Trans-formative Capacity Building: Targeted STEM Infusion Project Grant

部落学院和大学计划（TCUP）的目标是支持为土著服务的高等教育机构建立他们的科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）教学和研究能力。内布拉斯加州印第安社区学院（NICC）指导的项目名为“变革能力建设：有针对性的STEM输液项目”，通过建立微生物实验室和开发微生物实验室课程，直接实现了TCUP的目标，使学生更好地准备进入劳动力市场和/或进入另一个机构攻读四年制STEM学位。该项目的目标是确保实验室设备齐全，协议和培训到位，优先考虑学生和工作人员的安全。实验课程将包括与当地相关的内容和基于证据的教学方法，并将进行试点测试，以优化其支持学生学习的有效性。本课程保证可在内布拉斯加州的高等教育机构之间完全转换。NICC的视频会议功能成功地为三个校区提供课程，包括这一课程，扩大了项目的覆盖范围。NICC的使命是为所有学习者提供优质的高等教育和终身教育机会。扩大学院的科学学科是推进这一使命的一种方式。微生物学是众多STEM学士学位课程的必修课和/或经批准的选修课，它的加入支持了学生获得学士学位的途径，也为公共、私人和部落实体的毕业生提供了额外的职业选择。该项目旨在加强NICC的实验室健康与安全计划（HSP），并根据HSP协议培训所有STEM教师，这有利于学院的所有实验室课程和学位课程，从而建立NICC在STEM教育和研究方面的能力。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The goal of the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) is to support Native-serving institutions of higher education in building their science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) instructional and research capacities. The project directed by Nebraska Indian Community College (NICC) titled “Transformative Capacity Building: Targeted STEM Infusion Project” directly addresses TCUP’s goal through the establishment of a microbiology laboratory and the development of a microbiology laboratory course that better prepares their students to enter the workforce and/or matriculate to another institution to pursue a four-year STEM degree. The project’s objectives are to ensure that the laboratory is fully equipped and protocols and training are in place that prioritize student and staff safety. The laboratory course will include locally relevant content and evidence-based instructional methods and will be pilot tested to optimize its effectiveness in support student learning. The course is guaranteed fully transferable across Nebraska institutions of higher education. NICC's videoconferencing capabilities successfully enable the delivery of courses, including this one, to serve three campuses, broadening the reach of the project.NICC’s mission is to provide quality higher education and lifelong educational opportunities to all learners. Expansion of the science disciplines at the college is one way to advance that mission. The addition of microbiology, a required course and/or approved elective for numerous STEM baccalaureate degree programs, supports students’ pathways to baccalaureate degrees as well as additional careers options for graduates with public, private, and tribal entities. The project’s work to strength NICC’s Laboratory Health and Safety Plan (HSP) and to train all STEM faculty in the HSP protocols benefits all laboratory courses and degree programs at the college, thereby building NICC’s capacity in STEM education and research.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.