About us – First2 Network

Who we are

The First2 Network is one of eight Alliances across the country funded through the NSF INCLUDES initiative. The First2 Network (First2) aims to improve the college enrollment rate and success of undergraduate STEM students, with emphasis on rural first-generation students through their first 2 years of college. At the core of our shared vision to improve student STEM success is the assumption that the students themselves should be co-creators of the solutions.

We started out as a pilot project in 2016, funded by the National Science Foundation. We had reviewed the literature on STEM student success, and learned that nationally, 50% of the students who start out with a STEM major, change that major or drop out of college during the first 2 years of their post secondary education, and the statistic is worse for first generation students. Here in West Virginia, we have a lot of first generation college students. Understanding the obstacles that face first gen STEM students, and changing the systems that produce these obstacles became our charge. We tried some “best practices” out with a group of brave students. Some of them, like immersing students in research the summer before they start college seemed to have a positive effect of students’ views of themselves as future STEM professionals.

What we do

Create a new way to do business. Not “to” students; not ”for” students; but “with” students, we explore ways to improve the college STEM experience.
Connect pockets of good work and successful programs that improve the persistence of first generation STEM students.
Continuously test our ideas using a Networked Improvement Community model.
Conduct educational research to understand the factors that affect rural first generation students’ entry into and persistence in STEM career pathways
Foster new partnerships and programs addressing STEM success in West Virginia
Support and grow a robust network across West Virginia and other Rural states like ours.

How do I get involved?

The problem is complex, and there are many many innovative programs in our State that are chipping away at it. We need to join forces and amplify these “pockets of good work”.

Want to join the First2 Network?

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Frequently Asked Questions

The First2 Network is a West Virginia alliance composed of undergraduate students, college faculty, teachers and educators, state policy makers, industry and more who have joined forces to improve the success of STEM students- particularly rural first generation students. We know that, while West Virginia high school students are really interested in STEM careers, only about 30% of those who declare a STEM major graduate with a STEM degree. This is an economic problem for the nation, and for West Virginia. Our aim is to double that success rate.

This effort will take all of us working on multiple parts of the problem together and over a long time. We have established working groups – some members are devoted to increasing the number of early research experiences for our STEM majors, in improving these opportunities, and in documenting what we learn to better serve others. Others are working to enrich the engagement between STEM faculty and their students. Still others are working toward how to ensure our students are ready to be successful STEM majors when they get to college.

Documenting what works and what doesn’t, and how change ideas work across multiple contexts is a central goal of this network. This is how we learn and help others learn from our efforts. Where-ever it is applicable we have adopted a set of tools within a framework called “Improvement Science”, developed by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

We are funded by the National Science Foundation INCLUDES program, as an NSF INCLUDES Alliance, for a period of five years. NSF INCLUDES (Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science) is a comprehensive national initiative designed to enhance U.S. leadership in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) discoveries and innovations by focusing on broadening participation in these fields at scale.

The NSF INCLUDES program is one of 10 “Big Ideas” that the NSF is devoting substantial time and resources to — recognizing that achieving a truly diverse STEM workforce is hard work, requiring participation by many stakeholders across many sectors, all of whom share a common aim.

2015: The idea to improve STEM persistence among first generation college students got its start in the Frank Drake Lounge at the Green Bank Observatory (GBO). This hallowed room is the location of the first discussion of the probability of intelligent life in the Universe in 1960, and has since been the scene for many a late-night brainstorming session among colleagues. The topic that presaged the First2 Network was on undergraduate STEM research at the Observatory and how, for most, that opportunity came in a student’s junior or senior year, well after the student had made it as a STEM major. We wondered: what could be done to ensure that more students made it through their first and second year’s as STEM majors, and could research internship opportunities make a difference? Conversations with colleagues in academia about STEM culture in our colleges and universities, illuminated the lack of educational research on the experience of rural first generation students. Broader discussions with colleagues in both formal and informal education led to a realization that the students themselves — those in the trenches as a STEM major — must be part of fixing the systems that lead to attrition.

2016: A small band of people including folks from GBO, Fairmont State University, High Rocks Educational Corporation, and WVU College were awarded a two-year grant from the National Science Foundation to try some promising practices that could impact STEM persistence, and to conduct preliminary research aimed at better understanding the motivation of rural first Generation STEM students.

2018: A full NSF INCLUDES Alliance proposal was submitted and in September 2018, we received word that we were one of 5 Alliances to be funded nation-wide.

Back in 2016 when we started the pilot project, the name came from the fact that most STEM majors drop out of the STEM career path during the first 2 years of post-secondary education. But since then we have noticed that the “First to” aspect of our network is exciting! Many of our students are first to go to college, and are first to become change agents and leaders in changing the systems that create the barriers to STEM persistence in the first place.

It’s as easy as filling out the join form on our home page. By joining the network, you will receive our newsletter, and you may participate in our working groups and bi-annual conferences. There are many benefits to joining the First2 Network. Read more on our “How to Engage” page.

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Project leadership members

Backbone Organizations

Division of Science & Research, West Virginia Higher Education Policy commission (HEPC)

Dr. Juliana Serafin
Jade Irving
Angela Sundstrom
Dr. Jack Smith

SRI International

Louise Yarnell
Jared Boyce

Evaluation

ICF International
Dr. Caitlin Howley
Johnavae Campbell
Dr. Kim Cowley

PIs and Project Leaders

Fairmont State University

Dr. Erica Harvey

Green Bank Observatory

Sue Ann Heatherly

High Rocks Educational Corporation

Sarah Riley
Samantha Mitchell

West Virginia University

Dr. Gay Stewart
Dr. Marjorie Darrah
Dr. John Stewart

First2 Campuses

Glenville State College

Dr. Sara Sawyer

Marshall University

Dr. Michael Norton

Fairmont State University

Dr. Deb Hemler

West Virginia University

Dr. Michelle Richards-Babb

University of Charleston

Dr. Heather Arnett

Blue Ridge CTC

Dr. Ann Shipway

WV State University

Dr. Micheal Fultz

WVU-Tech

Dr. Kenan Hatipoglu