To the extent that community college leadership seeks to provide access and equity to traditionally underrepresented groups, summer science bridge programs attempt to provide access to underrepresented science students. The problem addressed by the researcher is the impact of grade point average or science degree attainment of community college…

Summer bridge programs are supposed to connect a graduating high school senior's summer to their first semester in college, easing the transition away from home and into a university setting. Although research is plentiful on the programs, assessments regarding the overall effectiveness of such programs have been mixed (e.g., Cabrera, Miner, and…

The high demand for scientists and engineers in the workforce means that there is a continuing need for more strategies to increase student completion in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors. The challenge lies in finding and enacting effective strategies to increase students' completion of STEM degrees and in recruiting…

Academic confidence cultivated within the context of learning communities may be an important key to student success. This study examined the structural relationships of four constructs on academic performance and persistence for summer bridge learning community (SBLC) and non-SBLC members. Constructs included: 1) student background; 2) academic…

This quasi-experimental, action-research study explored a five-week pre-enrollment initiative called the Pathways Summer Bridge (PSB) Program in the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University (ASU). Theoretically framed and developed using the six components of Tinto's (1993) longitudinal model of institutional…

Recruiting and retaining Appalachian engineering students is difficult for a variety of ecological and cultural reasons. At West Virginia University an NSF STEP grant has allowed the development of specific interventions to evolve from an ecological model we describe here. The interventions include web-based, realistic engineering design exercises…

Retention and graduation rates for engineering disciplines are significantly lower than desired, and research literature offers many possible causes. Engineering learning communities provide the opportunity to study relationships among specific causes and to develop and evaluate activities designed to lessen their impact. This paper details an…

In an effort to reduce the engineering student withdrawal rate due to mathematics, The University of Alabama developed a unique, informal, interactive, and interdisciplinary five-week summer residence program called the Engineering Math Advancement Program (E-MAP). The program aims to increase retention by preparing students to be successful in…

Despite the major push for higher student outcomes in graduation, school achievement, and test scores, even when legislated (NCLB, 2001), too many students fail to persist in school, often choosing to drop out as their last resort (Bridgeland, DiIulio, & Morison, 2006). Specifically, one third of the nation's students drop out of school, even when…

In this important resource, Dr. Fleming (a noted expert in the field of minority retention) draws on educational evaluations she has developed in the course of her distinguished career. This book analyzes the common factors and the role institutional characteristics play in minority student retention to show what really works in increasing…

More emphasis should be placed on what can be done to help encourage and prepare students choosing STEM-based majors to enter college, be successful, and graduate. Summer bridge programs can provide pre-college experiences to help attract and retain future STEM majors by exposing them to experiences they would encounter in college math and science…

Evaluated an experimental volunteer summer program designed to increase the success rate of conditionally accepted college students. Collected information about student characteristics and aspirations and follow-up data regarding retention and academic success of student participants. Results indicated increased student understanding of goals and…

A six-week University of Virginia residential summer program exposing minority college students to the rigors of medical school has been highly successful in increasing recruitment and retention of minorities. Cooperation with a consortium that includes historically black colleges and universities has been a key program element. Lack of minority…

A four-week summer program at Georgia State University prepares entering African-American students for college work through instruction in mathematics, reading, composition, study skills, word processing, tutoring, academic and career counseling, mentoring, and follow-up. The program has been well received and succeeded in enhancing retention.…

In an effort to improve minority recruitment and retention, the University of Arizona collaborated with Pima Community College to launch the Exploratory Transfer Institute (ETI), a summer program to encourage minority students who were not considering transfer to do so. The ETI was conceived, planned, and implemented through a relatively complex…