The TU-CCP Academic Community: Expanding Opportunities

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Our TU-CCP (Temple University- Community College of Philadelphia) alliance established in 2000 has supported students through the major transition points throughout their academic career. We have focused recruiting efforts such that better, more prepared students enter CCP science programs. We have provided support to CCP pre-freshman to enhance science and math skills, we have provided a research orientation to pre-freshman to prepare students for internships in research labs in their freshman year. We have established tutorials and supplemental instruction to assist students through their science courses. Our data shows significant gains in achievement for the Bridges to the Baccalaureate, B2B cohort. Though academically under prepared to start their studies at Temple University, CCP Bridges students complete their studies indistinguishable from the analogous Temple cohort. During the course of the funded period, the achievement gap between minority, B2B students and non-minority students at the community college has been inverted. We want to expand opportunities by increasing the activities and the cohort size. We will continue our best practices that include our Summer Science Academy, Freshman seminar, research techniques course, research internship program, supplemental instruction and mentoring. We also want to give students the opportunity to earn credits toward a Temple degree while at CCP in courses specifically designed for life science majors; Informatics for Scientists and Drug Design and Drug Action. Freshmen will also have the opportunity to take a non-credit course introducing them to careers and opportunities in the life sciences. We will include up to 150 students in on-line/monitored tutorials in mathematics and chemistry. These tutorials model the curriculum of pre-calculus and calculus courses and general chemistry at TU. In this initiative we have included research opportunities for CCP faculty as part of faculty development. CCP faculty will have the opportunity to rotate through research projects and attend the courses in the summers. During year, they will manage a research seminar program and group meetings on their campus. These meetings will include all of the CCP students, those in research internships and those in the supplemental instruction and tutorial programs. In doing this, more students will come to understand the research process.

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Our TU-CCP (Temple University- Community College of Philadelphia) alliance established in 2000 has supported students through the major transition points throughout their academic career. We have focused recruiting efforts such that better, more prepared students enter CCP science programs. We have provided support to CCP pre-freshman to enhance science and math skills, we have provided a research orientation to pre-freshman to prepare students for internships in research labs in their freshman year. We have established tutorials and supplemental instruction to assist students through their science courses. Our data shows significant gains in achievement for the Bridges to the Baccalaureate, B2B cohort. Though academically under prepared to start their studies at Temple University, CCP Bridges students complete their studies indistinguishable from the analogous Temple cohort. During the course of the funded period, the achievement gap between minority, B2B students and non-minority students at the community college has been inverted. We want to expand opportunities by increasing the activities and the cohort size. We will continue our best practices that include our Summer Science Academy, Freshman seminar, research techniques course, research internship program, supplemental instruction and mentoring. We also want to give students the opportunity to earn credits toward a Temple degree while at CCP in courses specifically designed for life science majors; Informatics for Scientists and Drug Design and Drug Action. Freshmen will also have the opportunity to take a non-credit course introducing them to careers and opportunities in the life sciences. We will include up to 150 students in on-line/monitored tutorials in mathematics and chemistry. These tutorials model the curriculum of pre-calculus and calculus courses and general chemistry at TU. In this initiative we have included research opportunities for CCP faculty as part of faculty development. CCP faculty will have the opportunity to rotate through research projects and attend the courses in the summers. During year, they will manage a research seminar program and group meetings on their campus. These meetings will include all of the CCP students, those in research internships and those in the supplemental instruction and tutorial programs. In doing this, more students will come to understand the research process.