Progress Of The Excel Program At The University Of Central Florida: An Nsf Step Funded Project

The National Science Foundation is currently funding a STEP project at the University of Central Florida (UCF) titled “UCF-STEP Pathways to STEM: From Promise to Prominence”. The NSF STEP program seeks to increase the number of students (U.S. citizens or permanent residents) receiving associate or baccalaureate degrees in established or emerging fields within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The STEP project at UCF, called the EXCEL Program, is a 5-year program funded in 2006. The specific goal of the EXCEL program is to increase UCF’s retention rates in STEM disciplines, thereby increasing the number of students graduating with a STEM degree from the institution. In this process an increase in the percentages of under-represented groups (women and minorities) graduating with STEM degrees is expected, since UCF has high percentages of underrepresented minorities in STEM disciplines (more than 25% of STEM admits at UCF are Hispanics or African Americans). To achieve EXCEL’s goal, two important objectives are identified: (a) recruit students in EXCEL, and (b) retain the EXCEL students in STEM disciplines. The result of this effort will be an institutionalized program that can be sustained at UCF, after the grant’s completion, and disseminated at other educational institutions. This paper discusses EXCEL’s infrastructure, the activities pursued to achieve its objectives, the results from these activities, and the lessons learned in the first three years of EXCEL’s operation.

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