ICE-TI: Building Capacity and Pathways to STEM Degrees

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A goal of the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) is to increase the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) instructional and research capacities of specific institutions of higher education that serve the Nation's indigenous students. Expanding the STEM curricular offerings at these institutions expands the opportunities for their students to pursue challenging, rewarding careers in STEM fields, provides for research studies in areas that may be culturally significant, and encourages a community and generational appreciation for science and mathematics education. This project aligns directly with that goal, and moreover may serve as a model and impetus for similar institutions of higher education to develop degree programs. The connection of faculty to the development of novel opportunities for programs of study that ensure successful transfer to local employment, particularly tribal employment, or to baccalaureate studies at nearby universities will demonstrate the essentiality of engaging full-time, credentialed STEM faculty devoted to a specific strand of study and preparation. Moreover, for those students entering the workforce directly from a tribal college it is crucially important that they have a well-defined skill set in mathematics, science, and technology for entry into the STEM workforce. This project provides an accredited STEM associate of science (AS) degree in the natural sciences at White Earth Tribal and Community College (WETCC) for students who may then transfer to a local university for upper division studies to pursue a baccalaureate degree or be prepared for employment at local, particularly tribal, service organizations. The AS project recognizes and furthers students’ ability to pursue degrees in the natural sciences to include chemistry and physics, in addition to biology—a degree that can have a significant benefit to the career and life options for TCU students. The increase in specialized STEM faculty, specifically chemistry and physics, ensures that the curricular offerings have relevance more broadly to related programs of study. Strengthening the natural sciences provides a grounding and assists student success and matriculation into other programs of study, including health sciences, that are sometimes marginalized by funding agencies.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.