In 2023, Johnson County Community College (JCCC) received a six-year grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish scholarships for STEM students. The JCCC STEM Scholars Program supports academically talented students with financial need and an interest in pursuing careers in promising STEM fields. The long-term goal of the program is to increase the number of JCCC students who complete an associate of science degree and transfer to a four-year university in STEM. Four-year university partners work with the JCCC STEM Scholars program to provide experiences that introduce students to research and academic life at their institutions.

In this project, the UERC’s role is to provide annual formative and progress monitoring data to JCCC as well as a summative report after the program’s completion. Annual formative evaluation findings provide program leaders with insights that inform program planning for each subsequent year. The final summative report will provide program leaders and stakeholders a multi-faceted view of the overall impact and efficacy of the JCCC STEM Scholars Program.