TLSAMP Phase II ? Project Summary PROJECT SUMMARY In 2002, Tennessee State University, LeMoyne-Owen College, Middle Tennessee State University, University of Memphis, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and Vanderbilt University partnered to form the Tennessee Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (TLSAMP). The partners share a strong commitment to increasing access and opportunities for underrepresented minority students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The Alliance was formed to substantially increase the number of underrepresented minorities (e.g., African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans) earning STEM degrees, beginning with the bachelors degree and continuing to the masters and the doctorate degrees. Sharing a long-term commitment to work together, TLSAMP will play a significant role in increasing the production of underrepresented STEM professionals to meet the needs of government, industry, and academia. The goal of Phase I was to double the number of underrepresented minorities receiving STEM degrees by the end of the five-year grant period. The Alliance produced 63 additional graduates above the baseline. Our goal to double the number is a challenge, but a recognizably achievable goal requiring continuity and extension of current efforts as well as application of lessons learned regarding the recruitment of Hispanic Americans and Native Americans, the retention of African Americans, and the need to intensify retention as recruitment increases. Applying the lessons learned from Phase I, our Phase II proposal will focus on three key objectives: 1) aggressive continuation of Phase I goal and initiatives with special emphasis on recruiting more African American, Hispanic American, and Native American students; 2) significant improvement in retention with special emphasis on enhancing the development of African Americans to increase their retention in STEM; and 3) preparation for progression to graduate school. In other words, TLSAMP Phase II will apply the lessons learned, continue the best practices, and build upon the results of Phase I. Intellectual Merit: The intellectual merit of TLSAMP is its efforts to strategically and tactically address the under representation of African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans in STEM disciplines. The TLSAMP basic principles include personal attention, peer and faculty mentoring, hands-on experiences, bridges to the next level, and continuous evaluation. TLSAMP is prepared to implement and further study these principles for African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans from the high school to the undergraduate level through completion of the doctorate. Broader Impacts: The TLSAMP institutions enroll about 3,000 underrepresented minorities annually in STEM and our objective is to increase the production and quality of students entering STEM careers. This will positively impact the pool of underrepresented professionals in STEM and ultimately enhance the STEM workforce of this nation. More minority students will graduate with influential STEM degrees and there will be an increased/improved pool of minority STEM graduates to fill the nation?s workforce needs.
NSF LSAMP OVERVIEW The Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) is a part of the National Science Foundation (NSF) larger broadening participation and human resource development agenda and portfolio of programs to accomplish that goal in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The LSAMP program supports sustained and comprehensive approaches to broadening participation at the baccalaureate level. These approaches facilitate the production of students who are well prepared in STEM and motivated to pursue graduate education. Projects place emphasis on aggregate baccalaureate production; attention to individual student retention and progression to baccalaureate degrees; and aggregation of student progression to graduate school entry. In addition, expectations are placed on institutionalizing, disseminating and promoting the replication of strategies and collaborative approaches that have shown success in the transition of undergraduate STEM students to graduate STEM. The goal of the Tennessee Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (TLSAMP) is to increase the number of the underrepresented STEM students by at least 100% at the end of the five-year period. The objectives to achieve the goal of the alliance are to: I. Improve the recruitment of underrepresented students into STEM majors at TLSAMP universities II. Improve the retention of underrepresented STEM majors to graduation at TLSAMP universities III. Increase the number of underrepresented undergraduate STEM majors who enter graduate programs. OUTCOMES I. Objective - Recruitment In the Fall of 2012, TLSAMP enrolled 3260 minority STEM students and produced 385 undergraduate minority STEM degrees for the 2012-2013 academic year. Enrollment showed a 10% increase over baseline year 2002 while degree productivity also increased by 10%. The number of community college and other transfers increased by 27% from the baseline of 512 students during Fall 2008. II. Objective - Retention TLSAMP tracks the retention of freshman students who began in the fall of one academic year and returned the fall of the next academic year with the same STEM major. For Fall of 2012, TLSAMP had a minority retention rate of 59.6%. This number is basically unchanged from the baseline rate of 59.5% for 2004. However, other strategies show dramatic improvement for retention efforts. For example, the number of students participating in research increased from 181 to 320, representing a 77% increase. Based on an Alliance-wide survey in which 146 Level 1 students responded, the survey applicants reported the frequency of participation in TLSAMP activities: 37% indicate monthly, 19% weekly, 24% bi-weekly, followed by daily (8%) and yearly (12%). These results point to relatively high engagement and involvement with the TLSAMP program on the part of students as primary beneficiaries, which potentially enhances their retention prospects. TLSAMP utilizes the undergraduate research conference and mentoring programs as components for retention by means of peer collaboration. Also, TLSAMP encourages summer internships in an effort to retain students’ involvement in STEM disciplines. The number of students participating in summer internships increased by 16% since the Summer of 2004. III. Objective - Graduate School Preparation TLSAMP initially determines graduate school attendance rates based on information obtained from graduating seniors. Since 2004, the number of students attending graduate school has increased by 78%. Additionally, forty percent of our Level I students attend graduate school. In keeping in context with promoting and fostering students to continue their education beyond the undergraduate degree, the TLSAMP Alliance held the 10th Annual Research Conference April 5-6, 2013. The research conference prepares TLSAMP participants to engage in a technical environment that encourage professional development. The conference welcomed more than 178 in attendance. The impact on retention and the research experience gained are by-products of the conference. Also, to increase the awareness of research and internship opportunities for STEM students, Tennessee State Collaborative on Reforming Education (TN-SCORE), Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and seven other universities participated in a Graduate School Expo. Furthermore, TLSAMP Alliance members engage in mentoring programs to encourage ongoing relationships of learning, dialogue, and challenge to support graduate school preparation. SUSTAINIBILITY All institutions in the Alliance uphold the mission of TLSAMP by institutionalizing pre-college Summer Bridge Programs (SBP) for recruitment and success of STEM students, continuing to foster tutorial and mentoring programs for STEM students, and participating in an Alliance-wide undergraduate research conference to support graduate school preparation. Among the major task facing TLSAMP is mainstreaming the activities that are emerging as promising practices in the recruitment, retention, graduation, and transition to graduate school of Underrepresented Minorities and Underrepresented Groups (URM/URG) in STEM. While TLSAMP has clearly built up the capacity to positively influence the learning environment, maintaining the momentum and appropriate levels of resources for ongoing processes, practices and outcomes for URM/URGs in STEM at the Alliance and institutional levels, is essential.
