(76c) Impact of Summer Bridge Programs On Students Sense of Belonging and Retention to STEM Majors

The Ohio State University has run a multidisciplinary STEM bridge program for entering freshman for four years.  The program emphasizes math, science, engineering, and communication subjects as well as college success skills.  It exposes students to the rigor of college coursework and highlights the difference in study approaches from their high school experiences.  Evening professional development programs focus on study skills and resources available across the university.  Results from this program indicate significant peer to peer bonding and creation of a support network that reinforces a student’s motivation and drive to succeed.  Although participants continue to change majors during their first year in school, they have shown increased persistence (retention) to majors in the STEM fields compared to a non-participant control group.  Using qualitative indicators drawn from longitudinal surveys of the participants and controls, this poster will discuss possible correlations between program activities and impacts on student attitudes towards school and their choice of major.