Enhanced Marine and Environmental Science Training for Pacific Island Community College Students

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This project will address a critical need to enhance the technical workforce of Pacific Islanders who are trained to address regional ecosystem stress and degradation. The project plans to strengthen and modernize the marine and environmental science training of Pacific Islanders at five minority-serving community colleges: American Samoa Community College, College of Micronesia – Federated States of Micronesia, College of the Marshall Islands, Northern Marianas College, and Palau Community College. The future of these islands and their populations depends on the technical skills and knowledge of local resource managers, policy makers, businesses and stakeholders. This project will support training of faculty and students to increase the success rate of Pacific Islanders in STEM disciplines, which has traditionally been low. This project builds on prior Advanced Technological Education projects that helped to establish the marine and environmental programs at the five minority-serving community colleges of the Pacific Islands. The goal of this project is to develop and increase the participation of Pacific Islanders in STEM technical careers. The project aims to provide: 1) enhanced regionally relevant curricula; 2) professional development for community college faculty and secondary school teachers; and 3) experiential learning for students. The project will incorporate input from local agencies, businesses, and stakeholders that have identified key technological skills needed by community college graduates to fill positions within the government, non-government organizations, and private sector. The formative and summative evaluation will use multiple methodologies sensitive to indigenous cultures. The technical skills and training obtained by students will allow them to serve their home islands in critical areas, including natural resource assessment, management, protection, restoration, and resilience. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation’s economy.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.