15527 BD Magazine '09.indd - University of Alabama at Birmingham

The Evaluation of the NSF
Bridge to the Doctorate Initiative
Clemencia Cosentino de Cohen
Principal Investigator, Bridge to the Doctorate Evaluation
What is the BD initiative? The Bridge to the Doctorate (BD) initiative is a component of the Louis Stokes Alliance for
Minority Participation (LSAMP) Program created to address the long-term goal of increasing the number of students
successfully completing science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) doctoral degrees and entering the
workforce in these fields. BD extends the reach of its parent program, LSAMP, which aims to increase the completion
rates of STEM undergraduate majors and promote their entry into graduate programs in STEM. Specifically, BD provides
support for the first two years of graduate studies to students who have received baccalaureate degrees through LSAMP to
pursue graduate study in STEM fields. Now in its 6 th year, BD has funded well over 1,000 students at 45 institutions
throughout the nation.
Why create the BD initiative? The reasoning that underlies the establishment of BD is based on sound scientific
evidence: a recent evaluation of the first six cohorts of LSAMP baccalaureate degree recipients found that LSAMP
graduates were significantly more likely than their national counterpart samples of non-minorities (Whites and Asians) as
well as underrepresented minorities, to cite financial burden as a deterrent to continuing on to graduate education. BD
was established to address talented minority students’ hesitancy to enter graduate school due to fear of assuming the
additional financial debt associated with graduate education.
Why evaluate the BD initiative? Congress mandates that the NSF assess the effectiveness of its STEM education
programs. Results from program evaluations are therefore used to meet Congressional accountability requirements and to
justify yearly requests to Congress for budget renewals or increases. The evaluation of the LSAMP program is an
excellent example of the positive influence that evaluations results may have on budgetary allocations. Results are also
used by NSF Program officers to guide decision-making.
What is the design of the evaluation? The design of the evaluation of BD is quasi-experimental. It relies on the creation
and yearly update of a longitudinal database to track the progress and ultimate outcomes of both BD students (the
“treatment”) and a matched sample of non-BD students (the “comparison”). In addition, key outcomes will be compared
to those of a nationally representative sample of students in order to place findings in a national context. This design,
being implemented by the Urban Institute on behalf of the NSF, follows Academic Competitiveness Council (ACC) and
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidelines regarding rigorous evaluation designs.
How did NSF, evaluators and institutions prepare for the evaluation of BD? In 2005, the Urban Institute administered a
short survey to grantee institutions to inquire about data availability. Between 2005 and 2007, the NSF sponsored several
presentations and workshops in which the Urban Institute had a chance to share its ideas and plans, and institutional
representatives had a chance to provide feedback, make suggestions and flag potential problems. The evaluation design
was modified in response to these interactions. For example, at the request of institutions, information on student
publications and presentations was excluded from the data collection. Only basic data that all institutions could provide
were included in the design. As one PI put it, “only key data points, please.”
Who is participating in the evaluation? While monitoring data on BD grantees is collected yearly across all institutions,
the evaluation of BD is restricted to the 39 institutions of higher education in cohorts funded between 2003 and 2006.
Every institution funded during this period is participating. At each institution, all BD-funded students are included (as
the “treatment” cases) and a stratified random sample of non-funded students is also included for comparison (the
“comparison” cases).
What is the status of the BD evaluation? The evaluation of BD began in October 2008. Macro International is collecting
required data from participating institutions. Many have already completed their entire data submission for this year,
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2 LSAMP Bridge to the Doctorate