TX BRIDGE (Texans Building Robust, Innovative & Diverse Graduate Education)

德克萨斯桥由德克萨斯大学阿灵顿分校领导，是德克萨斯大学7个系统组件--德克萨斯大学阿灵顿分校(UTA)、德克萨斯大学布朗斯维尔分校(UTB)、达拉斯分校(UTD)、德克萨斯泛美大学(UTPA)、德克萨斯大学二叠纪盆地(UTPB)、德克萨斯大学圣安东尼奥分校(UTSA)、德克萨斯大学泰勒(UTT)--和德克萨斯南方大学(TSU)组成的新联盟。这些机构之所以联合起来，是因为它们在地理位置、规模、优势和学生人口结构方面的多样性和协同效应。该联盟的每个成员都有强大的外展、招聘和支持计划，使未被充分代表的少数族裔(URM)学生能够在他们感到受欢迎和被纳入的校园取得成功。UTA、UTD和UTSA都在STEM和STEM URM博士教育方面拥有丰富和成功的经验。联盟成员也遵守类似的学术和行政政策和程序，尽量减少协调跨大学方案编制的体制障碍。因此，他们有一个很好的基础来建立一个将实现AGEP目标的方案。拟议的为期一年的规划过程将为创新的AGEP项目创建基础设施，该项目1)鼓励URM对研究生STEM教育的兴趣；2)整合学士、硕士、博士和博士后培训中的指导、学术和专业支持；3)为在综合性大学学习的硕士学生提供在博士机构进行研究和指导的机会；4)为这些硕士学生进入研究型大学攻读博士学位创造一个具有成本和时间效益的桥梁；5)提供博士后和客座助理教授职位，为学生提供教师职位。他们建议通过重点发展一个广泛的和反应迅速的项目管理结构，跨机构协调课程，以及获得学分的暑期研究机会来实现这一点。他们还将专注于扩大对学生成功的支持，为来自不同机构的教师建立联合指导和建议学生的机制，并通过开发和传播其他创新的外展、招生、学术以及专业和职业规划。为了实现这些目标，将通过与成功解决URM STEM研究生教育问题的方案进行磋商来确定最佳做法。将聘请一名外部评估员帮助确定获取机会和取得成功的障碍。来自教师、管理人员和外部支持者的重要意见将确保该计划响应每所大学-S当地的学术和专业关切。这些小组将协调整个德克萨斯州桥梁机构的录取程序、课程要求和研究机会，创造一条通向博士学习和进入教授职位的无缝通道。特别是在具有挑战性的州和国家经济气候下，很难实现外展、项目增长和项目质量提高。拟议的规划将为完整的AGEP提案奠定基础，该提案将协调努力并集中资源，将更多的URM带入教授行列，同时提供一种极具成本效益的方法，以提高德克萨斯州桥梁联盟中STEM项目的质量。智力优势：德克萨斯州的桥梁机构之所以团结起来，是因为它们在位置、规模、优势、学生人口统计方面的多样性和协同效应，以及它们在学术和行政政策上的相似性，从而将协调机构间活动的困难降至最低。项目领导层在与德克萨斯州研究生教育相关的事务上拥有丰富的合作经验。此外，参与机构致力于提高大学管理学院在各级高等教育中的参与度，并投入大量资源帮助提高研究活动的质量，为所有德克萨斯州人服务。这些因素为AGEP计划提供了良好的基础。已经确定了关键的规划步骤和目标，以建立一个可持续的计划，鼓励更多的URM考虑高级STEM学位，为他们在学习中取得成功做好准备，并为他们进入教授职位做好准备。通过外部评估和咨询，将确定和解决URM学生录取、保留和完成的体制、计划和社会障碍。在此过程中收集的数据将为评估整个计划实施时计划活动的影响提供基线。教师和行政人员的参与和热情是可持续成功的关键。他们计划参与该计划的设计和实施，以及该计划为参与者提供新的令人兴奋的职业机会的能力，将有助于确保他们的长期承诺。更广泛的影响：在最好的经济条件下，推广、计划增长和计划质量提高都是具有挑战性的。拟议的计划将创建一个联盟，以增加URM STEM学生的数量，这些学生及时毕业，过渡到博士学习，并在教授生涯中取得成功。TX Bridge为研究生级别的机构间协作提供了一种新的模式，用于构建可扩展的桥梁基础设施，许多大学和个别院系可以参与其中。通过协调努力和集中资源，为所有成员扩大外展、促进增长和提高项目质量，TX Bridge还为寻求以经济高效的方式加强和提高STEM博士和硕士项目质量的其他大学提供了一个样板。

TX BRIDGE, led by UT Arlington, is a new alliance of 7 University of Texas System components--UT Arlington (UTA), UT Brownsville (UTB), UT Dallas (UTD), UT Pan American (UTPA), UT Permian Basin (UTPB), UT San Antonio (UTSA), UT Tyler (UTT)--and Texas Southern University (TSU). The institutions united because of their diversity and synergies in location, size, strengths, and student demographics. Each member of the alliance has strong outreach, recruiting and support programs that enable underrepresented minority (URM) students to succeed in campuses where they feel welcome and included. UTA, UTD, and UTSA all have extensive and successful experience in STEM and STEM URM doctoral education. Members of the alliance are also governed by similar academic and administrative policies and procedures that minimize institutional barriers to coordinating cross-university programming. Thus they have an excellent foundation on which to build a program that will attain AGEP goals. The proposed one-year planning process will create the infrastructure for an innovative AGEP program that 1) encourages URM interest in graduate STEM education; 2) integrates mentoring, academic and professional support across baccalaureate, master's, doctoral and postdoctoral training; 3) makes research and mentoring opportunities at doctoral institutions available to master's students studying at comprehensive universities; 4) creates a cost and time efficient bridge for those master's students to enter doctoral studies at research-high activity universities and 5) provides postdoctoral and visiting assistant professor positions that prepare students for faculty positions. They propose to achieve this by focusing on development of a broad and responsive program management structure, cross-institution coordination of curricula, and credit-earning summer research opportunities. They will also focus on expanding support of student success by creating mechanisms for faculty from different institutions to jointly mentor and advise students and by developing and disseminating other innovative outreach, admissions, academic, and professional and career programming. To achieve these ends, best practices will be identified through consultation with programs that address issues of URM STEM graduate education successfully. An external evaluator will be hired to help identify barriers to access and success. Critical input from faculty, administrators and external constituencies will assure that the program is responsive to each university?s local academic and professional concerns. These groups will shape coordinated admission procedures, curricular requirements and research opportunities across TX BRIDGE institutions, creating a seamless path leading to doctoral study and entry into the professoriate. Outreach, program growth and program quality enhancement are difficult to attain especially in challenging state and national economic climates. The proposed planning will lay the groundwork for a full AGEP proposal that will coordinate efforts and pool resources to bring more URMs into the professoriate while providing an extremely cost-effective approach to improving the quality of STEM programs in the TX BRIDGE alliance. Intellectual Merit: TX BRIDGE institutions united because of their diversity and synergies in location, size, strengths, student demographics and their similarity in academic and administrative policies that minimize difficulties coordinating inter-institutional activities. Project leadership has extensive experience working collaboratively on matters related to graduate education in Texas. Further, the participating institutions are committed to improving URM participation in all levels of higher education and have committed considerable resources to help improve the quality of research activity to serve all Texans. These factors provide an excellent foundation for an AGEP program. Key planning steps and objectives have been identified for building a sustainable program that will encourage more URMs to consider advanced STEM degrees, prepare them to succeed in their studies, and prepare them to enter the professoriate. Institutional, programmatic and social barriers to URM student admission, retention and completion will be identified by external assessment and consultation and addressed. Data collected during this process will provide a baseline for assessing the impact of program activities when the full program is implemented. Faculty and administrative participation and enthusiasm are critical to sustainable success. Their planned involvement in the design and implementation of the program and the program's ability to provide new and exciting professional opportunities for participants will help assure their long-term commitment. Broader Impacts: Outreach, program growth and program quality enhancement are challenging under the best economic conditions. The proposed planning will create an alliance that increases the number of URM STEM students who graduate in a timely fashion, transition to doctoral studies, and go on to successful careers in the professoriate. TX BRIDGE presents a new model for inter-institutional collaboration at the graduate level for building a scalable bridge infrastructure in which many universities and individual departments may participate. Through coordinated efforts and pooled resources that expand outreach, promote growth, and improve program quality for all of its members, TX BRIDGE also provides a model for other universities seeking to strengthen and improve the quality of their STEM doctoral and master's programs in a cost-effective manner.