Fixing the Academic Pipeline Through Summer Research Programs
Delight B. Yokley, Leadership, Counseling, and Research, Virginia Tech
Jody Thompson-Marshall, Multicultural Academic Opportunities Program, Virginia Tech
Abstract:
The retention of underrepresented college students within STEM related degree programs
has been a concern for college administrators and scholars for many years. Research
suggests academic pipeline leaks impact the number of students advancing to graduate
school (Jackson, 2000; Sethna, 2011; Shaw & Stanton, 2012) or are capable of working
in STEM related careers. Summer research programs are one approach to remedy leaks
within the academic pipeline, which provide underrepresented students the opportunity to
work with one-on-one with faculty mentors. The experience also provides hands-on
experience to design, conduct scholarly research, which extends learning beyond the
classroom. These opportunities provide students of color more focused support as they
navigate their academic programs. This poster is a literature review addressing the
academic pipeline, who is impacted, and how summer research programs can serve as a
tool to remedy academic pipeline leaks.
References
Jackson, J. F. L. (2000). Administrators of color at predominantly White institutions. In
L. Jones (Ed.), Brothers of the academy: Up and coming African Americans
earning our way in higher education! (pp. 42-52). Sterling, VA: Stylus.
Sethna, B. N. (2011). Minorities in higher education: A pipeline problem? Research in
Higher Education Journal, 13, 1-18.
Shaw, A., & Stanton, D. (2012). Leaks in the pipeline: Separating demographic inertia
from ongoing gender differences in academia. Proceedings of the Royal Society
B-Biological Sciences, 279(1743), 3736-3741. doi:10.1098/rspb.2012.0822