WIP: The effect of scholarships and community on graduation rates for STEM majors

Abstract

This WIP research paper describes a key challenge faced by STEM disciplines, especially Engineering and Computing, namely the graduation rate of students. Many models that show a return on investment in higher education for individuals and the state work only when students graduate. However, graduation rates are strongly influenced by students’ ability to focus on their studies. Anecdotally, faculty believe that when students must spend a significant time each week working in a job to pay (at least in part) for school, their ability to do well in STEM majors is inhibited. Students who must work to afford college are typically from lower socioeconomic status (SES) groups, and it has been suggested that support in the form of scholarships helps overcome the financial challenges that compel students to work. Many colleges have also created programs that foster community for students in STEM majors to enhance success. In this paper, we discuss literature showing that students from low SES groups graduate overall at lower rates than students from wealthier backgrounds. We then examine data from constituent schools of the University System of Maryland to see the effect of scholarships on graduation rates. Specifically, we test the hypothesis that scholarship support improves graduation rates. With data from one of these institutions, we test the second hypothesis: that graduation rates improve still further when scholarships are offered in combination with a supportive community. Our results show that financial support combined with a supportive community works better than financial support alone.