Progress Of The Excel Program At The University Of Central Florida: An Nsf Step Funded Project Article Swipe
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· 2020
· Open Access
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· DOI: https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--4975
· OA: W2612506113
NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract Progress of the EXCEL Program at the University of Central Florida: An NSF STEP Funded Project Abstract The National Science Foundation is currently funding a STEP project at the University of - The NSF STEP program seeks to increase the number of students (U.S. citizens or permanent residents) receiving associate or baccalaureate degrees in established or emerging fields within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The STEP project at UCF, called the EXCEL Program, is a 5-year program funded in 2006. The specific goal of the EXCEL program , thereby increasing the number of students graduating with a STEM degree from the institution. In this process an increase in the percentages of under-represented groups (women and minorities) graduating with STEM degrees is expected, since UCF has high percentages of underrepresented minorities in STEM disciplines (more than 25% of STEM admits at UCF are Hispanics or African Americans). T oal, two important objectives are identified: (a) recruit students in EXCEL, and (b) retain the EXCEL students in STEM disciplines. The result of this effort will be an institutionalized program that can be completion, and disseminated at other educational institutions. infrastructure, the activities pursued to achieve its objectives, the results from these activities, 1. Introduction In the book Talking About Leaving, Why Undergraduates Leave the Sciences (see [1]) it is stated that nationally 40 percent of undergraduate students leave engineering programs, 50 percent leave the physical and biological sciences and 60 percent leave mathematics. The losses are disproportionately greater among women and students of color (also seen with the UCF numbers). The following is a list of some reasons that undergraduates who had left the sciences or engineering (referred to as STEM attrition) have provided: (1) Discouraged/loss of confidence due to low grades in early years, (2) Morale undermined by competitive STEM culture, (3) Curriculum overload, fast pace overwhelming, (4) Poor teaching by STEM faculty, (5) Inadequate advising or help with academic programs, and (6) Loss of interest in STEM, i.e., UCF participated in the University of Oklahoma six year (1995-2001) STEM Retention survey supported by NSF grant #REC9903426. This survey found that 31% of declared STEM majors dropped in the first year, 16% in the second year, 12% in the third year and 41% graduated in STEM. Thus the attrition in STEM disciplines occurs primarily in the first two years. This study had higher retention rates in STEM fields. UCF is a growing metropolitan university in Orlando, FL and the 5th largest university in the nation, serving a student population with high percentages of STEM underrepresented groups. Of
