Pre-professional development for undergraduates via afterschool support of students: A model for diversifying the STEM pipeline and supporting students

NE STEM 4U supports the Omaha Metropolitan area with a high-quality STEM pipeline program, while fostering equity within STEM via on-site learning models and purposeful inclusion of persons traditionally excluded due to race or ethnicity (PEERs). The program provides pre-professional training to undergraduates for direct preparation of employment post-graduation, while also synergistically providing K-8 youth with an afterschool STEM learning experience. The program has supported students with fellowships, to promote equitable participation. We are eager to investigate how this model can be replicated with fidelity, as described here in our two replication sites, and in other regions of the country. Our aim was to assess replication of NE STEM 4U at other higher education institutions by using the normalization process theory. First, to determine the impact on undergraduate participants in the program, we followed a phenomenological framework via collection of qualitative data to capture the challenges and important aspects of the NE STEM 4U program from the perspectives of the students. We collected undergraduate insights via focus groups (n=16), interviews (n=16), and reflection surveys (n=12). Secondly, we assessed the impact of the replication model on participants. Specifically, the focus groups and interviews each included semi-structured interviews with open-ended guiding question where undergraduates described what they thought impacted the favorable outcomes or challenges associated with replicating the NE STEM 4U program at their institutions. We analyzed the transcripts using coding to identify emergent themes. Ultimately, we identified 1) Flexibility (21.22%), 2) Student Engagement (i.e. Youth) (19.53%), 3) Classroom Management (i.e. also pertaining to youth) (19.31%), and 4) Communication (15.71%) as critical themes of the replication process perceived by students, suggesting that the NE STEM 4U program can be a national model for other higher education institutions to follow for STEM access, equity, and inclusion benefits.