The AGEP Pilot Impact Study

这是美国国家科学基金会（NSF）的探索性研究（SGER）小额赠款，用于支持NSF研究生教育联盟和教授（AGEP）计划的影响的试点研究。每个AGEP联盟由两个或多个与STEM相关的博士学位授予机构组成，也可能包括非博士学位授予机构（通常为少数民族服务）。自1998年以来，该方案已向涉及近150所学院和大学的20多个联盟中的每个联盟提供了约250万美元。每个联盟都在参与的学院和大学以及其他联盟内部和之间工作。此外，鼓励联盟与其他旨在促进少数民族学生完成STEM学科学位的现有计划保持一致（例如，路易斯-斯托克斯少数民族参与联盟），无论这些计划是否由NSF资助。在四个月的时间内，拟议的研究将制定一个国家AGEP方案评价设计，具体说明抽样和比较组的发展，设计数据收集工具，并在两个AGEP项目中测试评价方法。根据去年报告的第三次AGEP的补充信息，将在2007年10月之前报告有关设计功效、数据收集工具和初步结果数据的信息。所获得的信息，特别是关于方案毕业生数据的可用性，将为国家评估的设计提供信息。

This is a Small Grant for Exploratory Research (SGER) from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support a pilot study of the impact of NSF's Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) program. Each AGEP Alliance consists of two or more STEM-related doctorate-granting institutions and may also include non-doctorate-granting (often minority-serving) institutions. Since 1998, the program has provided approximately $2.5 million to each of over 20 Alliances involving almost 150 colleges and universities. Each Alliance works both within and across participating colleges and universities and other Alliances. In addition, Alliances are encouraged to align with other existing programs that are designed to foster minority students' completion of degrees in STEM disciplines (e.g., the Louis-Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation), whether or not these programs are NSF-funded. Within a four-month timeframe, the proposed study will develop a national AGEP program evaluation design, specify sampling and comparison group development, design data-collection tools and test the evaluation methodology at two AGEP projects. With supplemental information from a third AGEP reported on last year, information on the efficacy of the design, the data collection instruments and preliminary outcome data will be reported by October 2007. The information obtained, particularly with respect to the availability of data on program graduates, will inform the design of a national evaluation.