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提供资金，解决了国家对现有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，以加强机构合作伙伴关系;促进STEM途径模型的适应，实施和测试，这是一套有效的课程和学生支持活动;并加速模型的交付和实施。 该项目的目标是证明扩大和复制STEM途径模式的关键成功因素的可行性，该模式已在一所社区学院试行。 一个由代表工业界、中学和中学后教育界以及州组织的成员组成的伙伴关系将指导这一努力，这将满足该州以技术和工程为导向的劳动力需求。 该项目将（1）通过学生参与扩大对STEM职业的认识;（2）确保农村学区的高中生参加大学数学课程，并以大学学分从高中毕业（确保大学准备就绪）;以及（3）增加进入并成功完成这些农村社区学院的STEM技术人员和工程学位或证书课程的学生人数，转入四年制技术或工程课程，和/或进入STEM劳动力队伍。 计划的成果将包括一个以科技为本的资源指南和信息平台，以协助参与院校识别和应用最佳和有前景的做法（例如：一套有效的课程和学生支持活动），建立一个农村社区学院网络，以支持这些做法的部署，开发从STEM职业意识到完成学位和/或证书的综合途径，并为学生进入STEM劳动力做好准备。 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，在高中获得的大学学分，在技术员奖学金和完成数据，学生的经验，和SFAz+8网络的成功注册）。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