A key element of our aim to break down barriers to participation in science for all students is a one-week pre-orientation designed to help alleviate the anxieties of the first year, since these may make for students an uncomfortable campus climate and hinder their academic performance. This pre-orientation is held the week preceding 51²è¹İapp’s general orientation for new students.
51²è¹İapp student data show that factors unrelated to individual students’ abilities and college preparedness result in a disproportionate number of students of color and first-generation college students not continuing in their intended STEM major at 51²è¹İapp. To the extent that conditions at 51²è¹İapp are contributing to this “pushout,†we want remove these external factors so students may persist toward their goals.. As such, the aim of the greater 51²è¹İapp Science Project (GSP) is to improve the experience of students from these historically marginalized groups, and the pre-orientation program — with its focus on developing community, confidence, and a sense of belonging in STEM at 51²è¹İapp — is a key aspect of achieving the aim of GSP.
All students are welcome to participate in this effort. Any new student may indicate their interest in participating in the pre-orientation program. We use information from application materials, as well as completion of the GSP Interest Form to identify students for whom the program is designed to support, as well as all students who express a desire to support the program’s goals (see below). Said students will have a deep interest in STEM and an affinity with, or expressed interest in the experience of, people within STEM who are from historically marginalized groups. We invite these students to participate in the GSP pre-orientation, accepting applicants on a first-come, first-served basis until the program’s capacity of 32 is reached.
The goals of the pre-orientation include:
- improving the experience of STEM-oriented students who come from groups historically marginalized in STEM fields (including first generation college students, students of color, women in the physical sciences)
- providing a student cohort in which relationships and a support network may be built;
- creating and supporting relationships between students and a variety of science faculty;
- acquainting students to and helping them to feel comfortable with an array of support services the College provides.
Participants in the GSP pre-orientation meet upper-level STEM students and faculty members who teach science and mathematics courses. Students participate in faculty-led sample classes and a research-like project, thus learning some about faculty expectations for students in their courses. Student life and academic support professionals become familiar and friendly resources as well. Additionally, faculty members participate in many of the social events, starting by dining with the participants’ families, many of whom are involved in college education for the first time, when they arrive on campus. The difficulties inherent in adjusting to the new demands of college are relieved by the personal attention students receive during the pre-orientation. Furthermore, the participants feel like “experts†when other new students arrive, and can offer directions and advice to them, further bolstering their confidence and aiding in the development of a supportive and welcoming community within STEM for all students.