Bonita Porter, Joyce Fernandes, Phyllis Callahan

ASSURE: An Intrusive Advising Model to enhance Retention

of Underrepresented Life Science majors

Outline

• Program Overview

• Profiles of Student Participants

• Retention Outcomes

• Implications

ASSURE: Achieving Success in Science through Undergraduate Research Experiences

• NSF Undergraduate Research & Mentoring grant awarded in 2007.

• GOALS:

• Increase the recruitment of underrepresented science students.

• Create First Year (FY) academic enrichment and mentoring.

• Prepare students for graduate study in the life sciences.

• Build a solid foundation to sustain the program.

Personnel:

• Started with 2 PIs, 1 graduate asst. in 2007• Each year participant numbers increased

• Asst. Director added in 2009 to:• Monitor students’ grades and lab experiences.

• Monthly newsletter to advise students of additional opportunities

• Meet with students as needed

• Coordinate with advisors, mentors, university offices

• Coordinate outreach & recruitment

Intrusive Advising model in Chemistry, Botany, Microbiology and Zoology (CBMZ)

• Requirements of ASSURE participation

• Undergraduate Research in CBMZ with faculty mentor

• Attend Monthly ASSURE Meetings

• Submit Monthly lab reports (Google docs)

• Research Poster for the Undergraduate Research Forum

• Develop an undergraduate research proposal

• Outreach: BRIDGES, STEM Exploration Academy

• Benefits: financial last dollar scholarship

ASSURE Student Qualifications

• Sophomores, Juniors or Seniors

• Major in CBMZ

• GPA ≥ 2.0

• Mostly underrepresented ethnically

2009-2012 annual cohorts contained 11, 13, 15 participants respectively• More females than males

ASSURE Group vs. Control Groups Size

risk factors include: first generation to college, Pell Eligible, and/orhigh financial need.

N Rep/no-risk

Rep/at-risk

UR/no-risk

UR/at-risk

Miami U control groups 625

446 (71%)

122 (19%) 30 (5%) 27 (4%)

ASSURE 39 8 (20%) 2 (5%) 10 (26%) 19 (49%)

Preparedness of students

N

% Students

with Transfer

Credit

Average # of

Transfer

Credits

GPA entering

2nd year at

Miami

ASSURE 39 20 (51.3%) 9.27 3.06

Represented/No Risk 446 313 (70%) 10.74 3.26

Represented/At Risk 122 77 (63.1%) 9.1582 3.26

Underrepresented/No Risk 30 17 (56.7%) 7.533 3.00

Underrepresented/At Risk 27 10 (37%) 4.92 2.61

GPA and 5-year Degree Completion

N

Semesters

Attended

MU Left MU

Final

GPA

Degree

Completed

CBMZ degree

completed

ASSURE 39 8.15 5 (12.8%) 3.11 32 (82%) 31 (79.5%)

Represented/No Risk 446 7.99 47 (10.5%) 3.32 390 (87%) 347 (77.8%)

Represented/At Risk 122 7.87 15 (12.3%) 3.12 100 (82%) 86 (70.5%)

Underrepresented/No Risk 30 7.5 4 (13.3%) 3.00 26 (87%) 22 (73.3%)

Underrepresented/At Risk 27 7.7 12 (44.4%) 2.66 13 (48%) 7 (26%)*

*Only significant change shown by Chi-square test is the comparison of UR/at-risk with ASSURE group.

ASSURE: Retention & Graduation

N Semesters at MU

Left MU Final GPA DegreeCompleted

CBMZ degree Completed

Represented/no-risk

8 8 0 3.52 100% 100%

Represented/at-risk

2 8 0 3.285 100% 100%

UR/no-risk 10 8.4 1 (10%) 3.06 90% 80%

UR/at-risk 19 8.1 4 (21%) 2.9 12 (63%) 12 (63%)

Outcomes of UR/at risk students

N Semesters at MU

Left MU Final GPA DegreeCompleted

CBMZ degree Completed

Control Group: UR/At Risk 27 7.7 12 (44.4%) 2.66 13 (48%) 7 (26%)

ASSURE: UR/at-risk 19 8.1 4 (21%) 2.9 12 (63%) 12 (63%)

Additional ASSURE Outcomes

• 23 (58%) participated in summer research programs on campus, in the US and abroad

• 19 (48%) presented a poster at a professional regional or national meeting &/or co-authored a published research paper with their mentors

• 13 (33%) entered graduate or medical schools after graduating.

• Others are working in research labs, are active in the military or teaching.

Implications for practice: the problems

• Ethnicity alone is not a big risk factor

• UR ethnicity + other risk factors < retention & graduation rates

• Research needs to be done to discover the reasons for the higher impact of poverty on ethnically underrepresented students

• Focus for spending needs to be on the places where ethnic minority and poverty intersect.

Beneficial practices to improve retention of Underrepresented life science students

• Laboratory research

• An advocate/advisor

• Explicit communication re: • undergrad research options, REUs, URF, career options

• Group meetings & discussions

• Study skills class to parallel first year gateway courses.

• Last dollar scholarship assistance is very important for low income students.

Conclusion:

What you do for the least of these, ...

Questions?

Thanks to:

Drs. Phyllis Callahan and Joyce Fernandes, Principal InvestigatorsDr. Jayanthi Sanjeevi, statistical analysis and BIO 104 designer/instructor