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Abstract:
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Project Futurebound is a demonstration program at the University of Arizona to increase the enrollment, retention, and graduation of women in tracks leading to B.S. and graduate degrees in STEM fields. The program addresses different needs and issues across fields and among groups, reflecting the multiple intersections of gender and ethnicity. The most underrepresented of all, women of color, is a special focus. Effective strategies to enroll and retain more women in STEM fields include recruiting women at community colleges and providing a community of support at the university for women transfer students. Women accepted into the program participate in Futurebound for the critical first year after transfer. The program is designed to address issues of transfer shock and the correspondingly high attrition rate of transfer students. The Futurebound program works by building a sense of community within the cohort of transfer students, developing students self-identity as scientists and engineers, and connecting students to the larger university community. After the women have transferred, Futurebound provides yearlong stipends for research laboratory internships at the university. Specific programmatic components include: A) Mentoring for individuals, in small groups, and within the larger cohort; B) Academic advising; C) A curriculum that explores issues of gender, racial, and class inequities in academia and the STEM fields; D) Enrichment workshops and specialized tutoring; E) Research internships in laboratories; F) Financial support; and G) A year-end student poster symposium. These Futurebound Scholars overcame transfer shock and had a much higher retention rate at the university than transfer students in STEM fields who did not participate in the program (91% versus 69% as of May 2004). Futurebound Scholars engaged in cutting-edge research, synthesizing their experience and work within their general field of study. The personal growth and development of each individual was evident in witnessing the transformation from transfer student, a student uncertain that she could succeed at the university or belonged in her field to university graduate, a confident scientist/engineer who can discuss her own research with a diverse audience.
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