Title V STEM program aims to move needle on student success

This is the second Title V grant for the university – the first five-year grant of $2.6 million began in October 2015 for implementation of a summer intensive in math, college prep courses to boost student confidence and other programs aimed at student success. Entitled Closing The Gap: A Holistic Approach To A Degree Completion Pathway for Hispanics, the grant was specifically designed to help at-risk freshmen succeed in foundational courses, adjust to the rigors of college academics and inspire them toward degree completion.

The Guided Pathways to Success grant, also a five-year allocation, is currently focusing on supporting high school seniors who plan to enroll in a California community college, are interested in chemistry, computer science, physics and other STEM majors, and desire to transfer into a four-year program to complete a bachelor’s degree. These community college students  can apply to join La Sierra’s Guided Pathways program in which La Sierra advisors create an individualized roadmap of courses detailing a track from community college through to a La Sierra four-year degree. Advisors will meet regularly with Guided Pathway participants and provide specific direction and support as students pursue their goals. Along the way students will receive supplemental instruction such as connections with STEM peers and advice in study skills, financial literacy education, and research and career opportunities as part of the Guided Pathways experience.

Community college students in the Guided Pathways program will be eligible to enter La Sierra at the junior level and earn a bachelor’s degree within two years of full-time study if they complete community college courses within three consecutive years and maintain a 2.5 grade point average.“Some of the least-served students in the current higher education community start at community college due to the lower cost of tuition,” said Guided Pathways Team Leader Dr. Jennifer Helbley, an associate chemistry professor. “We wanted to give them a clear pathway to a four-year degree. Most of all, we want to make sure that our outreach is getting to those who haven’t had a chance to enroll in college programs or had a chance to enroll but didn’t because they weren’t ready to commit.”

The prioritization of community college students for the Guided Pathways grant was predicated on data indicating that many such students who desire a four-year degree within their STEM major do not successfully transition to a four-year school to complete the degree, according to Education Trust data from 2016.

Over the coming year, Guided Pathways will also be developed for incoming La Sierra freshmen who are interested in STEM careers. In lieu of in-person outreach during the COVID-19 pandemic, La Sierra’s Community College Liaison Andrea Schröer is connecting with community college representatives through phone calls and Zoom meetings to provide information about the Guided Pathways programs, how they work and who they are designed for.Community college students who are accepted into Guided Pathways will be assigned a La Sierra student identification number and may participate in La Sierra activities and campus programs while in community college.

"Through these grants and collaborations we are working to create an environment where students can realize their potential and make a difference in the world.” -- Dr. Marvin Payne, Director, Title V STEM Programs

Summer Research Experience is another program offered through Guided Pathways to Success that will give community college students an opportunity to work in La Sierra science laboratories while receiving compensation for expenses. The program is open to students who have completed their freshman year of college by June 2021. Eligible participants must complete an application and interview process for acceptance. Applications will be available by March 1 on La Sierra’s Guided Pathways to Success webpage at https://lasierra.edu/title-v/guided-pathways/.

In addition to offering Guided Pathways for community college students, the grant supports development of a STEM Bridge summer intensive, a non-credit option aimed at incoming La Sierra freshmen. The experiential program parallels the Summer Bridge math program developed under the first Title V grant and will offer freshmen opportunities for multi-disciplinary educational activities in two-week sessions. These sessions will launch this summer in collaboration with the university Enactus team’s hydroponic container farm. In this pilot program, STEM Bridge students will learn technological and biological maintenance of farming, management and production, as well as the mathematics and chemistry behind formulating hydroponic solutions. Registration for STEM Bridge will also open on March 1 on the Guided Pathways webpage.

The Guided Pathways to Success grant is intended to cover more than new program development. Last summer, in the quiet of a campus closed to most operations under state pandemic mandates, two general chemistry laboratory spaces in La Sierra’s Palmer Hall underwent a transformation to better conduct data collection and data processing. Outdated built-in lab stations and extra rooms were removed and additional entries and exits constructed. One newly renovated space is outfitted with desks for computers and charge lockers. The other space functions as a wet lab. “This allows for safer experimentation as students will have clear spaces where they must wear personal protective equipment and spaces where they do not need to,” Helbley said. “This new setup has the added benefit of being easier to adapt to social distancing and other safety measures, but the design choices were already made in that direction before the pandemic.” In addition, a student study lounge was expanded and an existing office remodeled as a faculty lounge. Altogether, the Palmer Hall renovations and upgrades totaled over $220,000.