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EMILY HELTON, First2 Network, Fairmont State University, Fairmont, WV, 26554; MARY ELLEN SULLIVAN, First2 Network; ERICA HARVEY, First2 Network; and SUE ANN HEATHERLY, First2 Network. Taking Google Forms to the Next Level: Automating Improvement Science for First2 Network   How do we use automation in ways that free up time without sacrificing human interaction? By delegating routine tasks to Google Sheets Add-Ons and simple Google Apps Scripts. In this use case, the initial notification of a new request for coaching, sending meeting invites, and reminding coaches to follow up with their teams about potential stumbling blocks like IRB proposals or data collection have all been automated. Coaches and people requesting coaching interact with a single Google Form, which produces output viewable as a Google Sheet, and the rest of the process takes place in the background. The automated parts of the system remove busywork from the coaches and administrators, allowing them to focus on the substantial work of the Network.    This poster will highlight changes to the ticketing system, used by people proposing change ideas and the coaches who help them through the improvement science process. Whereas before an administrator had to handle requests for coaching, now emails are sent as soon as requests are received. Through a few online tools, the Google Form has bidirectional communication with the spreadsheet, allowing coaches to easily add new change ideas. Standardizing language makes it easier to find and share information throughout the Network. The ticketing system generates useful data without additional burdens on coaches or the people carrying out their change ideas.   Award Number: HRD-1834575; Principal Investigator: Erica Harvey; Fairmont State University. 

Underrepresented groups often face various, tedious obstacles when pursuing postsecondary education; many times, students find it difficult to impossible to overcome these obstacles and either avoid or drop out of college. The First2 Network is a statewide network of innovative stakeholders collaborating to solve and share STEM persistence issues. At the core of network’s shared vision is the assumption that students should be co-creators of the solutions. Funded by the National Science Foundation’s INCLUDES initiative, First2 hopes to double the retention rate of first-generation, underrepresented, and/or rural STEM students in higher education through many enriching and diverse opportunities, events, and initiatives. One of the most student-led and effective methods of outreach and support is the utilization of campus clubs across the state. Participants in this presentation will hear an overview about each First2 campus club and highlights of the work they are doing, how this work can affect systems change, and the benefits for those who participate. Ashlea Krasnansky, Dept of Mathematics, Marshall University, Huntington, WV, 25755; Erica Harvey, Dept of Natural Sciences, Fairmont State University, Fairmont, WV, 26554; and Beth Thompson, Dept of Natural Sciences, Fairmont State University, Fairmont, WV, 26554. An Overview and Analysis of First2 Network Campus Clubs. 

In rural West Virginia, the First2 Network aims to improve STEM persistence by including students in creating solutions to STEM attrition. A research program for rising first-year students in STEM majors is discussed here. The authors assessed students’ STEM education and career plans, identity, efficacy, and sense of school of belonging before and after the program. Students’ STEM identity, efficacy, and school belonging improved after participation. 

Nationally, more than half of all college students who declare a major in STEM fields drop out or change their majors in the first two years of post-secondary education.  Among first-generation college students in West Virginia this number may approach 70%.    The First2 STEM Success Network, an NSF INCLUDES Alliance, is a cross-sector effort aimed at improving the college enrollment rate and success of undergraduate STEM students, with emphasis on rural first-generation students in West Virginia. At the core of our shared vision is the inclusion of students themselves as co-creators of the solutions.      First2 is an outgrowth of a two-year pilot project funded by the National Science Foundation in 2016. During the pilot, we began to create and test interventions that address the underlying reasons for attrition in STEM majors, and to develop a preliminary research program to better understand rural first-generation STEM students, a population for which there is scant existing research.    We engaged 36 rural first-generation students in some combination of early STEM research experiences, an online discovery-based "principles of research and development" college seminar, a “hometown ambassador” program, and leadership training. We also developed and administered an online survey to an additional 101 first generation students attending West Virginia University and Fairmont State University.    This presentation describes the research and evaluation findings from the pilot project and implications for the Network moving forward.    The First2 Network Design and Development Pilot Project was supported by National Science Foundation INCLUDES Award No. 1649323. 

Many college students in West Virginia hail from rural communities and are the first in their families to pursue an undergraduate degree. Research indicates that first-generation college students can face particular barriers to their postsecondary persistence, as can rural students. However, data on the persistence of first-generation college students who are also from rural places is scant. To better understand—and help remove—the barriers confronting such young people interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), the FIRST TWO Project (https://first2network.org/) brings together community college and university faculty, administrators, national laboratory professionals, and rural education experts. The FIRST TWO pilot program integrates early STEM experiences via internships, a support network for rural first-generation STEM students, and STEM skills development through a discovery-based "principles of research and development" college seminar for first-year students. A "Hometown Ambassadors" program component prepares students to return to their home communities to engage younger students’ interest in STEM, and teachers’ and school board members’ support for STEM education. Our goal is for project courses and support mechanisms to be fully transferrable to other institutions of higher education in the state so that, ultimately, more rural first-generation students participate in the wider STEM enterprise.   Funding for the project is provided by the National Science Foundation INCLUDES (Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science) initiative.