Wikipedia
A Pre-STEM program is a course of study at any two-year college that prepares a student to transfer to a four-year school to earn a bachelor's degree in a STEM field.
The concept of a pre-STEM program is being developed to address America's need for more college-trained professionals in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). It is an innovation meant to fill a gap at community colleges that do not have 'major' degree paths that students identify with on their way to earning an Associates degree. For a student to be able to successfully transfer from a two-year school to a four-year school and earn a baccalaureate degree in a STEM field, he or she must complete a considerable amount of STEM coursework before transferring. Schools with a pre-STEM program are able to identify those students and support them with STEM-specific academic and career advising, increasing the student's chances of going on to earn a STEM baccalaureate degree in a timely fashion.
With over fifty-percent of America's college-bound students starting their college career at public or private two-year school, and with a very small proportion of students who start college at a two-year school matriculating to and earning STEM degrees from four-year schools, pre-STEM programs have great potential for broadening participation in baccalaureate STEM studies.