Engaging Two-Year Students in STEM: A Professional STEM Society’s Efforts to Support Community College Students

Community college is a popular pathway for underrepresented students in STEM.Through a phased research study of STEM transfer students, researchers discovered that women in community college who declared a major in engineering or computer science were much more likely than men to switch out of those majors.In addition, community college students were less likely than their university counterparts to belong to professional societies, which offer exposure to academic and professional networks, mentors, and career opportunities.To address this, the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) created programming in 2022 to increase community college women's membership and support their engagement in societal activities.The program reduces financial barriers with free memberships and stipends for community college groups to host events and activities, engages community college students through a SWE affinity group, and offers virtual and in-person sessions at SWE events focused on twoyear students.This paper will discuss the programming design, process, and results to date, specifically focusing on whether the new offerings are increasing SWE's community college student membership and engagement and how the program is identifying and responding to challenges specific to this group given its diverse makeup and unique needs.The paper will also discuss additional challenges facing women on the community college pathway towards a STEM bachelor's degree, and the evaluation plan in place to track the retention and completion of community college student members' STEM degrees.