A STEP up for the life sciences: Strengthening a research university/minority-serving community college partnership

微生物学细胞科学系在佛罗里达大学（UF）和迈阿密戴德学院（在该国最大的少数民族服务机构; MDC）正在开发一个创新项目，开发一个桥梁计划，让学生从MDC获得AA学位的进展，他们在UF的BS学位。 该计划旨在克服许多障碍，这些障碍往往会减少那些经常缺乏资源或兴趣搬迁到STEM教育机会更好的地理位置的学生扩大STEM的参与。 虽然创新，该项目包括普遍实施的最佳实践，以提高少数保留在STEM领域，如点对点辅导，职业指导，本科生奖学金和本科生研究。 对保留和成功产生明显影响的活动成为远程教育计划的永久特征。智力优势：UF-MDC合作伙伴关系代表了微生物学细胞科学系远程教育计划的基石，因为该计划通过在未来三年内与其他两年制机构建立伙伴关系而在全州范围内扩展。 这个项目测试了一种创新的方法来开发一个桥梁学位课程，使研究型大学课程的学生在他们的社区。 在这样做的过程中，该项目提供了急需的数据，解决有关远程学习的功效和技术在我国本科生教育中应发挥的作用的重要和当代问题。 更广泛的影响：由于MDC是在一个城市环境中，有不同的学生社区，包括许多来自STEM领域代表性不足的背景，该项目正在准备和开发一个更大的本科生人才库，他们对STEM感兴趣（但否则可能没有机会），通过实施一个旨在提供教育机会的计划，满足他们离家更近的需求。

The Microbiology & Cell Science Department at the University of Florida (UF) and Miami Dade College (the largest minority-serving institution in the country; MDC) are collaborating on an innovative project that develops a bridge program where students receiving their AA degree from MDC progress to their BS degree at UF. The program is designed to overcome many of the barriers that often reduce broadening participation in STEM by students who often lack the resources or interest in relocating to geographic locations where STEM educational opportunities are better developed. Although innovative, the project includes commonly implemented best practices to improve minority retention in STEM fields such as peer to peer tutoring, career mentoring, undergraduate scholarships, and undergraduate research. Activities with a demonstrated impact on retention and success become a permanent feature of the Distance Education program. Intellectual Merit: The UF-MDC partnership represents the cornerstone of the Microbiology & Cell Science Department's Distance Education program as the program expands statewide by developing partnerships with other 2-yr institutions over the next three years. This project tests an innovative approach to developing a bridge degree program that brings a research university curriculum to the students in their community. In doing so, the project is providing much needed data addressing important and contemporary questions concerning the efficacy of distance learning and the role that technology should play in the education of our nation's undergraduates. Broader Impacts: Because MDC is in an urban environment with diverse communities of students, including many from background underrepresented in the STEM fields, the project is preparing and developing a much larger talent pool of undergraduates that have an interest in STEM (but who otherwise may not have the opportunity) by implementing a program that is designed to offer educational opportunities and meet their needs closer to home.