STRONG-CT: Science and Technology Reaching Out to New Generations in Connecticut

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This STEP project is a collaboration between Manchester Community College, Quinebaug Valley Community College, Three Rivers Community College and the University of Connecticut, known as "The Science and Technology Reaching Out to A New Generation in Connecticut" Alliance (STRONG-CT). The project targets first generation college students and historically underrepresented student populations to increase their enrollment, retention and graduation in Life Sciences. We chose this set of disciplines because (1) there is a dearth of first-generation and historically underrepresented students studying in these areas, (2) the strength of the University of Connecticut programs in these fields, (3) existing good articulation agreements between the University of Connecticut and these three community colleges, (4) the geographic position of the participating institutions in the "biotechnology corridor," and (5) the relevance of these programs for regional 21st Century employment opportunities. This project targets first generation students, many of whom are African American and Latino/a, who may choose to go to community college as the primary way of accessing higher education. Historically, these students have limited access to higher education opportunities. Rising costs of post-secondary education, combined with increased competition for admissions to competitive institutions like the University of Connecticut, and deficient college preparatory curricula in many Connecticut high schools, dramatically constrict the educational opportunities for many of these students. This project addresses these challenges by pooling resources across institutions to offer an academic development and leadership program focusing on: (1) rigorous individual and group academic support for the core science and math courses, (2) mentoring relationships in the sciences through undergraduate research opportunity initiatives, (3) leadership and identity enhancement activities to overcome psychological challenges in the form of stereotyping and low self-esteem, and (4) overall development of students' professional identities of becoming scientists (through mentoring, research, and internship experiences). The project is being guided by a leadership team of faculty, key stakeholders, and an executive oversight committee of senior officers drawn from all four schools and around the state. Diversifying the student bodies is a strategic priority for all member institutions within the STRONG-CT Alliance. By focusing efforts on enhancing the number of first generation and historically underrepresented students taking science courses at these community colleges, and then encouraging their transfer to the University of Connecticut, degree output will be increased because -- lacking this program -- they would not be studying in any of the STEM fields. Long-term, it is clear that working with community college partners is a critical next step to increasing the numbers of historically underserved students who complete bachelor degrees in these areas. The intellectual merit of this proposal is that it pulls together a wide diversity of individuals from a major land grant university and its neighboring community colleges to address significant recruitment and retention problems in an integrated and powerful manner. Practices that have been developed locally through the LSAMP program are being extended to the community college setting to maximize student success in the life sciences. The broader impacts of this initiative go beyond the recruitment and graduation of additional first-generation and minority students to the selected STEM disciplines. It is changing the cultures and practices of the participating institutions to better educate all of their constituent students. The model developed here for increasing and integrating the collaboration and articulation between two-year colleges and four-year institutions in STEM is attractive for budgetary reasons and also because it builds on the strengths of the participating institutions.