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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Sep 2.
Published in final edited form as: In Vivo (Brooklyn). 2008 Fall;30(1):22–28.

Its Time to Step into Science at Medgar Evers College

Margaret A Carroll 1, Dereck Skeete 1, Edward J Catapane 1
PMCID: PMC4557767  NIHMSID: NIHMS718780  PMID: 26346457

Abstract

Over the next decade, demand and job opportunities in science and engineering (S&E) are expected to grow. With so many S&E “baby-boomers” retiring, questions arise as to whether America will be able to attract enough young people into Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) to maintain a S&E workforce that keeps up with what is becoming a more globally technologically and scientifically advancing society. Furthermore, considering recent projections of a nation more racially and ethnically diverse by mid-century, will America’s future STEM workforce reflect the diversity projected for our growing U.S. population? In 2006, the authors received an award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to direct a new initiative titled “STEP into Science.” Funded under the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Talent Expansion Program (STEP) of the NSF Division of Undergraduate Education, the main goal of the project is to increase the number of STEM majors that graduate with baccalaureate degree, specifically B.S. degrees in Biology or Environmental Science. The program has had great success implementing the use of “peer recruiters” to attract more high school, transfer, and non-science college students into STEM majors and places emphasis on the role of undergraduate research experiences as a successful strategy to increase the quality and retention of science majors through their baccalaureate degree. Since the inception of the program, total STEM enrollment has more than doubled and the number of majors actively engaged in research has risen 38% with a concurrent increase in student research presentations at scientific conference, and the number of students receiving external research internships and travel awards to attend national conferences. The number of STEM graduates (both A.S. and B.S.) has also increased and the program anticipates that these and future STEP into Science graduates will continue on to Masters and Doctoral programs in STEM and ultimately enter rewarding careers in the science enterprise.

Introduction

According to the National Science Board (2004), the events of September 11, 2001, have resulted in an increased urgency and a new focus to the changing strategic role of science and technology in this post-Cold War era. The U.S. economic performance of the 1990s has given impetus to the trend toward a knowledge-based economy, “one in which research, its commercial exploitation, and other intellectual work play a growing role in driving economic growth1.” Emphasis has been placed on critically evaluating and improving America’s strengths especially in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Over the last decade the U.S. has shifted to the negative side of the high-technology trade balance, an indicator of the international competitiveness of the nation’s high-technology industries. Since 1998, trade data for a number of high-technology manufacturing industries including aerospace, pharmaceuticals and scientific instruments, indicate U.S. imports exceeding exports. In addition, since 2002, U.S. trade for 10 high-technology product categories (including biotechnology, life sciences, aerospace and nuclear technology) has also turned negative2. As economic and social development continues in science and technology-focused nations like China and India, questions arise as to whether the U.S. will be able to maintain a science and engineering (S&E) workforce that can keep up in what is becoming a more globally technologically and scientifically advancing society. With the baby-boomers retiring, we face a major loss in our S&E workforce and questions arise as to whether the need for qualified workers will be met, and perhaps more importantly will this future workforce reflect the ethnic and racial diversity projected for our growing U.S. population? The U.S. Census Bureau News released an August 2008 press statement projecting that by mid-century, the nation will be more racially and ethnically diverse, as well as much older3. Minorities, now roughly one-third of the U.S. population, are expected to become the majority in 2042, with the nation projected to be 54 percent minority in 2050. Over the next 40 years, the percent minority of the U.S. population in all age groups is expected to increase (Fig. 1) and by 2023, minorities will comprise more than half of all children.

Figure 1.

Figure 1

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Percent Minority of the U.S. Population by Selected Age Groups 2010 to 2050

Source: Population Division, U.S. Census Bureau

Released: August 14, 2008

As the population demographics change, and fewer white non-Hispanic men obtain S&E degrees, the importance of women and minorities pursuing degrees in these fields rises4. If we are to meet the growing needs of a technologically and scientifically advanced society that fully captures the strength of America’s diversity, greater effort must be placed on attracting and preparing more women and underrepresented minorities (URM) to pursue STEM careers. Many government agencies, including the National Science Foundation (NSF) National Institute of Health (NIH) and the Department of Education (DOE) are cognizant of this fact and support various programs that address the need to encourage more women and minorities to pursue science degrees.

In 2006, the authors received an award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to direct an initiative titled “STEP into Science.” This project, funded under the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Talent Expansion Program (STEP) of the NSF Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE), represents an interdisciplinary effort to recruit and graduate more students with baccalaureate degrees in Biology or Environmental Science. The program anticipates that many of these science graduates will continue on to Masters and Doctoral programs in STEM and ultimately enter rewarding careers in the science enterprise.

MEC, founded in 1970, is situated in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, one of the largest, most densely populated and ethnically varied sections of the borough. The college offers both Associates and Baccalaureate degrees and serves a diverse student body representing all areas of New York City, especially the surrounding Brooklyn community. Approximately 75% of the student population is female and over 95% are underrepresented minorities (URM), most of whom are of African descent (Fig 2).

Figure 2.

Figure 2

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Medgar Evers College Demographics

While the Biology (BIO) and Physical, Environmental and Computer Sciences (PECS) departments enroll and graduate the majority of STEM majors at the College, the number of science graduates, particularly at the baccalaureate level, remains vastly inadequate and echoes the national concern of a future deficit of qualified and diverse individuals, to provide the technologically and scientifically advanced workforce that will ensure a healthy economy, respond to the demands of national security and maintain and elevate the quality of life and standard of living in the U.S.

It is common in numerous urban, public colleges across the nation that many talented and potentially successful students enter college believing they can not be successful academically or professionally as a Science major. Much of this can be due to the fact that they: (1) have not been encouraged in their pre-college experiences to choose Science as a major; (2) are not adequately informed and encouraged when they start college about Science degree programs and the potential professional career opportunities available to B.S. graduates; (3) often enter college “at risk” with a weak high school science education and a variety of financial and other personal problems. The current retention rate at MEC for degree seeking students is inadequate and over 90% of entering freshman who earn a baccalaureate degree in the sciences require 5 or more years to do so.

Faculty in the BIO and PECS departments have a long history of initiating and participating in numerous activities to advance their programs, improve the quality and quantity of their majors, and educate non-majors and the community to the importance of science in their lives. The STEP into Science program builds upon previous STEM successes and existing articulations and research collaborations. To further increase the number of Science graduates, the STEP into Science program initiated a plan that: (1) aggressively recruits new students and non-STEM students from within the college who select majors in either the BIO or PECS departments; (2) improves retention of the science majors by providing additional academic, financial and mentoring support; (3) strengthens both academic departments with curricula that fosters the integration of research, technology and academics to better equip majors with the skills and knowledge necessary to be successful applicants to graduate/professional programs.

Now in its second year, STEP into Science at MEC is showing progress in furthering the number of science majors who will graduate with STEM baccalaureate degrees, and represents a logical step in the college’s continued quest to afford the highest quality science education to the urban community it serves.

Progress to Date

A major goal of the STEP into Science program is to recruit more students as Biology or Environmental Science majors. A comprehensive recruitment program involving brochures, fliers, web pages and open houses was begun in Fall 2006 and included the implementation of a very successful strategy that utilized “peer recruiters” to attract more non-STEM majors and transfer students into our science programs. So far, 10 STEP into Science student participants have been trained and are working as peer program recruiters. These experienced junior or senior science majors have visited various freshman programs, non-majors science classes and campus clubs to inform MEC students of the career opportunities and “do-ability” of being a Science major. Peer recruiters have also gone to neighboring high schools and local community colleges to boost enrollment of new science majors and transfer students. STEP into Science was also able to cosponsor two major conferences at the college. The program co-hosted the Medgar Evers College Thirteenth Annual Conference on Environmental Issues. Con Edison and the PECS department were the major sponsors. About 400 students attended the conference which had a full series of activities, including a Keynote address by James Hicks on plaNYC: A Greener, Greater New York. The program also co-hosted the NEA Day Conference at Medgar Evers College in which representatives from the Northeast Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (NEA-AGEP), a program funded by NSF in which the University of Massachusetts, Amherst is the lead institution, were able to meet with current and potential science students to explain research and graduate school opportunities available to them. Approximately 300 students attended the events which included a Keynote address presented by Vice Admiral Adam R. Robinson, Surgeon General of the Navy.

Fig. 3 indicates that program recruitment efforts have been successful in attracting more students as STEM majors. Total STEM enrollment has more than doubled since the inception of the program (Fall 2006). Most of this increase has been due to many more students electing Biology as their major.

Figure 3.

Figure 3

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MEC STEM Enrollment

Another major goal of the program is to increased student retention through the baccalaureate degree and to afford the academic, professional and motivational experiences necessary for them to be successful applicants into graduate STEM programs. Providing opportunities for more research to improve both student quality and retention rate is a major retention strategy of the STEP into Science program. Fig. 4 shows the significant increase in student interest and participation in research activities and external research internships since the inception of the program. The number of students actively engaged in research has increase by 38%, along with a 50% increase in external internships. Student research presentations at scientific conferences increase by 58% and the number of students receiving travel awards to attend conferences increased by 65%.

Figure 4.

Figure 4

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STEM Enrichment Activities

Even though the STEP into Science program is only in its second year, the college has already seen an increase in the number of students graduating with STEM degrees. Fig. 5 shows a 50% increase in the total number of students graduating with STEM degrees in AY 2007–2008 compared to AY 2005–2006, before program interventions. The most gains were seen in the number of students receiving the A.S. in Biology and B.S. in Biology degrees, 51% and 56% respectively. Many of the A.S. graduates are now enrolled in the B.S. in Biology or B.S. in Environmental Science program. So far, there has been little to no improvement in the number of graduates with other STEM degrees.

Figure 5.

Figure 5

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MEC Degrees Awarded

Summary

The most recent Occupational Outlook Handbook of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2008–09) projects that the demand and job opportunities for scientists and engineers will continue to grow, with some specialties, growing far faster than the national average for all occupations. As biotechnological research and development continues to drive job growth, employment of life scientists is projected to grow 15% over the 2006–2016 decade. Even greater growth is expected for environmental scientist (25%), and biomedical and environmental engineering (21% and 25% respectively)5. Will America be able to attract enough young people into STEM to generate sufficient numbers of qualified, skilled scientists and science engineers to meet this need?

Implementing successful recruitment strategies is a major barrier in attracting more college students into STEM majors. Often it’s assumed that high school graduates, especially women and underrepresented groups, avoid choosing STEM degree programs because their scores indicate that they are ill prepared for the rigors of college mathematics and science courses. However studies have found that African American and Hispanic college students with high grade point averages and SAT scores above 600 still may not pursue STEM college majors for reasons including poor teaching in STEM courses, lack of encouragement from teachers or parents and self-perception of their own inability to be successful in STEM majors6. Most of the recruitment efforts to attract more URM students into science majors involve impersonal forms of advertising explaining various programs, or use of adult recruiters that may or may not represent valid role models to the students they are trying to attract. Wardlow, Graham, and Scott, exploring the recruitment of URM into agricultural science, noted that minority youth tended to follow the experiences of successful older youth from the community7. The STEP into Science peer recruiter initiative has been a very popular and engaging strategy for both recruiters and perspective majors. Upper level science majors are the best science role models to recruit the population being targeted. They can give personal insight on how they handled degree requirements, and hopefully entice students by relating their research and other enrichment experiences as well as future goals. Recruiters benefit as well as they gain in pride and self-confidence, while conveying their science accomplishments and experiences to their peers.

Even with the recruitment of more science majors, another major stumbling block is how one improves student retention through the baccalaureate degree. National statistics show that in 1998, 33% of White, Black, Hispanic and American Indian freshmen and 43% of Asian freshmen entered STEM majors8; however fewer than 50% completed B.S. degrees within 5 years, with URM dropping out of STEM programs at higher rates than other groups9. Numerous reports discus the various academic and social factors that encourage URM science majors to “drop out” including poor high school preparation, financial problems, academic and cultural isolation, peers who are not supportive of academic success, motivation and performance vulnerability in the face of low expectations, and discrimination, whether perceived or actual10–19. The inability of high school teachers to properly prepare students for the rigors of college science is a serious concern. It is estimated that 29% of high school math teachers and 23% of high school science teachers never majored or even minored in these subject20. The percentages are even higher for inner city school systems like NYC. The retention problem is complex for there is considerable evidence that some of the college losses in STEM areas come from a pool of capable undergraduates18. In 1997 Tinto indicated that the most important influence on students’ persistence in their studies is their ability to develop a network of support, often identified as a learning community21. Another major factor in student success and retention is involvement with faculty15. When students have frequent friendly interactions with faculty members, their development of intellectual competence, sense of confidence, autonomy and interdependence, purpose, and integrity are often enhanced22. Other reports have shown increased informal student-faculty interaction results in satisfaction with the overall quality of education and persistence in obtaining the degree23–26. MEC is essentially a college of non-traditional, commuting students, many of whom hold full/part-time jobs and/or have families to tend to. Considering these circumstances, it is often difficult to devise successful strategies that allow for enrichment experiences fostering better faculty-student or student/student interaction outside of class time. A supportive science-learning environment involves more than just coursework. If we are to expect the students to remain as science majors and aspire to rewarding careers in the science industry, one needs to afford them opportunities that entice them to persist by informing them of the latest cutting-edge scientific advancements, by exposing them to exemplary science professionals and high-level science career opportunities, and by providing them with experiences that demonstrate the value and do-ability of scientific research. Integrating research with academics is a major focus of the STEP into Science program. The project has already made significant progress in getting more science majors involved, including freshman and sophomores, in both on-camps and external research projects. Students value and appreciate the opportunities to work on these research projects and there is great STEM retention value in engaging students in the practice of science and all the other activities that go along with practicing science, as early as possible. Students’ responses to program generated questionnaires and activity evaluations consistently indicate that their participation on research projects and having the opportunity to travel to conferences, scientific sites and various research universities are major highlights of the STEP into Science program and their undergraduate experience at MEC. These enrichment activities have generated greater science interest and science self-confidence in the majors than if the program had been designed to narrowly focused on purely academically based interventions and strategies.

Many other published reports indicate that undergraduate research experience is a successful educational tool for enhancing the undergraduate experience27,28; and is particularly effective as a strategy to increase student interest in pursuing STEM careers29,30. In addition, several studies have supported the hypothesis that undergraduate research helps promote career pathways for members of underrepresented groups by increasing the retention rate of minority undergraduates31, increasing the rate of graduate education in minority students32 and increasing STEM graduate school enrollment for URM and women33.

Getting undergraduate science majors to aspire to and be competitive for admission into STEM graduate programs is essential if they are to be properly prepared for rewarding careers in the science and technology enterprise. This trend towards seeking higher degrees is key because scientists and engineers with only B.S. degrees have less status and a lower earning potential than those with doctoral degrees. The current disparity among scientists from different racial/ethnic groups in educational attainment remains a serious problem. In 1997, 64% of black scientists in the U.S. labor force had a B.S. as their highest degree compared with 57% of all scientists34 and the percentage of all doctoral scientist and engineers in the U.S. of African descent was only 3%35. While some progress has occurred over the last decade, recent data indicate that the number of doctoral scientist and engineers in the U.S. of African descent had barely risen, to just over 4%36. A quote from Reaching the Top, the 1997 report of the National Task force on Minority High Achievement, states:

“Until many more URM from disadvantaged, middle class, and upper class circumstances are very successfully educated, it will be virtually impossible to integrate our society’s institutions completely, especially at leadership levels. Without such progress, the United States also will continue to be unable to draw on the full range of talents in our population during an era when the values of an educated citizenry have never been greater37”.

This observation remains current and provides much of the drive and momentum to the STEP into Science initiative at Medgar Evers College.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by grants 0622197 of the DUE Program of NSF, 66273-0035 of the MRI Program of NSF, 2R25GM06003-05 of the Bridge Program of NIGMS, and 0516041071 of NYSDOE.

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