Reading and Writing Instruction for Academically At-Risk Deaf and Hard of Hearing First-Year College Students

Objective/Research Question: Students with disabilities, including deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students, are enrolling in college at rates higher than in the past with most of them pursuing an associate’s degree. For DHH students, their reading ability is a predictor of their academic achievement in college. However, more than half of DHH students enroll in remedial reading and writing college courses indicating they are not reading and writing at a college level and putting them at-risk for non-completion. In addition, remedial reading and writing courses often do not count for credit toward graduation and may hinder rather than support student progress. One way to mitigate the need for remedial coursework during college is to provide the remedial instruction in a low-stakes manner through summer bridge to college programs. The purpose of the present study was to measure the effects of remedial reading and writing instruction provided through a summer bridge program on first-year, academically at-risk DHH college students’ ( N = 20) reading and writing abilities. Methods: Using a pretest/posttest design, we implemented remedial reading and writing instruction for 2 hours a day, 5 days a week for 5 weeks. Results: Upon the completion of instruction, the student participants’ reading and writing skills improved. Conclusions/Contributions: Our findings may encourage researchers to attempt remedial instruction through summer bridge programs with other populations with disabilities or English language learners.

Georgia State University Perimeter College LSAMP Transfer Bridge Program: A Path Forward for Broadening Participation in Stem

Summer Bridge Programs are increasingly becoming a popular strategy for Colleges and Universities to retain more historically underrepresented minority students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Retaining students in STEM disciplines is a necessary first step in order to accomplish the ultimate goal of diversifying the STEM workforce to create innovative solutions for today’s complex problems. In this paper, the authors describe an exploratory and descriptive study of the promising Georgia State University Perimeter College (GSU-PC) Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Transfer Bridge Program. Most summer bridge programs are designed to facilitate seamless entry into college for incoming first year students, but the GSU-PC LSAMP Transfer Bridge program is designed to support the successful transition of underrepresented STEM students transferring from a 2-year to 4-year institution. Early results indicate that the Transfer Bridge participants were significantly more likely to enroll in a 4-year STEM program, receive a STEM bachelor’s degree, enroll in a post-baccalaureate STEM program, and receive a STEM post-baccalaureate degree than a comparison group of non-Transfer Bridge students at Georgia State University Perimeter College.

Persistence of Underrepresented Minorities in STEM Fields: Are Summer Bridge Programs Sufficient?

Disparities in undergraduate STEM degree completion across different racial/ethnic groups have been a topic of increasing national concern. This study investigates the long-term outcomes of a STEM intervention program designed to increase the academic preparation, achievement and persistence of under-represented minority students.In particular, this study examines the extent to which participation in a STEM intervention program can impact the long-term persistence and graduation of first-time in college under-represented minority students. Using discrete-time competing risks analysis, results demonstrated that participants of the intervention program had a lower probability of drop out and higher probability of persisting in a STEM field of study compared to non-participants of the program. Additionally, descriptive results demonstrated that participants of the STEM intervention program had higher rates of graduation in any field compared to non-participants of the program, while program participation was not a significant predictor of six-year graduation. Findings highlight the importance of early academic preparation in Calculus and total credit accumulation to student success outcomes of URM students enrolled in STEM fields. Recommendations from this study focus on early intervention efforts, particularly in the areas of mathematics, that ensure URM students are adequately prepared with the skills needed to succeed in a STEM field of study.

Enhancing Financial Literacy Among College Athletes

College students, including athletes, have limited exposure to financial education prior to enrolling in college (Britt et al., 2015). Athletes juggling two full-time roles as athlete and college student have limited time for financial education and the opportunity to work. Some athletes receive athletic scholarships and some do not, but either way, many athletes must seek additional funding and student loans to pay for college. Huston’s (2010) model demonstrated connections between financial literacy, behaviors, and education to serve as a framework for our study. The purpose of this study was to determine college athletes’ subjective and objective financial literacy, how they applied this knowledge, and their preferred mode(s) of financial education to pilot financial literacy education geared specifically for athletes based on their preferences. Data was collected from two institutions in the same Power 5 conference: monthly spending logs, focus groups, interviews, a financial knowledge survey, and pre- and post-tests flanking a financial literacy module in first-year experience courses and summer bridge. A Money 101 course was piloted over eight weeks, and peer financial counseling was offered. As athletes might gain access to their name, image, and likeness (NIL) for potential income in the near future, financial education is paramount.

Variability in STEM Summer Bridge Programs: Associations with Belonging and STEM Self-Efficacy

To address the challenges facing racial minority students majoring in STEM during the transition from high school to college, NSF funded Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) programs throughout the country implement summer bridge programs. Bridge programs vary in their focus on professional development, academic support, research experiences, social activities, and in other areas, but all share an intention to support students during their transition to college. Beyond retention, little is known about how these varied summer bridge experiences impact student outcomes in the first year of college. This study first describes the variability in the summer bridge programs in the Alabama LSAMP Alliance and then examines how differences in students’ satisfaction with their experiences are associated with feelings of belonging and STEM self-efficacy, two factors associated with STEM retention. Students (N = 145) who attended an LSAMP summer bridge program were surveyed at three time points over the first year of college. Findings indicated that bridge programs varied in their offering of academic classes, academic support (e.g., study skills), research experiences, professional development, and planned social activities. Students attending HBCUs scored more favorably than students at PWIs on some measures; however, these differences could be accounted for by satisfaction with bridge experiences. Satisfaction with specific aspects of the bridge programs, especially orientation activities and getting to know other students, were associated with feelings of belonging and STEM self-efficacy. These relations were stronger for belonging. Over the course of the academic year, the relations between bridge satisfaction and belonging and self-efficacy weakened.

A Meta-analysis of University STEM Summer Bridge Program Effectiveness

A meta-analysis of university STEM summer bridge programs found that participation had a medium-sized effect on first-year overall GPA ( d = 0.34) and university retention (Odds Ratio OR] = 1.747). Although the analysis reflects the limited available data, it provides much-needed research on programs’ objective effectiveness and guides future program development.

Impact of an intensive multi-disciplinary STEM enrichment program on underrepresented minority student success

PurposeThis study examines the impact of participation in a STEM Enrichment Summer Bridge Program, funded by the NSF Houston-Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, on undergraduate student success outcomes, particularly for under-represented students.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses propensity score matching and logistic regression analysis to examine the effects of participation in the STEM enrichment program on graduation and retention in STEM after matching on baseline socio-demographic and pre-college characteristics.FindingsThe analysis found that program participation had a significant effect on increasing both the graduation rates and retention of under-represented minority students in STEM fields. In addition, results indicated that program participation had a particularly strong impact for Pell-eligible students in terms of course grades.Research limitations/implicationsData obtained for this study were limited to a single Hispanic-serving/Asian-serving institution, and therefore are not necessarily representative of the graduation and retention trends of the larger population of underrepresented minority (URM) students across the nation.Originality/valueThis study uniquely adds to the existing body of literature surrounding the retention of URM students in STEM fields by accounting for baseline variables, such as pre-college academic achievement and socio-demographic characteristics, that could lead to bias in estimating results. Specifically, this study addresses limitations of previous studies by comparing participants and non-participants of the STEM enrichment program who are matched on a selection of baseline characteristics.

Beyond the Bridge

This qualitative study examines the experiences of seven students who were selected to attend a summer bridge program (SBP) located in the U.S. Midwest. Utilizing semi-structured interviews and organizational socialization theory, the study illuminates students’ preconceived notions about what it means to be in an SBP, experiences while in the program, and how those experiences help facilitate a successful transition into the first year of college and beyond. Findings revealed that participating in the SBP positively influenced students’ college experiences and ultimately their persistence to graduation. Recommendations drawn from the study are offered to higher education staff and administrators interested in starting or improving summer bridge or similar programs.