Louis Stokes STEM Pathways and Research Alliance: ARK-LSAMP

Louis Stokes少数民族参与联盟(LSAMP)计划帮助大学和学院使科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)劳动力多样化，努力显著增加来自历史上代表性较低的少数群体(非洲裔美国人、西班牙裔美国人、美国印第安人或阿拉斯加原住民、夏威夷原住民或其他太平洋岛民)的学生数量，成功完成STEM的高质量学位课程。该计划还支持扩大STEM参与的研究。阿肯色大学派恩布拉夫大学是阿肯色州路易斯·斯托克斯少数群体参与联盟(ARK-LSAMP)的牵头机构，将在五年内(2019-2023年)实施一个新的STEM路径和研究联盟(SPRA)项目。八个为期两年和四年的机构组成了方舟-LSAMP联盟，并将实施干预措施。除UAPB外，参与机构还有：阿肯色州立大学(ASU)、菲兰德·史密斯学院(PSU)、阿肯色大学费耶特维尔分校(UAF)和阿肯色大学小石城分校(UALR)、阿肯色大学菲利普斯社区学院(PCCUA)、阿肯色州东南学院(SEARK)和普拉斯基技术学院(PTC)。该联盟由一个为少数群体服务的机构领导，包括少数群体(历史上为黑人学院和大学)和非少数群体服务机构。该项目将在一个既定的激励竞争研究(EPSCoR)权限的计划中实施，以提高STEM的研究和教育能力。方舟-LSAMP SPRA项目建议增加社区大学转学STEM四年制课程的学生数量，并向目标人群增加STEM理学士学位的数量。该项目的主要重点是研究与本科生水平的坚持性和进入STEM研究生学习有关的八个变量。作为测试大学准备和共同课程干预对ARK-LSAMP招生、保留、毕业和进入研究生入学的影响的一种手段，这项研究以下列研究问题为指导：1.哪些大学前准备经验最能预测URM在STEM学术学科的入学情况？2.对于STEM专业的URM学生来说，哪些课程干预措施最能预测他们的坚持和毕业？3.哪些课程干预措施对进入STEM研究生教育项目的预测最好？4.哪些学术课程干预措施最能预测STEM领域的毕业后就业？ARK-LSAMP可以采用的招聘和保留策略包括继续其第一年前的暑期学院、本科生研究经验、辅导和建议，以及STEM专业发展活动，包括学生会议和国内外的研究报告。在本项目期间，该联盟将重点放在增加男性和西班牙裔参加该地区的STEM活动上。在项目期间将进行混合方法过程和影响评估。将通过机构网站、社交媒体、小册子和时事通讯广泛分享实施、研究和评价的项目结果。还计划向非学术部门，如阿肯色州经济发展社区进行宣传。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的学术价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program assists universities and colleges in diversifying the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce through their efforts at significantly increasing the numbers of students from historically underrepresented minority populations (African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians or Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders) to successfully complete high quality degree programs in STEM. The program also supports research in broadening participation in STEM.The University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, lead institution for the Arkansas Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (ARK-LSAMP), will implement a new STEM Pathways and Research Alliance (SPRA) project over a five-year duration (2019-2023). Eight two-and four-year institutions comprise the ARK-LSAMP alliance and will implement the interventions. In addition to UAPB, the participating institutions are: Arkansas State University (ASU), Philander Smith College (PSU), the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville (UAF) and the University of Arkansas-Little Rock (UALR), Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas (PCCUA), Southeast Arkansas College (SEARK) and Pulaski Technical College (PTC). The alliance is led by a minority-serving institution and includes both minority (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) and non-minority-serving institutions. The project will be implemented in an Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) jurisdiction to enhance STEM research and educational capability and capacity. The ARK-LSAMP SPRA project proposes to increase the number of community college transfer students to STEM four-year programs and to increase the number of STEM B. S. degrees to the targeted populations. The main emphasis of the project is to study eight variables related to persistence at the undergraduate level and entry into STEM graduate studies. As a means of testing the impact of college readiness and co-curricular interventions on the recruitment, retention, graduation and graduate school entry of ARK-LSAMP, the research study is guided by the following research questions:1. Which pre-college readiness experiences best predict the enrollment of URM in STEM academic disciplines?2. Which co-curricular interventions best predict persistence and graduation for URM students in STEM majors?3. Which co-curricular interventions best predict entry into graduate STEM education programs?4. Which academic co-curricular interventions best predict entry into post-baccalaureateemployment in a STEM field?Recruitment and retention strategies to be employed by ARK-LSAMP include continuing its Pre-First Year Summer Institute, undergraduate research experiences, mentoring and advising, and STEM professional development activities that include student conference attendance and research presentation nationally and abroad. The alliance has placed an emphasis on increasing male and Hispanic participation in STEM in the region during this project period. A mixed-methods process and impact evaluation will be conducted during the project period. Broad sharing of project findings from implementation, research and evaluation will be conducted through institutional websites, social media, brochures, newsletters. Dissemination to non-academic sectors, such the Arkansas Economic Development community, is also planned.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.