Promoting Achievement for Community College STEM Students through Equity-Minded Practices

Area of Science:

• Education
• STEM Education
• Higher Education

Background:

• Community colleges educate one-third of U.S. undergraduates.
• Community college students are diverse, often older, working, low-income, and first-generation.
• These students are more likely to require developmental education and be underrepresented in STEM fields.

Purpose of the Study:

• Characterize community college students and their academic achievement.
• Identify challenges faced by students, particularly in STEM.
• Propose equity-based strategies to improve STEM success.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics.
• Analyzed demographic characteristics of community college students.
• Examined academic achievement, retention, and degree attainment rates in STEM.

Main Results:

• Community college students exhibit lower academic achievement, retention, and STEM degree attainment rates.
• Underrepresented minority groups in STEM show even lower achievement.
• Significant demographic differences exist between students and faculty.

Conclusions:

• Equity-based strategies are essential to address achievement gaps in STEM.
• Increasing faculty diversity and implementing inclusive pedagogies are recommended.
• Reforming developmental education is critical for student success.