RISE at UVI: Building Students’ Identities as Scientists

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The University of the Virgin Islands, an undergraduate HBCU serving a unique population, proposes a continuously improving RISE program for students in all the relevant biomedical and behavioral disciplines across both the St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses. The program is designed to increase the diversity of biomedical researchers, which is essential to developing the creative research teams needed to make future ground breaking discoveries. The RISE Program will accomplish this with a sustained program designed to build students’ identities as scientists. New features in the program were developed as a result of evaluation. The specific aims are: Goal 1. The UVI RISE program will engage RISE students, build their intellectual capacity, and provide continuous support such that 100% of the RISE students graduate; 95% apply to pipeline programs in their senior year; 60% enroll in doctoral programs within 3 years of graduation. The baseline is 46% of graduates in the last funding cycle have matriculated into PhD programs. Goal 2. The UVI RISE program will have a magnifying effect producing institutional change that impacts all students in relevant departments such that the percentage of students enrolling in doctoral programs increases in all. Our goal for biology and chemistry is that the percentage of alumni going on to PhD programs will increase from 20% to 22%; for mathematics and applied mathematics an increase from 14% to 16%; for computer science an increase from 10% to 12%. The measurable objectives are that the RISE program will: (1) provide students with a rigorous RISE curriculum including new skills development courses, (2) provide research education opportunities both through extramural summer experiences and academic year research classrooms, (3) develop strong, innovative partnerships with labs at research-intensive institutions, (4) provide students with support and mentoring such that they see a clearly articulated career pathway for admission to selective research universities and a structure for success, (5) provide the mentoring and inspiration to excel such that at least one RISE student each year will apply to and be competitive for the MARC program, (6) increase the number of UVI students accepted into competitive mainland summer research programs, (7) increase grades of STEM majors through an innovative utility value intervention. The objectives will be accomplished with a program that builds on past success and includes new courses, extramural research, presentations at conferences, visiting scientists, workshops, journal clubs, and a network of support for students including Individual Development Plans. The RISE program will be carefully evaluated following a comprehensive evaluation plan and be improved based on the results of evaluation. The program will substantially increase UVI’s ability to prepare students for careers in biomedical research.