GEOPATHS: IMPACT Geoscience Student Research and Ambassador Program

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Part 1Over the next decade, careers in geoscience are projected to grow significantly nationally and in the state of Utah. To increase the number and diversity of geoscience professionals, Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) is collaborating with the University of Utah on curriculum-reforms to increase the diversity and successful transfer of geology majors from SLCC to university. The project will implement the proven practices of early undergraduate research, university outreach, and transfer support with an innovative near-peer mentoring strategy.Select geology majors at SLCC will be supported by a stipend to conduct undergraduate research and visit two partnering universities for outreach and feedback on research projects. In addition, SLCC participants will serve as near-peer mentors to a few non-majors from the general education geology classes by enlisting their help on research projects. The near-peer mentoring component has the potential to advance our understanding of how to expand undergraduate research at the community college level. For the university outreach component, SLCC students will visit the two universities for outreach activities and meet with the faculty advisory board for guidance their research. In addition, this project will develop a Transfer Support Program in the geology departments at both universities. The Transfer Support Program will connect newly transferred SLCC geology majors to a near-peer mentor (an upper division undergraduate geology major) to help integrate them into the university geology majors program. This project is original and potentially transformative because it extends the undergraduate research experience beyond top-performing students to a larger audience and thus has potential for a larger impact. If successful, this strategy could be employed in lower division classes at universities and other STEM disciplines at SLCC. Part 2Over the next decade, careers in geoscience are projected to grow significantly but the STEM pipeline in higher education is leaking majors. This ?leaky pipeline? can be patched by implementing proven pedagogies early in a student?s college career such as at the community college level. To achieve this, Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) has collaborated with the University of Utah to implement the proven practices of undergraduate research, near-peer mentoring, university outreach, and transfer support. The goal is to increase degree completions, retention, diversity, and transfer rates of geology majors at SLCC. The project will support motivated and diverse SLCC geology majors to serve as ?research ambassadors? who will conduct undergraduate research projects with mentoring from university faculty and an upper-division undergraduate peer. Underrepresented minority (URM) groups will be particularly recruited as participants. Ambassadors will develop career-relevant skills focused on soil and water sampling and mapping using current technologies such as the hand-held x-ray fluorescence analyzer, water quality meters, and GPS enable field-rugged tablets with ArcGIS mapping software. The participants are called ?ambassadors? because they will recruit a few students from the general education geology classes to assist with their research. Thus, this approach brings the benefits of undergraduate research to the general education population which could potentially amplify the effect of the project across the institution.In addition to research, SLCC students will visit the two partnering universities?the University of Utah and Weber State University?for outreach activities and to meet with the faculty advisory board for friendly guidance on research projects. Further, both universities will establish a Transfer Support Program to support ambassadors after they transfer. The Transfer Support Program will assign ambassadors a near-peer mentor (an upper division undergraduate geology major) to help integrate them into the university geology department and student organizations. The near-peer mentoring component has to the potential to advance our knowledge on undergraduate research at the community college level. Many studies demonstrate clear benefits of undergraduate research, but the few top-performing students usually reap this reward. This project is original and potentially transformative because it extends this research experience beyond top-performing students to a much larger audience and thus has potential for a larger impact. If successful, this strategy could be employed in lower division classes at universities and other STEM disciplines at SLCC.