Implementation Project: Establishing a Cohesive Community College STEM-Institutional Transformation Academy (STEM-UP Academy Phase III)

Hinds Community College-Utica, Raymond MS

Investigators

Abstract

Implementation Projects provide support to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to design, implement, study, and assess comprehensive institutional efforts to increase the numbers of students and the quality of their preparation by strengthening science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and research. This project at Hinds Community College - Utica seeks to address persistence in STEM fields. Diversity in STEM is compounded by barriers to educational equity, resources, and socioeconomic disparities impacting the African-American community. The goal of this project is to increase students’ completion of degrees in STEM by developing bridges that support students’ matriculation at each educational level. This project aims to support the critical transitions from K-12 to 4-year institutions. Prior projects concentrated on building infrastructure; this project seeks to improve recruitment and retention, enhance student research experiences, advance innovative teaching and learning techniques, and increase globally-engaged workforces supporting persistence. Faculty and staff will engage in career enhancements key to the successful implementation of STEM and Career Technical pathways. This project is significant in its focus on developing persistence and higher degree attainment for HBCU students entering a community college. Participants will include students, faculty, and staff of the institution's STEM and Career Technical pathways, collaborating institutions, and partners in the six (6) links and transitions. As students transition to community college, they undergo a two-week Student Success Camp (SSC) preparing for college courses in a Summer Bridge Program (SBP). They will enroll in STEM courses during the SBP and earn STEM-UP Academy Cohort Status (with a 3.0 GPA). This status makes them eligible for 2-year financial aid to complete a STEM associate’s degree. After the second semester, they are encouraged to engage in Summer Research programs or internships at 4-year universities and specified government or industrial STEM laboratories. They will submit research abstracts and contribute to an intervention study on the effects of students’ Academy experience. Lastly, two-year colleges will form 4-year college linkages, advancing research and collaborative forums as national models for joint efforts. Future redesign of curriculums for K-12, community colleges, and 4-year institutions is posed as a logical nexus resulting from a blend of research and workforce experiences. This project may serve as a model for enhancing persistence rates in STEM at community colleges. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.