Broadening Participation in Plant/Agricultural Biotechnology through Stackable Credentials Leading to an Associate in Science Degree

为了应对不断变化的农业优先事项，加州中央海岸地区的植物/农业生物技术产业正在发展。来自拉美裔社区的个人在生物技术领域的代表性仍然很低。这个项目是由艾伦·汉考克学院领导的，这是一个位于加州中部的农村、联邦指定的拉美裔服务机构。该项目旨在增加拉美裔社区的个人对植物/农业生物技术的参与。为此，项目团队将开发可堆叠的证书，为学生进入该地区的植物/农业生物技术劳动力做好准备，并可能获得新的植物/农业生物技术副学士学位。该学位课程将与当地K-14教育行业合作伙伴和利益相关者合作设计。该项目将培训当地高中教师掌握与新课程相适应的生物技术技能，从而开辟一条从高中进入植物/农业生物技术的途径。该项目预计，这种方法将增加第二代拉美裔青年对熟练生物技术劳动力的兴趣和成功。因此，该项目有可能帮助STEM技术人员多样化，并确保有色人种学生成为下一代科学家的一员。通过这样做，该项目可以帮助缓解新冠肺炎大流行对它将服务的社区的不成比例的影响。该项目将使用为拉美裔服务机构确定的循证战略，将：1)开发两个可堆叠的证书，基于生物技术、植物组织培养和遗传学的课程，获得植物/农业生物技术副学士学位；2)为高中教师提供专业发展，并通过提高认识和提供生物技术实践经验，创建进入副学士学位计划的潜在学生渠道；3)提供制度性的、以学生为中心的支持，并让学生参与植物/农业生物技术的基于工作的学习体验；4)扩大与当地农业生物技术行业的合作和伙伴关系，使拉美裔学生为新兴的技术工作做好准备，包括农业生物诊断领域的工作。这种培训将使拉美裔学生能够发展可转移到其他部门的技能，并有助于缓解该州熟练技术工人的短缺。此外，这笔资金可以产生维持学位项目所需的收入，有助于缓解新冠肺炎对学院本身的相关影响。该项目由高级技术教育计划资助，该计划专注于为推动国家经济的先进技术领域培养技术人员。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

In response to changing agriculture priorities, the plant/agricultural biotechnology industry is growing in the California Central Coast region. Individuals from Hispanic communities continue to be underrepresented in biotechnology. This project is led by Alan Hancock College, a rural, federally designated Hispanic Serving Institution in central California. The project is designed to increase the participation of individuals from Hispanic communities in plant/agricultural biotechnology. To do so, the project team will develop stackable credentials that prepare students to enter the region’s plant/agricultural biotechnology workforce and can lead to an new associate degree in plant/agriculture biotechnology. This degree program will be designed in collaboration with local industry partners and stakeholders in K- 14 education. The project will train local high school teachers in biotechnology skills aligned with the new curriculum, thus creating a pathway from high school into plant/agricultural biotechnology. The project expects this approach will increase the interest and success in the skilled biotechnology workforce for second-generation Hispanic youth. As a result, the project has the potential to help diversify the STEM technical workforce and ensure that students of color become members of the next generation of scientists. In doing so, the project can help to mitigate the disproportionate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the communities it will serve.Using evidence-based strategies identified for Hispanic Serving Institutions, the project will: 1) develop two stackable certificates, based on courses in biotechnology, plant tissue culture, and genetics, that lead to an associate of science degree in plant/agricultural biotechnoloy; 2) provide high school faculty with professional development and create a pipeline of prospective students into the associate degree program by increasing awareness and providing hands-on experience in biotechnology; 3) offer institutional, student-centric support and engage students in work-based learning experiences in plant/agricultural biotechnology; 4) expand collaboration and partnerships with local agriculture biotechnology industries that can prepare Hispanic students for emerging technical jobs, including those in the field of agricultural biodiagnostics. This training will enable Hispanic students to develop skills that are transferable to other sectors and help to alleviate the shortage of skilled technical workers in the state. In addition, this funding can generate revenue needed to sustain the degree program, helping to alleviate COVID-19-related impacts on the College itself. 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.