SFAz+8: Building Capacity for STEM Pathways in Rural Arizona

该项目由美国国家科学基金会先进技术教育计划资助，旨在满足国家对成熟和新兴先进技术领域技术人员的需求。根据该州对社区学院的战略愿景，亚利桑那州科学基金会（SFAz）和八所农村社区学院将建立一个农村社区学院STEM网络，以加强机构伙伴关系；促进STEM衔接模式的适应、实施和测试，这是一套有效的课程和学生支持活动；并加快模型的交付和实现。该项目的目标是证明扩展和复制已在其中一所社区学院试点的STEM途径模式的关键成功因素的可行性。一个由代表工业、中等和高等教育社区以及国家组织的成员组成的伙伴关系将指导这项工作，这将满足国家对技术和工程导向的劳动力的需求。该项目将(1)通过学生参与扩大STEM职业的意识；(2)确保农村学区的高中生学习大学水平的数学课程，并在高中毕业时获得大学学分（确保大学准备）；(3)增加进入并成功完成这些农村社区学院的STEM技术和工程学位或证书课程的学生人数，转到四年制技术或工程课程，和/或进入STEM劳动力队伍。项目可交付成果将包括一个基于技术的资源指南和信息平台，该平台将帮助参与学院确定和部署最佳和有前途的实践（例如，一套有效的课程和学生支持活动），建立农村社区学院网络以支持这些实践的部署，开发从STEM职业意识到完成学位和/或证书的综合途径。让学生为进入STEM行业做好准备。实施一套通用的方法，从学生记录和调查的文件分析到访谈和焦点小组，定量和定性混合方法评估将评估项目成果（例如，高中获得的大学学分，技术项目的注册和完成数据，学生经验和SFAz+8网络的成功）。参与的农村社区学院有：*亚利桑那西部学院*亚利桑那中部学院*科奇斯学院*科科尼诺社区学院*亚利桑那东部学院*莫哈维社区学院*北国先锋学院*亚瓦派学院

With funding from the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education Program, the project addresses the national need for technicians in established and emerging advanced technological fields. Aligned with the state's strategic vision for community colleges, Science Foundation of Arizona (SFAz) and eight rural community colleges will establish a Rural Community College STEM Network to enhance institutional partnerships; facilitate the adaptation, implementation, and testing of the STEM Pathway Model, a suite of effective curricular and student support activities; and accelerate the delivery and implementation of the model. The project's objective is to demonstrate the feasibility of expanding and replicating key success factors of the STEM Pathway Model that have been piloted at one of the community colleges. A partnership composed of members representing industry, the secondary and post-secondary education communities, and state organizations will direct the effort, which will meet the technical and engineering oriented workforce needs of the state. The project will (1) expand awareness of STEM careers through student engagement; (2) ensure that high school students in rural school districts place in college-level mathematics courses and graduate from high school with college credits (ensuring college readiness); and (3) increase the number of students who enter and successfully complete STEM technician and engineering degree or credentialing programs at these rural community colleges, transfer to four year technical or engineering programs, and/or enter the STEM workforce. Project deliverables will include a technology-based resource guide and information platform that will assist the participating colleges in identifying and deploying best and promising practices (e.g., suite of effective curricular and student support activities), build a network of rural community colleges to support deployment of these practices, develop comprehensive pathways from awareness of careers in STEM to completion of degrees and/or credentials, and prepare students to enter the STEM workforce. Implementing a common suite of methods from document analysis of student records and surveys to interviews and focus groups, the quantitative and qualitative mixed methods evaluation will assess project outcomes (e.g., college credits earned in high school, enrollment in technician progams and completion data, student experiences, and success of the SFAz+8 network). The participating rural community colleges are:* Arizona Western College* Central Arizona College* Cochise College* Coconino Community College* Eastern Arizona College* Mohave Community College* Northland Pioneer College* Yavapai College