GP-UP: Building a GeoFORCE Learning Community to Attract, Prepare, and Retain Rural, Alaska Native, and First-Generation STEM Majors

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GeoFORCE Alaska is a four-year, field-based, summer geoscience program with a record of attracting underrepresented students to the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). The program is supported by industry sponsors and Alaska Native Corporations with interests or shareholders in northern and interior Alaska. As we prepare to welcome an unprecedented number of GeoFORCE Alaska graduates to UAF, we seek to increase both preparation and retention by incorporating digital mapping and Language Arts into the summer program and building an undergraduate learning community at UAF. This GeoFORCE Alumni Learning Community will provide opportunities for supplemental instruction, social networking, and financial support in order to increase college retention and graduation rates and realize the goal of workforce diversification in Alaska.The goals of GeoFORCE Alaska are: 1) Promote high school graduation; 2) Increase the number of rural students attending college and pursuing STEM degrees; and 3) Diversify Alaska’s technical workforce. Results of the first two cohorts indicate that GeoFORCE Alaska is highly effective as a means of raising high school graduation rates in remote Alaskan villages and increasing the participation of rural, Alaska Native, female, and first-generation college students in STEM majors. However, GeoFORCE has yet to accomplish goal 3. Alumni tracking reveals significant barriers to degree completion, including: 1) lack of preparation, leading to placement in developmental Math and Writing courses; 2) difficulty adapting to campus life; and 3) financial struggles. To forge a strong learning community among GeoFORCE alumni, we will employ common course construction, near-peer mentoring, scholarships, and social activities. Freshman and Sophomores will enroll in blocks of Math, Writing, and introductory Geoscience courses. As upperclassmen, these students will be eligible to serve as GeoFORCE counselors and mentor the next wave of rural Geoscience majors. Trained counselors and a high school English teacher will assist students with technological and narrative elements of project construction. Rural Alaskan students with STEM degrees bring valuable perspectives to decisions regarding land management and resource extraction. Enhancing student preparation and building an integrated academic, social, and financial support system for GeoFORCE alumni has the potential to increase college success among Alaska Native, female, and first-generation students from rural communities.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.