Northeast LSAMP Alliance: 2016-2021

University Of Connecticut, Storrs CT

Investigators

Abstract

The Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program assists universities and colleges in diversifying the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce through their efforts at significantly increasing the numbers of students from historically underrepresented minority populations to successfully complete high quality degree programs in STEM. The University of Connecticut (UCONN) will become the lead institution for the Northeast Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (NELSAMP) for the 2016-2021 project period. NELSAMP comprises this institution and the following partners: University of Massachusetts-Amherst, University of Rhode Island (URI), Northeastern University, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). The alliance will expand to include Tufts University in 2016 and will extend recruitment and retention interventions and improved articulation strategies to several community colleges in the northeast region. These community colleges include the MassBay Community College, Community College of Rhode Island, SUNY Adirondack Community College, among others. Over the next five years, three interrelated themes guide NELSAMP's efforts to increase URM STEM student enrollment, retention, and graduation: 1) PARTNERSHIP: By building strategic partnerships with other universities, schools, and organizations locally, regionally, and internationally, NELSAMP will develop relationships that promote and disseminate best practices; increase recruitment of URM students from community colleges, technical high schools, and minority-serving school districts to baccalaureate degree programs; and increase the resources available to URM students. 2) HIGH EXPECTATIONS: NELSAMP students are expected to excel as both scholars and leaders and will engage in research, international exchange, and internship experiences to prepare them for roles as dynamic STEM professionals in industry, government, and academia. 3) COMMUNITY BUILDING: NELSAMP builds communities of learners that foster scholarship, collaboration, leadership, and service and promote successful, productive relationships within and beyond the Alliance. Alliance program evaluation findings assessing the effectiveness of NELSAMP's strategies will be shared with the education community to build the knowledge base and foster implementation of best practices. In addition, the project includes a study to investigate how URM STEM students' educational and career aspirations change and develop over time. The study has the potential to provide the STEM education community valuable insights on the post-college decision making processes of undergraduate STEM students and suggest means by which institutions can promote greater numbers of URM students to pursue graduate study in STEM.