Recruitment and retention of minorities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics: An evaluation of the Tennessee Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation program

This study evaluated the Tennessee Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (TLSAMP) program. The goal of TLSAMP is to increase the number of degrees awarded to underrepresented STEM students by 100 percent in a 5 year period. The population was students and faculty currently participating in the TLSAMP program during the 2004–2005 school year. Participants included were 144 students and 30 faculty. Several statistical analyses performed answered the four hypotheses and twelve research questions. These students perceived faculty mentoring as the most useful resource offered by the program. Faculty/Administrators also perceived faculty mentoring as the most useful resource. Students perceived the TLSAMP program as effective in increasing their likelihood to graduate. Students living on campus had higher GPAs; working long hours on a job had a negative effect on the students\u27 GPAs. Recommendations forthcoming from this study include: (1) Administrators of the TLSAMP program should examine results and determine areas for improvement. Scrutiny should be given to the general comments made by faculty and students. (2) TLSAMP needs to increase its recruitment efforts. More attention should be given to community colleges and high schools for recruitment. TLSAMP should actively recruit students who have not yet declared a major or are undecided. (3) Increased efforts should be placed on helping these students reach matriculation. (4) All freshmen students should be required to live on campus and all upper-classmen should be encouraged to live on campus. (5) There should be an increase in financial assistance to negate the need for students to work long hours. (6) A formative evaluation of the program should be completed on each campus yearly. (7) An evaluation of TLSAMP with disaggregated data should be performed. This would allow each institution to compare itself with the other institutions and see how improvements can be made. (8) A summative evaluation of the TLSAMP program should be completed at the end of the 5-year deadline