The Glendale Community College Math and Science Transfer, Excellence and Retention (MASTER) project will increase the number of students pursuing science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines at the associate degree level. Participants will be supported via financial assistance, mentoring and support for successful transfer to a four year university, in a learning community of scholars. Objectives will focus on providing scholarships to academically talented, financially disadvantaged STEM students; providing support to these scholars that will enable a minimum of 70% to persist until associate degree/transfer achievement; and providing transfer assistance to students in the program who complete requirements and desire enrollment in a four-year institution.

The college will reach out to groups of talented students who would otherwise not be able to, or not choose to, enter into a STEM career. Such students come from underrepresented minorities and low income families, and often are or would be first generation college students. For these young men and women, college, and particularly a STEM career, represents a formidable barrier, but one that can be overcome with special financial help and learning assistance. Glendale Community College (GCC) is particularly well positioned to conduct such a program and make it a success. As a community college, GCC is the entry point for precisely the kind of low-income and minority students that the program desires to reach. Further, the college already has considerable experience doing just the type of outreach required for the program. It has run for over ten years a very successful Alliance for Minority Participation (AMP) program in collaboration with California State University, Northridge. The college already has an extensive support system to help students succeed, especially those who do not have a strong support system of their own, such as first generation college students and students from lower economic strata. The college’s counseling staff is one of the largest in the state, as is the supplemental instruction program which provides collaborative learning workshops in many science and math classes. GCC has a Math/Science Center for computer work and drop-in tutoring, a regular tutoring program, and, because of the AMP experience, a mentoring program and a summer bridge program focusing on math training and general college preparation. In addition, the college has a strong academic program, in the top 10% among California community colleges, that transfers a large number of students to the University of California and California State University systems and to private universities such as the University of Southern California.

The project has significant intellectual merit: activities address a major challenge in recruiting students to STEM careers; it is supported by a capable faculty and by adequate institutional facilities, resources, and commitment, as detailed elsewhere in this document; it focuses on documenting measurable improvements in student learning; and integrates effective evaluation and dissemination design. The project will also have broader impacts: a replicable support system for STEM students will be disseminated and be useful to other institutions; and faculty will take specific steps to ensure that pedagogical strategies related to enhancing the success of underrepresented students will be integrated into instructional approaches benefiting the college’s diverse student population and broadening the successful participation of underrepresented groups in STEM-related learning.