Student Success Update
Scholar Enrichment Program (SEP) Spring 2025 Enrollment Overview
For the Spring 2025 semester, the Scholar Enrichment Program (SEP) is supporting 1,230 students across 17 different STEM courses, marking a notable 7.5% increase in participation compared to last spring. This support comes in the form of 1-credit hour academic excellence workshops, designed to enhance students’ understanding and performance in these challenging courses, along with tutoring and peer mentoring. The program is offering an impressive 48 workshops this semester, the largest number provided in a single term. Each workshop is facilitated by two undergraduate peer facilitators, who bring valuable insights from their own experiences in STEM courses. In total, 96 peer facilitators are involved, each dedicated to creating a supportive and collaborative environment that fosters both academic and personal growth.
Spring Graduation Check Event
The NSM Undergraduate Advising Center hosted a virtual Graduation Check event from December through early January for Spring 2025 graduates. Over 500 students submitted requests to have their records reviewed for graduation for Spring 2025. The event aims to improve graduation rates by allowing students to secure a graduation check while the enrollment cycle remains open for course adjustments, ensuring completion of the degree in Spring 2025.
NSM Academic Success Program - Support for First-Year Students
The NSM Academic Success Program is offered each spring to support NSM freshmen in successfully completing their first-year at UH. First-year NSM students, based on their academic standing and/or cumulative GPAs after their first fall semester, are invited to participate in the program to learn about various resources and strategies to boost their success and academic performance. The program started Tuesday, January 7th, with an in-person daylong workshop hosted by the OFYP. It included sessions by LAUNCH, CAPS, UH Wellness, NSM advising, icebreakers for community building, and reflection time. Participants could also enroll in the NSM Succeeding in STEM course (IDNS 2297), which is a self-paced course that includes check-ins during the Spring semester for additional support and access to resources. A virtual session covering similar content was offered on Wednesday, January 8th. 44 students registered for the Succeeding in STEM course this spring, 21 elected the self-paced option, and 30 were auto enrolled in the self-paced option. Participants are also assigned a mentor from the NSM Student Leadership Team for peer support throughout the semester. First-year retention for the NSM Fall 2023 cohort was 92%, and we aim to improve this by 1-2 percentage points for the Fall 2024 cohort.
Coffee and Conversation Events Aim to Promote Community in NSM
The OFYP hosted Coffee & Conversations events, an informal opportunity for first-year and first-semester transfer students to connect casually with their classmates and departmental professors about class and research interests, in the fall semester. The following events were held:
- November 14, Department of Mathematics
- November 19, Department of Biology & Biochemistry
- November 20, Department of Computer Science
- January 29, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
The OFYP greatly appreciates the faculty and staff who participated in the events to make them a success. This was the first time offering such an event and the feedback from both students and faculty was positive. Coffee & Conversation events will be held in Spring 2025 for the Departments of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Physics and Chemistry. The OFYP aims to grow the program to promote community engagement among NSM faculty, staff and students.
Office of First Year Program (OFYP) Updates
Recruitment and Retention
- The OFYP hosted its first Academic Information Sessions with the Office of Admissions of the spring semester on January 31st. These events introduce prospective students to the college and include a presentation about the academic programs and signature experiences offered, a presentation and/or interactive activity facilitated by departmental faculty, and/or a peer panel to offer a student’s perspective on their college experience. Three students and two supporters attended this event.
- The OFYP continues to support the Office of Admissions by participating in college reviews. As of January 16th, 2025, the OFYP has completed 17 reviews for Spring 2025, six for Summer 2025, and 572 for Fall 2025.
- The OFYP partnered with the Bauer College of Business to host a campus visit experience for approximately 50 EY and Houston Academy for International Studies high school students and counselors on January 17th, 2025. The OFYP presented information about the college, including the academic programs, resources, and signature experiences offered in NSM.
- The OFYP participated in Retention & Graduation Initiatives’ New Student Orientation Resource Fair on January 6th. A self-guided tour, peer mentorship, and student leadership programs were discussed.
- The OFYP, including UAC, Math Department, and Cullen College of Engineering representatives, met with New Student Programs staff on January 24th to discuss orientation schedule updates and its impact on the math placement exam. They focused on finding ways to maximize students’ academic success regarding initial course placement and their transitional success into UH by attending all orientation programming.
Student Leadership Team (SLT) Program
- The OFYP hosted the Co-Chair Spring Retreat and the SLT Spring Retreat on January 9th and January 10th. These retreats reintroduced expectations of SLT members and provided opportunity to strategize the execution of the OFYP event planned for the Spring.
- The OFYP has hosted two SLT General Meetings this spring (January 14th and 28th). During these meetings, SLT members discussed the peer mentorship survey feedback, event and programming feedback, and began a new leadership/professional development series focused on cultivating their top five CliftonStrengths (also called FinderStrengths). SLT members discovered and discussed their assessment results and will utilize their strengths to foster teamwork and productivity throughout the semester.
- The OFYP hosted its first SLT Mentorship Meet-Up of the spring on January 17th. The purpose of the event included building community amongst NSM first-years and their SLT Mentors. This event was offered in response to the survey requesting more opportunity for social / networking experiences among Peer Mentorship Program participants.
teachHOUSTON Updates
- teachHOUSTON kicked off its Developing STEM Teacher Leaders in Classroom Management and Induction (STEM-Lead) program on February 1, 2025. Fifteen (15) Master Teacher Fellows (MTFs) were selected from a competitive pool of teacher applications from the Houston area. Over the course of five years, the MTFs will receive training in classroom management, induction, engineering design process and mentoring. The MTFs were introduced to the teachHOUSTON community and learned about the components of the program during a kick-off meeting. The STEM-Lead program is supported by a $2.99M grant from the National Science Foundation and is led by PI, Dr. Paige Evans, teachHOUSTON; Co-PI’s, Dr. Jerrod Henderson, College of Engineering, Dr. Virginia Snodgrass-Rangel, College of Education; Dr. Karen McIntush, Ramona Mateer and Amanda Campos, all of teachHOUSTON.
- teachHOUSTON participated in New Student Orientations for new and transfer students in brief presentations as part of our recruitment efforts. The goal of the orientation presentations is to inform NSM students of the different programs offered. Members of the team were available during the registration phase to answer any questions NSM students had about registering for teachHOUSTON courses.
- teachHOUSTON faculty present at UTeach Meeting - On Friday, January 24, 2025, Dr. Paige Evans was invited to speak at the UTeach Institute’s Secondary Teacher Residency Advisory Group, funded by the Gates Foundation. They discussed the secondary STEM residency that takes place in the teachHOUSTON program including benefits and challenges.
- teachHOUSTON hosted an open house/welcome back event for the students enrolled in the College of Natural Science and Mathematics to learn more about the programs offered. The students were provided with information about the different teachHOUSTON programs along with the opportunity to spin the wheel for a variety of prizes.