Working with the Wesley College Cannon Scholar Program: Improving Retention, Persistence, and Success

Area of Science:

• STEM Education
• Undergraduate Research
• Mentoring Programs

Background:

• National Science Foundation (NSF) S-STEM grant supports STEM accessibility.
• Wesley College established the Cannon Scholar (CS) learning community (LC).
• The CS LC integrates multi-tiered mentoring and collaborative faculty-administrator efforts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of the Cannon Scholar learning community on STEM undergraduates.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of high-impact practices in supporting student retention and academic success.
• To analyze the outcomes of a comprehensive student engagement framework.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a mixed-cohort, freshman to senior level Cannon Scholar learning community.
• Utilizing multi-tiered mentoring as a core high-impact practice.
• Integrating existing research funding (NSF EPSCoR, NIH NIGMS-IR).}

Main Results:

• 66 unique scholarship recipients participated from 2014-2016.
• 82% of scholars engaged in directed research; 59% from underrepresented minorities; 65% female.
• 95% scholar retention rate and 100% of graduates entered STEM fields.

Conclusions:

• Intensive academic support and comprehensive engagement activities significantly improved Scholar GPAs and retention.
• The Cannon Scholar program demonstrates a successful model for enhancing STEM undergraduate commitment and success.
• High-impact practices within a structured learning community foster academic achievement and career entry in STEM.