Evaluating minority retention programs: problems encountered and lessons learned from the Ohio science and engineering alliance.
The retention rates for African-Americans, Hispanics, and Native-Americans in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are lower than those of White or Asian college students. In response, the National Science Foundation formed statewide partnerships of universities to develop programs to address this disparity. The deliberations and experiences in evaluating one such partnership are retrospectively reviewed. Problems and issues encountered during conceptualization and implementation are presented. Lessons learned from this endeavor should generalize to similar situations and provide guidance for others new to or interested in evaluating STEM retention programs as well as those evaluating collaborative endeavors.
White
Jeffry L
JL
Ashland University, 401 College Ave., 225 Schar Hall, Ashland, OH 44805, USA. jwhite7@ashland.edu
Altschuld
James W
JW
Lee
Yi-Fang
YF
D004738:Engineering / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008913:Minority Groups; D009820:Ohio; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012586:Science / Q000193:education*; D014495:Universities