A pre-STEM program is a course of study at any two-year college that prepares a student to transfer to a four-year school to earn a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to si ...

in a

STEM field Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the distinct but related technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The term is typically used in the context o ...

Overview

The concept of a pre-STEM program is being developed to address America's need for more college-trained professionals in

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence ...

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, scien ...

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

, and

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

(STEM). It is an innovation meant to fill a gap at

community colleges A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior sec ...

that do not have 'major' degree paths that students identify with on their way to earning an

Associates degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The f ...

. Students must complete a considerable amount of STEM coursework before transferring from a two-year school to a four-year school and earn a

baccalaureate degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in a STEM field. Schools with a pre-STEM program are able to identify those students and support them with STEM-specific

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

and career advising, increasing the student's chances of going on to earn a STEM baccalaureate degree in a timely fashion. With over 50% of America's college-bound students starting their college career at public or private two-year school, and with a very small proportion of students who start college at a two-year school matriculating to and earning STEM degrees from four-year schools, pre-STEM programs have great potential for broadening participation in baccalaureate STEM studies.

Example programs

The effectiveness of pre-STEM programs is being investigated by a consortium of schools in Missouri:

Moberly Area Community College Moberly Area Community College (MACC) is a public community college based in Moberly, Missouri. In addition to the Moberly campus, MACC has four campuses across a large portion of Northeastern and central Missouri: Columbia, Hannibal, Kirksville ...

, St. Charles Community College, Metropolitan Community College, and

Truman State University Truman State University (TSU or Truman) is a public university in Kirksville, Missouri. It had 4,225 enrolled students in the fall of 2021 pursuing degrees in 52 undergraduate and 11 graduate programs. The university is named for U.S. Presid ...

. A larger group of schools met at the Belknap Springs Meetings in October 2009 to discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by STEM-focused partnerships between 2-year and 4-year schools. Each program represented a two-year school and a four-year school that were trying to increase the number of people who earn a baccalaureate degree in a STEM area through various means, some of which were pre-STEM programs. Other methods includes summer

research Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...

experiences for community college students, enhanced support for community college students once they transfer to a four-year school, or simply understanding the challenges STEM transfer students face. This meeting was made possible by funding from the

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National ...

. All participants were funded by an NSF STEP grant at the time of the meeting.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Missouri Pre-STEM Pathways Program

''Scientists Prepared, Enriched and Challenged Through Research-based Activities''
(SPECTRA), an NSF PRISM-funded program a
Truman State University
Science education in the United States Engineering education in the United States Mathematics education in the United States

Overview

Example programs

See also

References

External links