Occupational Safety and Health Training Project Grant in Industrial Hygiene

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PROJECT SUMMARY The University of North Alabama (UNA) Occupational Health Science (OHS) Program (formerly called Industrial Hygiene) is one of four baccalaureate programs in the United States accredited by the Applied and Natural Science Accreditation Commission (ANSAC) of ABET. The program, which requires a major in OHS and chemistry minor, has earned a reputation for graduating a pool of qualified industrial hygienists who provide valuable services to workers and employers in this geographical region and beyond. Enrollment in the program remains sufficient, necessitating consistent offerings of OHS courses and yielding viable graduation outputs. The continuation of the NIOSH Training Project Grant (TPG) is essential to remain effective in recruiting and retaining students with good scholastic merits, to maintain the current expectations of academic quality, and to expand into new and promising foreseeable opportunities. The objectives of this proposal for the continuation of the NIOSH-TPG are threefold: (i) to promote and further the recruitment of qualified students in the OHS field; (ii) to support and strengthen continuous academic improvement; and (iii) to expand and develop the educational opportunities and services of the OHS Program. Recruitment will be promoted by academic scholarships (NIOSH TPG and departmental) and strategic recruitment and retention efforts involving on-campus events to promote retention of current majors and target undecided majors; off-campus events focused on area high schools identified as feeder schools and schools with underrepresented populations; and an enhanced social media campaign utilizing custom made videos highlighting the OHS major. Continuous improvement will be approached by periodic evaluations of educational objectives, annual evaluations of student outcomes, and timely correction of shortcomings. Expanded educational opportunities will include an initiative to develop international collaborations for this degree program and an evaluation of the potential and opportunity to add a related master’s program. The NIOSH TPG has been pivotal in supporting this baccalaureate program in OHS housed at a regional university. From dismal enrollment figures that threatened its viability, the UNA OHS program blossomed into a successful academic program that is often highlighted as exemplary by UNA administrators and noticed by stakeholders as an effective contributor to the advancement of OHS. The discontinuation of this grant may certainly halt the continuous path of success and affect our ability to recruit students, particularly those academically gifted students whom we have seen populating our program over the years.