Salish Kootenai College RISE III Program Plan

描述（由申请人提供）：Salish Kootenai学院（SKC）是一所部落学院，位于蒙大拿州西部的flahead印第安保留地。SKC目前提供13个学士学位课程，11个副学士学位课程和7个完成证书课程。通常情况下，学生人数平均约为900 - 1000名学生和50 - 100个部落代表在任何给定的学年。该提案是对2006年首次授予SKC的NIGMS RISE （SKC RISE I）的更新，并于2010年更新（SKC RISE II）。它的设计是为了显著影响印第安学生进入生物医学科学博士课程的数量。上一次RISE （SKC RISE II）以及现已过期的NSF- TCUP奖的主要成就是SKC BS（生命科学）学位的建立和认证。这是部落学院提供的第一个以生物科学为基础的学士学位，它的持续支持对越来越多的土著学生进入主流机构攻读生物医学科学博士学位至关重要。因此，这是RISE新项目的首要目标。与SKC RISE II项目相关的是一个广泛的合作伙伴网络的发展，为学生提供了校外的、研究密集型的暑期实习机会，提高了学生在SKC进行的本科研究的质量，这在国家科学会议上获得了多个奖项，并延续了美洲原住民科学家系列研讨会。2012年，SKC第一个学生从这个项目毕业，在这个短短2年的项目中，入学人数一直在增加。这个新的学士（生命科学）学位采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整合活动，这两者已被证明对代表性不足的少数群体在科学领域取得成功很重要。除了这两个组件之外，已经开发并提出了两个新的附加组件，作为对这个经过验证的模型的改进。这些是“专业化”活动和“文化验证”。在这个模式中保留的是：使用公认的最佳教育实践继续扩展基于探究的课程，在一对一学生指导下的综合研究实验室经验，批判性思维的发展，演讲技巧和参与国家科学会议，所有这些都在部落学院的文化框架内，促进了项目的保留。在这个改进的模式中，包括建议开发更多“基于地方”的课程内容，以及更多将课程与“传统的学习方式”联系起来的方法，这两者都是招收和留住土著学生的重要组成部分，最好从部落学院的角度来实现。与RISE III提案协同工作的是其他协同SKC项目，例如新的NSF- steep资助的BS（中等教育），用于培训本地高中科学教师，以及两个未决的NSF TCUP提案-一个用于中学数学教师，另一个用于培训学生使用最先进的技术（GC-MS），用于分析环境污染物，如多氯联苯。该提案还包括一个全面的评估计划，以跟踪项目的成功，以及一个非常合格和承诺的外部咨询委员会，以提供项目监督和指导。

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.