Bridging Arizona Native American Students to Bachelor Degrees

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Project Summary/Abstract The objective of the proposed project is to increase the transfer of Native American students from accredited 2-year degree-granting institutions to baccalaureate degree programs in biomedical and behavioral sciences with the ultimate goal to aid these students in attaining their baccalaureate degrees. The program resides at Northern Arizona University (NAU) and partners with Coconino Community College (CCC); both institutions are located in Flagstaff, AZ. In 2008, NAU and CCC began a transfer program called CCC2NAU, which creates a seamless transition for students at CCC to NAU by matriculating in both institutions with shared resources for the students. NAU’s geographic location is ideal for enhancing the academic experiences of Native American students since Flagstaff is considered a border town for the Navajo and Hopi Nations and is near the White River Apache and Hualapai Nations. With allegiance to Native American student excellence by NAU and CCC and an exemplary geographic location to several tribal lands, the Bridging Arizona Native American Students to Bachelor Degrees program provides a pathway for Native American students to pursue biomedical and behavioral science careers. The proposed T34 program will administer academic year training and professional development in writing, communication, and enhancement of reproducibility along with hands-on research experiences. Additionally, the program will focus on student advising and mentorship and will connect Native American science role models with the burgeoning student researchers. The program is centered on a 24-month experience for Native American students who will be recruited in their first year at CCC. The structure of the program will provide support to three Bridges scholars during their sophomore year at CCC, and three Bridges scholars who have transferred to NAU during their junior year. In addition to recruiting through CCC programs, the proposed program will network with regional high schools with high Native American student enrollment to recruit motivated students. The program will counsel Bridges scholars at NAU during their junior year to identify and apply for financial support in their senior year to enable biomedical or behavioral science degree completion while exploring graduate training opportunities. As an eight-year R25 grant, we trained more than 54 Native American students and successfully transitioned 46% of these students to 4-year baccalaureate programs. Our goal in this T34 application is to improve the percentage to 70% transfer rates of Bridges participants. We believe with 24 months of strategic support and the reconfiguration of the program, this goal is achievable. Programmatic modifications for the T34 application were guided by the evaluation of the R25 program.