Model Institutions for Excellence (MIE)

Since the CircLES program was implemented in 1998, first year retention rates have been steady at about 80 percent, a 12% increase over the 1997 cohort that did not participate in the pilot CircLES effort. Increases in first semester grade point average (GPA) have also been registered -- 2.7 for CircLES participants compared to 2.0 for the non-CircLES group. The graduation rate has decreased from 6.8 years in 1997-1998 to only 5.1 years for the last academic year. For the 1999-2000 academic year, 219 STEM degrees were awarded to Latino students (289 overall) and for 2004-2005 academic year, 374 STEM degrees were awarded to Latino students (440 overall). WiSE has awarded 330 stipends, 74% of them to Latinas.  Of the 330 recipients, 329 were retained in either science or engineering disciplines and 51 have successfully completed their degree. Passing rates have increased from 47% in 1999 to 65% for pre-calculus and from 50% to 80% for general chemistry. Since its inception in 1995, REU has supported a total of 303 students, over 200 of them Latinos/as, and provided them the opportunity to actively participate in research under the guidance of a faculty member in their intended field of study.  Over 90% of program participants have earned their Bachelors degree, about 4% are still enrolled, and only about 5% have withdrawn.  Of those who have earned their Bachelors degrees, 48% are enrolled in a graduate program or have earned a graduate degree.