Students

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Nu

mb

er

of

Stu

den

ts

Academic Year

Exceeds Goal of 112 First-Year Students

Exceeds Goal of 58 Graduating Seniors

20

10

20

10

20

10

Cla

ss o

f 2

01

0

20

11

20

11

Cla

ss o

f 2

011

Cla

ss o

f 20

12

20

12

20

09

20

09

20

09

Cla

ss o

f 2

00

9

20

07 20

08

20

08

Cla

ss o

f 2

00

8

Cla

ss o

f 2

00

7

Cla

ss o

f2

00

6

Cla

ss o

f 2

01

3C

lass

of

20

14

20

11

20

12

20

13

Stonehill STEP Grant Majors by Class Year

1. Recruiting Students from Underrepresented Groups into the Sciences at Stonehill

2. Retaining Students from Underrepresented Groups in the Sciences at Stonehill

3. Affordability of Stonehill College for Massasoit Transfer Students

4. Physical Space and Facilities for Conducting Research at Massasoit

Challenges

5. Campus Cultural Obstacles to Conducting Research (e.g. orders only can be placed once a month)

6. Finding Massasoit Students Who are Qualified and Interested in Performing Chemical Research

7. Time Required to Implement and Maintain Initiatives Particularly with Large Increase in Students

8. Stonehill’s Culture as a Residential Campus Presents Additional Challenges to Commuter Students

Challenges Continued