Higher learning

The University of Florida has received an $846,000 National Science Foundation grant to develop a model program to help students with learning disabilities achieve academic success in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math, collectively referred to as STEM. Students with learning disabilities comprise between 46 and 61 percent of college students who have a disability. For UF’s new project, Comprehensive Support for STEM Students with Learning Disability, or CS3LD, researchers will create, implement and validate a model for improving the learning, participation and graduation of college students with learning disabilities in STEM majors. For the study, 50 UF undergraduate students will be matched with a mentorship team that includes a graduate student in STEM, a STEM faculty member, a UF Disability Resource Center counselor and one of the study’s principal investigators. Project leaders will also create a campuswide network of STEM faculty, staff and graduate students to help facilitate the academic needs of students with learning disabilities.