While PRISM has changed the culture of scientific research at John Jay, our main impact has been increasing the success of our students. Below are a few of the metrics directly impacted by our initiatives:
- Undergraduate graduation rates in science increased by three-fold since adopting widespread research mentoring;
- The number of Black and Hispanic undergraduate students graduating from science has increased four-fold;
- The number of undergraduate students moving on to STEM and health post-graduate programs (Ph.D., MD, DO, VMD, etc.) has increased by ten–fold, and to all post-graduate education in STEM and health (masters, allied health professions, STEM education) has increased by fifteen-fold since adopting widespread research mentoring;
- More than 90 of our Undergraduate Researchers have gained acceptances to post-graduate education programs in STEM and health in the past decade, almost half from minority groups and the majority of whom are women;
- We have a growing collection of graduates who have completed their post-graduate education, including medical doctors and scientists at universities, private research corporations, and government laboratories;
- PRISM is one of only a handful of programs nationwide that has not only been nationally recognized for excellence (PAESMEM) but also rigorously assessed by peers (Journal of Hispanic Higher Education Article, Journal of Research in Science Teaching Article);
- Participating students have a higher rate of conference presentation and publication than other nationally publicized programs;
- The increased focus on undergraduate research has resulted in a steep increase in the total amount of external funding secured by faculty members of the Department of Sciences (from $200,000/yr. in 2001 to over $2 million/yr. in 2015);
- The total proportion of faculty involved in research in STEM has increased (50% in 1999 to 84% in 2009, currently at 89%), resulting in an increase in academic output as measured by peer-reviewed journal articles;
- John Jay has the potential to become one of the top twenty-five baccalaureate origins institutions for Latinx undergraduates moving on to STEM Ph.D.
Changing the Culture
Various PRISM initiatives, some of which began even before PRISM was officially founded, have been institutionalized by John Jay with the support of CUNY.
- The Math and Science Resource Center (MSRC) provides tutoring in introductory math and science courses to all of John Jay students in addition to providing tutoring and academic support to science and math students in “gateway” courses in our various STEM majors. Last year, the MSRC served more than 1,500 students in nearly 9,000 tutoring sessions that accounted for over 11,000 tutoring hours.
- The Office of Student Research and Creativity (formerly the Office of Undergraduate Research) mission is to fund, support, and recognize high-quality student-faculty collaborative research and scholarship in all disciplines, representing the diversity of John Jay College.
Help us continue
You can learn more about how to support PRISM and our initiatives here.