Miami Dade College - University of Miami Bridge to the Baccalaureate Program

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We request continuing support for a Miami Dade College (MDC) and University of Miami (UM) partnership that has been funded since 1994 by five successive Bridges to the Baccalaureate awards. We have two overall goals, one targeting Bridge scholars and the other the general science student population at MDC. We aim to increase the number of scholars entering doctoral programs in the biomedical sciences by 50 percent. We will modify our recruitment of students from Miami-Dade County by sending scholars to their former high school, and we will continue to provide supplementary instruction to increase scholars' academic competitiveness. We will encourage interest in research through a new integrative introductory research-based laboratory course, provision of hourly wages for research with faculty mentors at UM, and support for student attendance and presentations at national meetings. We will raise parents' appreciation of research careers through Family Science Sunday events, at which families will participate in authentic research with a UM faculty mentor. With this proposal, we renew our commitment to having an institutional impact at MDC by helping students from underrepresented groups graduate and enter biomedical research careers. We aim to increase the number of all MDC science students receiving their associate degrees by 50 percent and the number transferring to four-year institutions by 50 percent. We will accomplish this by 1) extending to MDC our introductory research-based biology/chemistry lab model to reach many more students, 2) implementing a virtual Peer-Led Team-Learning program that will accommodate the large number of MDC science students who are commuters, and 3) motivating MDC students through an ambassador program in which scholars present their research experiences to their MDC peers. In addition, faculty from both institutions will participate in teaching-innovation workshops to learn about and share techniques related to student-centered learning.