Working with the Wesley College Cannon Scholar Program: Improving Retention, Persistence, and Success

Abstract

Wesley College secured a five-year (2014-2019) National Science Foundation (NSF) S-STEM (scholarships in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) grant to provide affordability and access to its robust STEM programs. With these funds, the College initiated a freshman to senior level, mixed-cohort, Cannon Scholar (CS) learning community. To receive an annual scholarship for four years, the Scholars must be United States citizens or permanent residents, demonstrate financial need, maintain an annual cumulative GPA of 2.7, and remain a STEM major. For Cannon Scholars interested in mentored research, existing NSF EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research), and National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of General Medical Sciences - IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) funding, complement the innovation and cross-disciplinary collaboration in the CS programming. This enriches and further supports its Scholars.
Three years into the S-STEM grant, the 2014-2016 Cannon Scholars’ average GPAs are approximately two-thirds of a letter grade higher than the non-CS STEM majors, and approximately two-sixths of a letter grade higher than the Colleges non-STEM majors. Supplementing engaging STEM-opportunities with resource-intensive academic and financial actions, resulted in all twenty-one of the 2014-2016 CS graduates entering STEM professions.