Salish Kootenai College RISE III Program Plan

描述(由申请人提供)：萨利什库特奈学院(SKC)是一所部落学院，位于蒙大拿州西部的Flathead印第安人保留地。SKC目前提供13个学士学位课程、11个副学士学位课程和7个结业证书课程。通常，学生人数平均约为900-1000名学生，在任何一个学年都有50-100个部落。该提案是对2006年首次授予SKC(SKC Rise I)并于2010年续签(SKC Rise II)的NIGMS Rise的续签。它的设计是为了显著影响进入生物医学科学博士项目的美洲原住民学生的数量。上一次升学(SKC Rise II)以及现已到期的NSF-TCUP奖项所产生的主要成就是设立并认证了SKC BS(生命科学)学位。这是部落大学提供的第一个以生物科学为基础的学士学位，它的持续支持对于越来越多的原住民学生进入主流机构的生物医学博士课程至关重要。因此，这是这次新崛起复兴的首要目标。与SKC Rise II下的这项计划相关的是发展了广泛的合作网络，将学生安排在户外进行研究密集型暑期实习，提高了SKC正在进行的学生本科生研究的质量，这一点在国家科学会议上得到了几个奖项的认可，以及美洲原住民科学家研讨会系列的延续。SKC于2012年从该项目毕业，在其短暂的两年学习生涯中，入学人数一直在增加。这一新的生命科学学士学位利用了基于教育研究成果的学生成功逻辑模型。这一模式包括强有力的学术和社会融合活动，事实证明，这两项活动对在科学领域取得成功的代表性不足的少数群体都很重要。除了这两个组成部分外，还开发和提议了两个新的额外组成部分，作为对这一经过验证的模型的完善。这些是“职业化”的活动和“文化的验证”。在模式中保留的是：使用公认的教育最佳实践继续扩展基于探究的课程，通过密集的一对一学生指导，全面的研究实验室经验，发展批判性思维，演讲技能和参加国家科学会议，所有这些都在部落大学TAT的文化框架内促进项目保留。这一改进的模式包括提议开发更多“以地点为基础”的课程内容，以及更多将课程与“传统认识方式”联系起来的方式，这两种方式都是招收和留住土著学生的重要组成部分，最好从部落大学的角度来提供。与这项RISE III提案相配合的还有其他协同的SKC项目，例如由NSF资助的培训本地高中科学教师的新BS(中学教育)项目，以及两项NSF TCUP提案--一项针对中学数学教师，另一项针对学生进行最先进的技术培训(GC-MS)，用于分析多氯联苯等环境污染物。这项建议还包括一个全面的评估计划，以跟踪该计划的成功情况，以及一个非常合格和致力于提供计划监督和指导的外部咨询委员会。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Salish Kootenai College (SKC) is a tribal college located on the Flathead Indian Reservation in western Montana. SKC currently offers thirteen Bachelor's degree programs, eleven Associate's degree programs, and seven Certificate of Completion programs. Typically, the student body size averages approximately 900 - 1000 students and 50 - 100 Tribes are represented in any given academic year. This proposal is a renewal of an NIGMS RISE first awarded to SKC in 2006 (SKC RISE I) and renewed in 2010 (SKC RISE II). It has been designed to significantly impact the numbers of Native American students entering into biomedical science PhD programs. The major accomplishment resulting from the last RISE (SKC RISE II), as well as a now expired NSF- TCUP award was the establishment and accreditation of the SKC BS (Life Sciences) degree. This is the first bioscience-based Bachelor's degree to be offered at a tribal college and its continued support is critical to increasing numbers of Native students entering biomedical science PhD programs at mainstream institutions. This is, therefore, the overarching goal of this new RISE renewal. Associated with this program under SKC RISE II has been the development of an extensive partnership network for placing students in outside, research-intensive summer internships, an elevation in the quality of the student undergraduate research being performed at SKC, as recognized by several awards at national science meetings, and a continuation of the Native American scientist seminar series. SKC graduated its first student from this program in 2012 and enrollment over its short, 2-year life has been increasing. This new BS (Life Sciences) degree utilizes a student success logic model based on education research findings. This model includes strong academic and social integration activities, both of which have been shown to be important in underrepresented minorities succeeding in the sciences. In addition to these two components, two new additional components have been developed and proposed as refinements of this proven model. These are "professionalization" activities and "cultural validation". Retained in the model is: continued expansion of inquiry-based coursework using recognized educational best practices, comprehensive research lab experience with intensive one-on-one student mentoring, development of critical thinking, presentation skills and participation in national science meetings, all within the cultural framework of a tribal college tat promotes program retention. Included in this improved model is the proposed development of more "place-based" curriculum content, and more ways of linking curriculum to "traditional ways of knowing", both of which are important components to Native students' recruitment and retention, and best delivered from a tribal college perspective. Working in concert with this RISE III proposal are other, synergistic SKC programs, such as a new NSF-STEEP-funded BS (Secondary Education) to train Native high school science teachers and two pending NSF TCUP proposals - one for Secondary Math teachers and one proposal to train students in state-of-the-art techniques, (GC-MS), for the analysis of environmental contaminants such as PCBs. This proposal also includes a comprehensive evaluation plan to track the success of the program, as well as a very qualified and committed External Advisory Committee to provide program oversight and guidance.