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The McNair Program

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Goals, Mission, & Assessment

4 McNair students at a poster session

The mission of the University of Maryland Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program is to increase the number of undergraduates enrolling in graduate school to pursue doctoral degrees.

CARI: A Statement Of Values

Given the legislative intent and purposes of the McNair Scholars Program and the mission of Academic Achievement Programs, the following primary values are espoused in all that we do:

  • Commitment - We believe in commitment to all participants to ensure their success and believe that participants should demonstrate a commitment to achieving success.

  • Achievement - We believe that all participants can achieve their goals and believe that achievement of objectives must be demonstrated.

  • Research - We believe that strong research skills will contribute to life-long success.

  • Integrity - We believe that personal character contributes to success and that honesty and sincerity should be transparent in our work and our interactions with students.

Program Objectives

The approved program objectives for the McNair Program are SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relational, and time-specific). The objectives are:

  • 90% of McNair Program participants served during the project year will have completed appropriate research or scholarly activities during the McNair Program academic year.

  • 60% of McNair Program bachelor's degree recipients (or equivalent) will be accepted and enrolled in a post-baccalaureate program of study by the fall term of the academic year immediately following the completion of the bachelor's degree (or equivalent).

  • 80% of first year graduate students will continue to be enrolled in graduate school at the beginning of the fall term of the next academic year.

  • 12% of McNair Program participants served who will attain a doctoral degree within ten (10) years of the attainment of the bachelor's degree.

*Source: Grant Proposal

Learning Outcomes

Given the legislative intent of the McNair Scholars Program, as a result of their McNair experiences, participants will be able to:

  • Distinguish between undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral-level education;

  • Research and identify potential graduate programs in their field of study;

  • Research and identify potential sources of financial support for graduate study;

  • Develop a cogent research design;

  • Describe and present their research at national conferences and to varied audiences;

  • Describe and explain pathways and obstacles to the professoriate.

Evidence of Success

To demonstrate achievement of objectives and learning outcomes, the program will:

  • Establish clear learning outcomes for all program activities;

  • Assess, measure, and report progress on the federally-approved objectives each year;

  • Administer questionnaires and surveys at least annually to assess and measure student knowledge and skills;

  • Administer questionnaires and surveys at least annually to assess and measure mentor perceptions of McNair Scholars' knowledge, skills, and readiness for graduate school and doctoral study;

  • Administer exit interviews to graduating scholars;

  • Administer alumni surveys to assess and measure impact of services on scholars' status after exiting the program;

  • Publish McNair Scholars' research abstracts or papers;

  • Organize a forum at least annually where McNair scholars present their research;

  • Assess, measure, and report annually Scholars' performance in summer research classes;

  • Assess, measure, and report outcomes and scholars' perceptions of workshops and select program activities.


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