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This paper examines the impact of a National Science Foundation Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (NSF S-STEM) Program at a large, Minority-Serving institution in the western U.S. Despite growing efforts to diversify STEM fields, underrepresented minority (URM) students continue to face significant challenges in persistence and success. This scholarship program addresses these challenges by providing financial support, faculty and peer mentorship, and skills development opportunities to academically talented and low-income URM STEM students. This study evaluates how participation in the program enhances key noncognitive skills, such as students' sense of belonging, leadership and collaboration skills, and science identity, which are critical to STEM persistence. Using both survey and university-based data among the 47 participating scholars, results reveal that program participants report strong levels of sense of belonging, high efficacy in leadership and collaboration skills, and strong science/math identities. Additionally, compared to university rates, scholarship students showed above-average retention and graduation rates, with the majority pursuing graduate studies or careers in STEM. These findings highlight the importance of comprehensive support programs that integrate financial aid, mentorship, and professional development to promote persistence and success among URM students in STEM fields. 

Recent research in computing has shown that student performance on prerequisite course content varies widely, even when students continue to progress further through the computing curriculum. Our work investigates instructors' perspectives on the purpose of prerequisite courses and whether that purpose is being fulfilled. In order to identify the range of instructor views, we interviewed twenty-one computer science instructors, at two institutions, that teach a variety of courses in their respective departments. We conducted a phenomenographic analysis on the interview transcripts, which revealed a wide variety of views on prerequisite courses. The responses shed light on various issues with prerequisite course knowledge, as well as issues around responsibility and conflicting pressures on instructors. These issues arise at the department level, as well as with individual course offerings.