Community Colleges Giving Students a Framework for STEM Careers

Over the coming decade, our country will need one million more science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professionals than was originally projected. That is the conclusion of a February 2012 report, Engage to Excel: Producing One Million Additional College Graduates with Degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/micro sites/ostp/pcast-engage-to-excel-final_2-25-12.pdf), presented to President Obama by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). The report stresses the importance of exciting early on students who are potential STEM majors. It notes that our country must “improve the first two years of STEM education in college, provide all students with the tools to excel, [and] diversify pathways to STEM degrees” (p. ii). Because the council found that “high-performing students frequently cite uninspiring introductory courses as a factor in their choice to switch majors” (p. i), the report recommends increasing the retention rates of already interested students instead of trying to recruit new ones.