Arkansas Delta Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Talent Expansion Project (ADSTEP)

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Four community colleges (Mid-South Community College, Arkansas Northeastern College, East Arkansas Community College, and Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas), the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, and 24 school districts in the Arkansas Delta are partnering to produce more pathways to graduation for students. This project is designed to recruit more students to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), with a particular focus on African-American students, to create a career pathway in advanced manufacturing technology which is aligned with industry requirements, and to demonstrate and model a systemic solution to the historic underrepresentation of minority graduates in STEM fields. INTELLECTUAL MERIT: Students from high-poverty and high minority socioeconomic backgrounds often must obtain gainful employment to support the pursuit of higher education goals and therefore require workforce skills early in their academic careers. To address this issue, this project is creating an articulated education/career pathway that includes employable, credentialed completion points at graduation from high school, associate of applied science programs, and baccalaureate programs. Recruitment of African-American students to STEM careers, particularly the advanced manufacturing technology field, is being enhanced by a partnership that includes school districts with high-poverty and/or high-minority student populations. Dedicated recruiters/counselors partner with school district teachers and staff to mentor students into STEM career choices. An innovative strategy of this project is the support of a dedicated counselor/recruiter for students throughout their academic career, beginning in high school and continuing to college graduation.BROADER IMPACT: Through the Arkansas Association of Two-Year Colleges (AATYC), project outcomes are being disseminated to an additional 18 community colleges in Arkansas. Creation of a model of how community colleges, in partnership with universities and regional school districts, can increase the number of African-American students choosing STEM careers is impacting an 8-state, 240 county/parish region administered by the Delta Regional Authority.