1. NHCC STEM initiative: Inspiring the “C” student A collaboration between Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Institutional Advancement

2.  Approached by a donor who works in the STEM field  Sees the need for more STEM workers  Wishes to inspire the “C” student, who was like himself  Collaboration between science and math faculty, advising, peer tutoring, the Foundation  Continuous improvement model as our approach: plan – do – study – act

3.  Targeted Introductory Biology - a gateway course with 400+ students per term  After first test in Introductory Biology, we identified those who scored a C or lower, randomly identified a group of 50 students  Invited them to meet with an advisor who told them of a scholarship opportunity  Students had to pass the class with a C or better, get a $600 scholarship for next STEM course

4.  51 students were selected with a C or lower on first exam (244 eligible); cohort generally same demographics as the entire class  30 met with an advisor  19 passed the course with a C or better (54.3%)  92 of the 244 passed with a C or better (37.7%)  236 of the 436 enrolled passed with a C or better (54.1%)

5.  Repeated the project – difficulties enrolling students in the program  96 students notified of the opportunity – decided all would be eligible if they met with an advisor first  30 students met with an advisor  11 students passed with a C or better (37.9%)  38 of the 96 passed with a C or better (39.6%)  215 of the 404 passed with a C or better (53.2%)

6.  Also, targeted a group who did not pass the course in the fall, but were re-enrolled in the spring  Of the students re-enrolled, 30 were identified, 10 met with an advisor, 3 passed with a C or better  Lessons learned: Did not reach enough students  We decided to increase faculty participation in the program  Challenge: Raise $20,000 to match and increase the program’s effectiveness

7.  Expanded to include Pre-Algebra students  Still pursued students who earned a C after first test, invited them to meet with an advisor, attend workshops  Faculty offered workshops on specific topics for student success  Lessons learned: pursuing students after the first test is too late  Decided to target two tracks: ◦ students who were unsuccessful were sent letters to apply for the scholarship program for the spring ◦ embed peer tutors in the class as supplemental instruction

8.  Embedded peer tutors in all Biology lecture sections, and Math (intermediate algebra)  Students increased visits to peer tutoring center (230% increase)  Impact on students and achievement unclear  Specific cohort model targeted students who were re-enrolling in Biology and Math after not being successful in the fall term – reached only 11 students  Challenge met: $20,000 raised for the match

10. Our amazing tutors and their students Connections matter! Increased visits to the tutoring center

11.  How do we expand our impact to reach more students?  Do you think money alone is enough to inspire students?  What should we do differently?  How can we remove barriers to increase student success in gateway courses?

12.  Elaina Bleifield, Dean of Science and Math elaina.bleifield@nhcc.edu 763.424.0868 elaina.bleifield@nhcc.edu  Jennifer Summer-Lambrecht, Executive Director of Institutional Advancement jsummer-lambrecht@nhcc.edu 763.424.0909jsummer-lambrecht@nhcc.edu  Keelin Yenney-Henderson, Advisor, project coordinator for scholarship program cyenney-henderson@nhcc.edu 763.493.0522cyenney-henderson@nhcc.edu