Mutual Benefits of STEM Research Partnerships Between Two- and Four-Year Postsecondary Institutions

• In Event: Organizational Theory in Higher Education

Abstract

With the growing population of two-year college students in STEM fields who aspire to transfer to four-year institutions, much emphasis has been placed on transfer and articulation agreement partnerships. However, less is written about the mutual benefits of the partnerships between these two types of institutions. In this respect, using an analysis of 20 cases that received awards from the National Science Foundation, we identified mutual benefits as follows: 1) two-year colleges students are motivated to earn a bachelor’s degree in STEM by being exposed to undergraduate research; 2) four-year institutions expand their pools of prospective students from diverse backgrounds, and 3) both institutions save costs by sharing resources and facilities and advance STEM knowledge through collaborative research projects.

Authors

• Ahlam Lee, Xavier University

• JINWOO HWANG, The Ohio State University