GEOPATHS-IMPACT: Growing Geoscience Enrolment Through Academic Partnership with NC Community Colleges (GGETAP with NCCC)

第一部分：来自GEOPATHS-IMPACT奖的资金将帮助北卡罗来纳州中央大学(NCCU)--位于北卡罗来纳州达勒姆的历史上最古老的公共资助黑人学院/大学(HBCU)--与两所北卡罗来纳州社区学院--Carteret社区学院(CCC)和阿拉曼斯社区学院(ACC)--建立可持续和持久的合作伙伴关系。这两个机构之所以被选中，是因为它们距离很近，它们所服务的人群(CCC是农村学生，ACC是城市学生)，最重要的是有兴趣在CCC发展副地球科学项目，并在ACC增加与地球科学有关的课程。该项目将解决所有STEM学科面临的双重挑战，包括STEM职业中最不多样化的地球科学：由于需求增加而悬而未决的劳动力短缺，低入学率和“婴儿潮一代”计划中创纪录的退休，以及看起来与美国普通人口完全不同的劳动力人口结构。HBCU在美国高等教育机构中只占不到5%，但在非裔美国学生获得的所有物理科学学士学位中，HBCU授予的比例却高达37%。由于北卡罗来纳中央大学是少数族裔地球科学毕业生的顶级生产者，加强北卡罗来纳中央大学的地球科学教育质量并与社区学院建立长期的合作伙伴关系，将对北卡罗来纳州和美国的地球科学劳动力的未来产生重大影响。第二部分：NCCU将领导一项涉及两所当地社区学院的合作努力：1)为环境和地理科学学士学位的现有4年制地球科学专业创建一个在线版本，从而允许从合作社区学院转学的学生在不离开社区的情况下灵活地完成4年制学位；2)为在线转学学生提供“关键的积极体验”，研究发现这些经历有助于建立对地球科学专业的归属感并影响职业选择；3)通过与ACC和CCC谈判谅解备忘录以及接触其他潜在的社区大学合作伙伴，确保项目的可持续性。北卡罗来纳州拥有全国最发达的社区学院系统之一，由58所社区学院组成，这个网络将被用来在全州推广地理空间课程。NCCU处于领导这项工作的独特地位，因为它是少数几个同时拥有地球科学本科生和研究生学位的HBCU之一，并且有很长一段时间让STEM领域的非裔美国学生毕业。该项目将满足每个合作机构的迫切需求，同时通过提供从副学士到四年制地球科学学士学位和S地球科学硕士学位的无缝通道，同时增加招收和留住在地球科学领域传统上代表性较低的学生。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Part 1: Funding from GEOPATHS-IMPACT award will help North Carolina Central University (NCCU), the oldest publicly funded Historically Black College/University (HBCU) located in Durham, North Carolina create sustainable and lasting partnerships with two North Carolina community colleges, Carteret Community College (CCC) and Alamance Community College (ACC). Both institutions were selected because of their proximity, the population they serve (rural students in case of CCC and urban, minority students in case of ACC), and most importantly the interest in developing the associate geoscience program at CCC and increasing geoscience related course offerings at ACC. The project will address dual challenges that are being confronted by all STEM disciplines including geosciences that are the least diverse of all STEM careers: pending workforce shortage due to increasing demand, low enrollments and planned record retirement of the "baby boomer" generation, and workforce demographics that look nothing like the US general population. HBCUs make up less than 5% of the US higher education institutions yet award 37% of all B.S. degrees in physical sciences earned by African American students. As NCCU is a top producer of minority geosciences graduates, strengthening the quality of geoscience education at North Carolina Central University and creating long lasting partnership with community colleges will have a significant impact on the future of the geosciences workforce in North Carolina and the United States.Part 2: NCCU will lead a collaborative effort involving two local community colleges by: 1) Creating an online version of the existing 4-year Geoscience Concentration for B.S. in the Environmental and Geographic Sciences degree, thus allowing transfer students from partner community colleges flexibility of completing a 4-year degree without leaving their communities; 2) Providing online transfer students "critical positive experiences" that research has identified as creating a sense of belonging to the geoscience profession and influencing career choices; 3) Ensuring sustainability of the program by formalizing partnerships by negotiating memorandums of understanding with ACC and CCC and by reaching out to other potential community college partners. The state of North Carolina has one of the most developed community college systems in the nation consisting of 58 community colleges, and this network will be used to spread geospatial programs across the state. NCCU is uniquely positioned to lead this work as it one of a few HBCUs that has both undergraduate and graduate degrees in geosciences and has a long history of graduating African American students in STEM fields. This project will address critical needs for each partner institution while increasing recruitment and retention of students traditionally underrepresented in geosciences by providing seamless pathways from associate degrees to a 4-year B.S. in Geosciences and Master?s degrees in Earth Sciences.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.