These are some of the main findings of our year 2 evaluation report for the NSF-funded HBCU-UP Implementation Project titled, Education Innovation Initiatives – Ecosystem for Student Success at Bowie State University (MD). The grant aims to provide support to design, implement, study, and assess comprehensive institutional efforts to increase the numbers of students and the quality of their preparation by STEM education and research. The project is grounded in theories of student STEM identity and constructivism and provides a student-centered learning environment that is integrated into the STEM curriculum at the institution. In its second year of implementation, the project is striving to provide hands-on research experiences to BSU freshmen students by structuring classes using block scheduling, providing STEM symposium opportunities, near peer mentoring, and lab courses in Robotics and Biology and actively engaging STEM faculty across the campus in collaborative learning communities. MNA, the external evaluators of the grant, has been tracking both faculty and students throughout the year.
