The aims of the Problem-Solving Community (PSC) of Scholars are to improve student success, retention, and degree persistence among underrepresented Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) majors at the University of Houston.
While transitioning from high school to college remains a challenge for students in STEM, many institutions provide various programming for improving first-year retention rates, including undergraduate research, active learning in the classroom, living and learning communities, summer bridge programming, and peer-led learning.
However, sophomore year retention has become a great concern for persistence since this is when STEM students typically enroll in key “gateway” courses, and targeted programming for achieving success in these courses is oftentimes not available. This program at UH provides support for undergraduate STEM students beyond their freshmen year and fosters a community of learners to promote persistence to degree completion.
PSC is a 5-week Problem-Solving bridge program (between freshmen and sophomore year) that exposes students to
- sophomore-level “gateway” course content
- a problem-solving workshop for skills
- community building through a cohort model
- and support via the Guaranteed 4.0 Learning System, which will provide tailored guidance and feedback on the process of learning for STEM student success