Powerpoint template for scientific posters (Swarthmore College)

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Improving Recruitment and Retention in the
Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Jane Flood, Physics Department, Muhlenberg
College, Allentown, PA 18104 flood_at_muhlenberg.edu
Objectives build cohort, introduction
to working like scientists SIMS Colloquium The
SIMS Colloquium is a two-semester sequence
designed and taught by Dr. Joseph Keane,
Chemistry. The first semester included
presentations by scientists from a variety of
settings. The second semester focused on career
planning and scholarship application writing.
Assignments included writing an application for a
prestigious award, such as a Goldwater award, and
individual career counseling sessions with
counselors from our career center. Objectives,
career exploration and advising Academic
Advising The PI, Dr. Jane Flood acted as first
year advisor to the six SIMS Scholars until they
declared their majors. At present, the scholars
are being mentored one-on-one by major
advisors. Objectives retention in supported
majors, academic success Course-Specific
Peer-led Workshops Muhlenberg College has a
well-established learning assistant (LA) program.
LAs lead workshops in courses where students are
at risk. These workshops are available to all
students including MP SIMS Scholars. Assessment R
etention and Academic Success The first cohort of
SIMS Scholars is entering the senior year. All
six of the original scholars are still in the
program. Their majors include Chemistry,
Environmental Science, Mathematics and
Physics Program Survey This first cohort of
students was surveyed at the beginning of their
junior year in order to assess the effectiveness
of different program components. Results appear
in Tables I, II and III. Four out of six students
repsonded. Conclusions We meet our primary goals
of recruiting six academically talented students
and retaining them in the supported majors. We
had less success recruiting under-represented
students, with only one Hispanic student in the
cohort. Our programs were effective at building a
cohort, academic support and some aspects of
career advising, but did not influence students
career choice strongly.

• Scholarships (continued)
• In order to maintain their standing in the MP
  SIMS program, and thus their scholarships, the
  scholars must
• Enroll in at least one course from among the
  following disciplines in each of their first four
  semesters Chemistry, Computer Science,
  Environmental Science, Mathematics and Physics.
• Complete the SIMS Colloquium and Cornerstone
  Course by the end of their fourth semester.
• Declare a major in Chemistry, Computer Science,
  Environmental Science, Mathematics, Physical
  Science or Physics by the end of their fourth
  semester.
• Maintain a 2.50 GPA by the end of the first year,
  a 2.75 GPA by the end of the second year and a
  3.00 GPA by the end of the third year and
  thereafter.
• Academic Social Support
• Pre-orientation
• The scholars met as a group for the first time
  during the pre-orientation program. Two senior
  science majors (a chemistry major and a
  mathematics major) acted as mentors. The program
  included a tour of the Martin Guitar Factory, led
  by the Chief Instrument Designer and members of
  his staff, a program organized by librarians to
  introduce the scholars to the research resources
  we have available, a program with two peer tutors
  and the director of the Academic Resources
  Center. Dr. Clif Kussmaul, Computer Science,
  asked the students to design a pookalum (a flower
  decoration associated with the Indian feast of
  Onam) and to install it in a public location on
  campus.
• Objectives build cohort, introduce to academic
  resources

Program Component (Colors correspond to color of associated objectives) Mean Standard Deviation Percent
Pre-orientation helped me form supportive relationships with other NSF Scholars 5.00 0.00 100.0
Pre-orientation helped me become familiar with campus resources 4.25 0.50 100.0
Participation in the First Year Seminar Studying Problems, Creating Solutions helped strengthen my relationships with other SIMS Scholars 4.50 0.58 100.0
Participation in the First Year Seminar Studying Problems, Creating Solutions gave me a better understanding of how scientists might work in a non-academic environment 3.25 0.50 25.0
Participation in the SIMS colloquium supported my interest in the mathematical and physical sciences 4.00 0.00 100.0
Participation in the SIMS colloquium exposed me to different kinds of careers available to individuals with degrees in mathematical or physical sciences 4.50 0.58 100.0
Participation in the SIMS colloquium helped me to determine my academic and career interests 3.25 0.96 50.0
First year seminar

Abstract Funded by an NSF S-STEM grant,
Muhlenberg College recruited two cohorts of
economically disadvantaged students intending to
study chemistry, computer science, environmental
science, mathematics, physical science or physics
(MP SIMS). Our program includes five elements
financial, academic and psychosocial support,
mentoring, and professional development for
students.

• Background
• The goals of the MP SIMS Scholar Program goals
  include improved recruitment and retention of
  students in the mathematical and physical
  sciences, and increased diversity of the science
  student population at Muhlenberg College.
  Although talent and financial need were our
  primary considerations when awarding scholarships
  we also tried to recruit from underrepresented
  groups.
• A College Board study (Gandara and Maxwell-Joly,
  1999) of twenty programs notes that programs
  aimed at improving minority achievement in the
  sciences often include several of five
  components financial, academic and psychosocial
  support, mentoring and professional development.
  Our project includes all of these elements.
• The first cohort of MP SIMS Scholars was surveyed
  8 months after completion of all three programs.
  Results are presented here.
• Recruitment
• The Admissions Department recruited students
  meeting these criteria
• Financial need as per federal standards
• Academic talent in the sciences
• Desire to pursue a major in Chemistry, Computer
  Science, Environmental Science, Mathematics,
  Physical Science or Physics.
• Scholarships
• The MP SIMS scholarships are used to replace
  work-study and loans in the students financial
  aid package.
•  

LA workshop Attendance LA workshop Attendance Frequency Percentage
I attended the learning assistant-led workshops associated with my science and math classes Every Week 1 25.0
I attended the learning assistant-led workshops associated with my science and math classes Frequently, but not weekly 2 50.0
I attended the learning assistant-led workshops associated with my science and math classes About half of the time 0 0.0
I attended the learning assistant-led workshops associated with my science and math classes Occasionally 0 0.0
I attended the learning assistant-led workshops associated with my science and math classes Never 1 25.0
LA workshop value Mean Standard Deviation Percentage
The LA-led workshops helped me succeed in my classes 3.75 1.26 75.0
Literature cited Gandara, P. and Maxwell-Joly, J.
1999 Priming the pump strategies for increasing
the achievement of minority undergraduates. The
College Board, NY 129pp
Acknowledgments This material is based upon work
supported by the National Science Foundation
under Grant Number NSF DUE-0965834. Any opinions,
findings, and conclusions or recommendations
expressed in this material are those of the
author and do not necessarily reflect the views
of the National Science Foundation. Associate
Dean for Assessment Dr. Kathleen Harring helped
design and collect the survey. Drs. Bruce
Anderson, Brett Fadem, Joseph Keane, Clif
Kussmaul, Linda McGuire and Don Shive gave
valuable advice and support in addition to
specific contributions noted above.