Established in 1993, LaGuardia Community College's Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program has demonstrated high graduation and high transfer rates and has demonstrated that a community college can take the lead in administering a successful Bridges program. LaGuardia has formed a consortium with the City College of New York, Hunter College, and Queens College to provide challenging research experiences in the biomedical and behavioral sciences for the low-income, first-generation minority college students from the Borough of Queens that LaGuardia serves. During the 2008-2013 grant period, LaGuardia proposes to place 18 students annually in hands-on, mentored research experiences. Each year students are presented a list of research projects -- some conducted during the academic year, some conducted year-round, and some conducted during the summer -- from which to choose. The choices for summer research include opportunities to be part of Barnard College's residential Intercollegiate Partnership Program or work at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, as well as summer projects at the consortial colleges. Beyond the core research experiences, the Bridges program features a number of activities designed to support the students: monthly research student seminars, tutoring, transfer counseling, opportunities to present their research results at local and national conferences, the development of new courses (i.e., research methods, bioengineering) to enhance the curriculum, instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research, and the use of ePortfolios. The monthly research seminars are notable in that they feature progress reports and formal final reports by the students themselves, presentations by CUNY faculty and outside speakers, information from the program's transfer counselor, a session on making professional presentations using PowerPoint, and an Alumni Homecoming Day where past Bridges students return to tell current LaGuardia students of their successes and current research. LaGuardia's use of ePortfolios a college innovation which will be introduced to the Bridges program during the 2008-2013 period - should be noted as well;by creating and maintaining web-based ePortfolios, Bridges students are able to collect their academic work, reflect on their learning and career goals, and display their work for family and friends to see.
Established in 1993, LaGuardia Community College's Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program provides mentored research experiences to low-income, first-generation college students from minority backgrounds. Beyond the research experience, the program features: monthly research student seminars, tutoring, transfer counseling, student presentations at local and national conferences, curriculum enhancement through the development of new courses, instruction in Responsible Research Conduct, and the use of ePortfolios.
