Sustaining and Scaling STEM Student Success: Lessons and Future Directions from the WVU Tech SUCCESS Project

Abstract

The WVU Tech SUCCESS project continues to support the recruitment, retention, and graduation of low-income STEM students, building on steady progress over the past several years. The program currently supports 17 scholars. Cohort 1 graduated within four years with a 86% graduation rate (6/7), while Cohort 2 has reached the senior year and is stabilized at 10 students. Students have stayed actively engaged through career fairs, undergraduate research, entrepreneurship training, and leadership roles in IEEE and ACM student organizations. Industry exposure through plant tours, technical talks, and faculty mentoring has helped strengthen confidence and career readiness. We continue to gather feedback through surveys, focus groups, and regular interactions to guide improvements.

As we move into the final phase, we are bringing all results together. We are merging and analyzing data from both current and past S-STEM scholars to better understand student pathways, challenges, and outcomes. This work supports continuous improvement, including refining student support strategies and expanding research and industry engagement. It also builds on our previous presentations at the West Virginia Academy of Science over multiple years.

In our final publication, we will include student success stories to highlight the human impact of the program and to show why continued support through a Track 2 S-STEM project is needed. The next phase will expand participation across science and engineering faculty, increasing impact at WVU Tech, WVU, and in the local West Virginia community, while strengthening clear, accessible communication of program benefits through partnerships and Communiversity efforts.