Real Change Study Report

Purpose:

• Investigate the institutional impact of the Biology Scholars Program (BSP) on 1) Administrators, 2) Program Directors, 3) Staff, and 4) Faculty at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB).
• Understand how BSP can contribute toward growing a more inclusive undergraduate STEM “ecosystem” in its parent institution.
• Describe how BSP can have collateral benefits for people in a range of institutional roles that interact with the program.
• Provide recommendations on how student development programs can more intentionally impact the institutions in which they operate.

Key Findings:

• Undergraduates with high “risk factors” and who “beat the odds,” demonstrated their high capacity to succeed when provided with effective programmatic opportunities, such as what BSP offered. As many interviewees stated, BSP showed that the “impossible is possible” and that students should not be written off as lacking talent and instead be given the opportunity to grow their talent.
• Several faculty members noted that their collaboration with BSP early in their career informed how they mentored and taught students throughout their time at Berkeley. They approached mentorship with more compassion and with an attitude of supporting students, as opposed to “hazing” or writing them off.
• Program Directors noted how BSP provided a model for their own programs. BSP provided collaboration and support that informed them about how to set-up their programs and improve how they served students in a variety of disciplines across campus.
• Administrators often noted how BSP supported students effectively but did not see BSP as actively impacting campus wide policy or practices.
• Staff highlighted the importance of increasing awareness and understanding of the unseen lived experiences that underrepresented minorities (URM) and first-generation students face at UC Berkeley among all those who support student success.
• Effective student development programs may need to share impactful practices intentionally if they are to contribute to institutional change.