Impact And Merit Of The Vsu Hbcu Up On The Undergraduate Stem Education

The article presents the overall impact of a NSF grant under the Historically Black Universities and Colleges Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP). The alignment between the goals of the University’s Strategic Plan and then objectives of the HBCU-UP project is analyzed. The project outcomes are listed. Lessons learned from this project at VSU as well as the intellectual merit of the program are outlined. The broader impact of the project is discussed. Introduction In 2005, the National Science Foundation awarded a Historically Black Colleges and University Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) Implementation grant to the Virginia State University (VSU). The HBCU-UP Implementation Project provides support to implement a comprehensive institutional project to strengthen STEM education and research. The strategies should be the result of an institutional STEM self-analysis, address institutional and NSF goals, and have the potential to result in significant and sustainable improvements in STEM program offerings . The University Virginia State University is a comprehensive, educational land-grant institution founded in 1882, located in Petersburg, 20 miles south of Richmond, VA. VSU is the first fully state supported four-year institution for higher learning for African-American students. VSU has a strong record of attracting out-of-state minority students. The University offers 52 baccalaureate, masters and doctoral degree programs and a certificate of advance study within four schools (18 masters, 2 certificates, and 2 doctorates). VSU is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), the National Council of Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), and the Virginia State Board of Education. The VSU enrollment is about 4700 undergraduate and 500 graduate students. The number of full-time instructional faculty is 206 and number of full-time research and public service faculty is 48. VSU also has about 105 part-time faculty members . Needs A study by Howard University reveals that the representation of minority in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professionals is significantly disproportionate to minority representation in the U.S. general population and workforce . Minorities, particularly African Americans, are showing an increase in enrollment and subsequent degree attainment in science and engineering (S&E) (US Census Bureau, 2006). However, little increase has been seen at the masters and doctoral levels . The National Science Board has concluded that the number of native-born S&E graduates entering the workforce is likely to decline unless the nation intervenes to improve success in P ge 15666.2 educating S&E students from all demographic groups, especially those that have been underrepresented in S&E careers . National Science Foundation data also shows that in 2005, a total of 466,003 S&E degrees were awarded to US citizens and permanent residents. African-Americans earned 39,283 (8%) of the awarded Bachelor of Science degrees, yet they composed 15% of the population. The NSF data showed that African-Americans earned 5% of awarded Bachelor of Science degrees and 4.3% of Master of Science degrees in engineering . Proposed Objectives VSU proposed a Trojan STEM (T-STEM) project to address the aforementioned needs. TSTEM (VSU HBCU-UP) is a five year project with the following objectives: 1. To increase the number of graduates in VSU STEM degree programs from the average of about 73 to an average of 140, within five years. 2. To increase the academic performance of the STEM students. We expect to increase their average GPA from 2.6 to 2.8 or higher, within 5 years. 3. To increase the number of students who competitively gain admission to STEM graduate degree programs by 100% in the next five years The above objectives are inline with the VSU Strategic Plan. The VSU 20/20 Strategic Plan can be seen at www.vsu.edu. Beginning in the year 2005, the transformation of Virginia State University documented in the 20/20 Vision Plan and Master Plan. This essentially elevates the VSU standing within the Commonwealth of Virginia and the nation, in its effort to ensure the quality education. The 20/20 Vision Plan initiative will strengthen and enhance all components of the university as it strives to become a SACS Level 6 institution, a Carnegie Doctoral/Research Intensive university, and move to the upper echelon of Tier 2 in the U.S. News and World Report rankings. This plan is comprised of Action Items that will enable VSU to measure each goal or accomplishment. Intellectual Merit and Broader Impact The National Science Foundation (NSF) utilizes two merit criteria for the review of proposals: Intellectual Merit, and Broader Impact. NSF has defined these merits as follow : What is the intellectual merit of the proposed activity? How important is the proposed activity to advancing knowledge and understanding within its own field or across different fields? How well qualified is the proposer (individual or team) to conduct the project? (If appropriate, the reviewer will comment on the quality of prior work.) To what extent does the proposed activity suggest and explore creative, original, or potentially transformative concepts? How well conceived and organized is the proposed activity? Is there sufficient access to resources? What are the broader impacts of the proposed activity? How well does the activity advance discovery and understanding while promoting teaching, training, and learning? How well does the proposed activity broaden the P ge 15666.3 participation of underrepresented groups (e.g., gender, ethnicity, disability, geographic, etc.)? To what extent will it enhance the infrastructure for research and education, such as facilities, instrumentation, networks, and partnerships? Will the results be disseminated broadly to enhance scientific and technological understanding? What may be the benefits of the proposed activity to society? VSU HBCU UP Project This is the fifth year of the T-STEM project at VSU. The data for the past four years is available for analysis. The project was designed and carried out in four phases: Undergraduate Bridge; Graduate Bridge; Course Restructuring and Reform; and Faculty and Student Development. Intellectual Merit The aim of the T-STEM is to implement a program that provides access to science and technology and opportunities that will remove some existing barriers for competing and for participation in STEM arenas. Strategies focus on: • Learning through research • Emphasis on content and pedagogy, not just hardware • Emphasis on closing life-long learning, oral, and written competency gaps through academic and professional enhancement • Promoting graduate education through scientific research The concern for addressing the problems cited above is a national issue that requires further intervention by the academic community, industry, and the federal sector in order to ensure the participation of underrepresented groups in the workforce 2011 and beyond. Pre-college and undergraduate student participation in the sciences, particularly in research, is a major challenge. Some of the most challenging and exciting research topics today are found at the intersections of disciplines and sub-disciplines. We, therefore, provided opportunities for students to become engaged in interdisciplinary scientific research projects within the broader domains of the arts and sciences areas at this institution. As a result, the undergraduate research at VSU is growing. There is a fine record of publications and conference presentations coming out of the undergraduate research. The STEM departments at VSU are clearly committed to the goal of the program. There is an increase in the number of students who pursue graduate education in STEM. Broader Impact The broader aim of the T-STEM is to expand the participation of African-Americans in STEM disciplines. This will: 1) Advance Discovery and Understanding While Promoting Teaching, Training and Learning • Integrate research into the teaching at high school and undergraduate level • Include high school students and undergraduates in research, teaching, and mentoring Page 15666.4 • Develop online assessment/tracking tools utilizing Qualtrics useful in tracking students’ progress • Encourage student to participate in the conferences • Establish mentoring programs for high school and undergraduate students • Involve graduate mathematics students in undergraduate teaching activities • Adopt and disseminate ESP 2) Broaden Participation of Underrepresented Groups • Include African American students as participants in research and education activities 3) Enhance Infrastructure for Research and Education • Collaborations with BNL, ORAU, VTech, VCU, Honeywell, etc. • Broad Dissemination to Enhance Scientific and Technological Understanding • Involve Honeywell, DuPont, VDOT, in research internship and pre-college education • Presenting the STEM program in the website, high schools, local papers, and VSU Radio • Make data available in a timely manner by means of database • Publish the program in the VSU HBCU-UP website for the general public • Present research and education results to the NSF in a timely manner. • Participate in ASEE, HBCU-UP, VSU, LS-AMP workshops and conferences • Integrate research with education activities 4) Benefits to Society • Close the gender/ethnic human resources gap that exists in national STEM workforce. • Increase the diversity of nation’s STEM workforce The intent of the VSU HBCU-UP is to provide faculty and students with close interactions (mentoring) that foster the academic potential of the minorities in the STEM fields. Furthermore, the goal is to provide minorities with opportunity to interact with other students from larger institutions. Such interactions reduce the barrier