TX BRIDGE (Texans Building Robust, Innovative & Diverse Graduate Education)

德克萨斯桥，由UT阿灵顿领导，是一个新的联盟7得克萨斯大学系统组件-UT阿灵顿（UTA），UT布朗斯维尔（UTB），UT达拉斯（UTD），UT泛美（UTPA），UT二叠纪盆地（UTPB），UT圣安东尼奥（UTSA），UT泰勒（UTT）-和得克萨斯南方大学（大津）。这些机构联合起来是因为它们在地理位置、规模、优势和学生人口统计方面的多样性和协同作用。联盟的每个成员都有强大的外展，招聘和支持计划，使代表性不足的少数民族（URM）学生在校园里，他们感到欢迎和包括成功。UTA，UTD和UTSA都在STEM和STEM URM博士教育方面拥有广泛而成功的经验。该联盟的成员也由类似的学术和行政政策和程序，最大限度地减少协调跨大学编程的体制障碍。因此，他们有一个很好的基础，在此基础上建立一个方案，将实现AGEP的目标。拟议的为期一年的规划进程将为创新的AGEP计划创造基础设施，该计划1）鼓励URM对STEM研究生教育的兴趣; 2）将指导，学术和专业支持整合到学士，硕士，博士和博士后培训中; 3）为在综合性大学学习的硕士生提供博士机构的研究和指导机会; 4）为那些硕士生进入研究型大学的博士研究创造了一个成本和时间效率高的桥梁，5）提供博士后和访问助理教授职位，为学生担任教师职位做好准备。他们建议通过专注于广泛和响应程序管理结构的发展，课程的跨机构协调，以及获得学分的夏季研究机会来实现这一目标。他们还将专注于通过为来自不同机构的教师建立机制，共同指导和建议学生，并通过开发和传播其他创新的外联，招生，学术，专业和职业规划，扩大对学生成功的支持。为了实现这些目标，最佳实践将通过与成功解决URM STEM研究生教育问题的计划进行协商来确定。将聘请一名外部评估员帮助确定获得和成功的障碍。来自教师，管理人员和外部选民的关键投入将确保该计划是响应每所大学？的地方学术和专业的关注。这些小组将在TX BRIDGE机构中形成协调的入学程序，课程要求和研究机会，创造一个无缝的路径，导致博士研究和进入教授职位。推广，计划增长和计划质量的提高是很难实现的，特别是在具有挑战性的国家和国家经济气候。拟议的规划将为完整的AGEP提案奠定基础，该提案将协调工作并汇集资源，将更多的URM引入教授队伍，同时提供一种极具成本效益的方法来提高TX BRIDGE联盟中STEM项目的质量。智力优势：TX BRIDGE机构联合起来，因为它们在位置，规模，优势，学生人口统计方面的多样性和协同作用以及学术和行政政策的相似性，这些政策最大限度地减少了协调机构间活动的困难。项目领导在德克萨斯州研究生教育相关事宜上具有丰富的合作经验。此外，参与机构致力于提高URM参与各级高等教育，并已投入大量资源，以帮助提高研究活动的质量，为所有德州人服务。这些因素为AGEP方案奠定了良好的基础。已经确定了建立可持续计划的关键规划步骤和目标，该计划将鼓励更多URM考虑高级STEM学位，为他们在学习中取得成功做好准备，并为他们进入教授职位做好准备。URM学生入学，保留和完成的制度，计划和社会障碍将通过外部评估和咨询确定并解决。在这一过程中收集的数据将提供一个基线，用于评估整个计划实施时计划活动的影响。教师和行政参与和热情是可持续成功的关键。他们计划参与该计划的设计和实施，以及该计划为参与者提供新的和令人兴奋的专业机会的能力将有助于确保他们的长期承诺。更广泛的影响：在最好的经济条件下，外联、项目增长和项目质量提高都是具有挑战性的。拟议的规划将建立一个联盟，增加URM STEM学生的数量，他们及时毕业，过渡到博士研究，并继续在教授中取得成功。TX BRIDGE提出了一种研究生水平的机构间合作的新模式，用于构建可扩展的桥梁基础设施，许多大学和各个部门都可以参与其中。通过协调努力和汇集资源，扩大外联，促进增长，并提高其所有成员的计划质量，TX BRIDGE还为其他大学提供了一个模式，以寻求加强和提高其STEM博士和硕士课程的质量。

TX BRIDGE, led by UT Arlington, is a new alliance of 7 University of Texas System components--UT Arlington (UTA), UT Brownsville (UTB), UT Dallas (UTD), UT Pan American (UTPA), UT Permian Basin (UTPB), UT San Antonio (UTSA), UT Tyler (UTT)--and Texas Southern University (TSU). The institutions united because of their diversity and synergies in location, size, strengths, and student demographics. Each member of the alliance has strong outreach, recruiting and support programs that enable underrepresented minority (URM) students to succeed in campuses where they feel welcome and included. UTA, UTD, and UTSA all have extensive and successful experience in STEM and STEM URM doctoral education. Members of the alliance are also governed by similar academic and administrative policies and procedures that minimize institutional barriers to coordinating cross-university programming. Thus they have an excellent foundation on which to build a program that will attain AGEP goals. The proposed one-year planning process will create the infrastructure for an innovative AGEP program that 1) encourages URM interest in graduate STEM education; 2) integrates mentoring, academic and professional support across baccalaureate, master's, doctoral and postdoctoral training; 3) makes research and mentoring opportunities at doctoral institutions available to master's students studying at comprehensive universities; 4) creates a cost and time efficient bridge for those master's students to enter doctoral studies at research-high activity universities and 5) provides postdoctoral and visiting assistant professor positions that prepare students for faculty positions. They propose to achieve this by focusing on development of a broad and responsive program management structure, cross-institution coordination of curricula, and credit-earning summer research opportunities. They will also focus on expanding support of student success by creating mechanisms for faculty from different institutions to jointly mentor and advise students and by developing and disseminating other innovative outreach, admissions, academic, and professional and career programming. To achieve these ends, best practices will be identified through consultation with programs that address issues of URM STEM graduate education successfully. An external evaluator will be hired to help identify barriers to access and success. Critical input from faculty, administrators and external constituencies will assure that the program is responsive to each university?s local academic and professional concerns. These groups will shape coordinated admission procedures, curricular requirements and research opportunities across TX BRIDGE institutions, creating a seamless path leading to doctoral study and entry into the professoriate. Outreach, program growth and program quality enhancement are difficult to attain especially in challenging state and national economic climates. The proposed planning will lay the groundwork for a full AGEP proposal that will coordinate efforts and pool resources to bring more URMs into the professoriate while providing an extremely cost-effective approach to improving the quality of STEM programs in the TX BRIDGE alliance. Intellectual Merit: TX BRIDGE institutions united because of their diversity and synergies in location, size, strengths, student demographics and their similarity in academic and administrative policies that minimize difficulties coordinating inter-institutional activities. Project leadership has extensive experience working collaboratively on matters related to graduate education in Texas. Further, the participating institutions are committed to improving URM participation in all levels of higher education and have committed considerable resources to help improve the quality of research activity to serve all Texans. These factors provide an excellent foundation for an AGEP program. Key planning steps and objectives have been identified for building a sustainable program that will encourage more URMs to consider advanced STEM degrees, prepare them to succeed in their studies, and prepare them to enter the professoriate. Institutional, programmatic and social barriers to URM student admission, retention and completion will be identified by external assessment and consultation and addressed. Data collected during this process will provide a baseline for assessing the impact of program activities when the full program is implemented. Faculty and administrative participation and enthusiasm are critical to sustainable success. Their planned involvement in the design and implementation of the program and the program's ability to provide new and exciting professional opportunities for participants will help assure their long-term commitment. Broader Impacts: Outreach, program growth and program quality enhancement are challenging under the best economic conditions. The proposed planning will create an alliance that increases the number of URM STEM students who graduate in a timely fashion, transition to doctoral studies, and go on to successful careers in the professoriate. TX BRIDGE presents a new model for inter-institutional collaboration at the graduate level for building a scalable bridge infrastructure in which many universities and individual departments may participate. Through coordinated efforts and pooled resources that expand outreach, promote growth, and improve program quality for all of its members, TX BRIDGE also provides a model for other universities seeking to strengthen and improve the quality of their STEM doctoral and master's programs in a cost-effective manner.