Initiative Launched To Get Freshmen Interested in STEM Majors
A group of 10 colleges and universities have signed
on to a
new initiative to encourage incoming freshmen to consider majoring in
science,
technology, engineering and math (STEM).
The #uifresh initiative was announced by the University Innovation Fellows in conjunction with the White House Science Fair, held
March
23.
While the initiative will take shape in
different ways on each
campus, almost all have begun to work with orientation-week organizers
to include
experiential learning opportunities that will connect first-year
students with
mentors and peers in the University Innovation Fellows program.
The University Innovation Fellows is a program designed to
encourage
students to act as mentors to help their peers on campus learn
entrepreneurial
mindsets and confidence. It is funded by the National Science Foundation
and
managed by the National Center for Engineering Pathways to Innovation.
The schools involved in the initiative so far are:
However, 115 United States institutions of higher education
are
involved with the University Innovations Fellowships program and more
can be
expected to participate in the #uifresh (University Innovation Freshmen)
initiative.
The program is intended to combat a trend documented
in a
report published by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and
Technology that indicates 60 percent of students who begin college
planning to
major in a STEM subject change their minds, often in their first year of
college.
Anne-Laure Fayard, associate professor of technology
management and innovation at NYU and program advisor, said of those
involved at
her university, "It will be exciting to see how they contribute to the
#uifresh
campaign by thinking of new ways to engage with incoming freshmen, who
may feel
nervous or unsure about taking on the rigors of college-level work in
STEM."
About the Author
Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.