The "Strategic Plan to Enhance STEM Education and Research at AAMU" is an innovative, comprehensive, and focused approach to strengthening STEM education at Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (AAMU). We will implement the STEM Education and Research program by enhancing the quality of education, mentoring students to improve graduation rates of STEM undergraduates, improving the Fundamental Engineering Exam passing rates for engineering graduates, increasing the recruitment and retention of STEM students, expanding research opportunities for faculty and students, enhancing existing STEM curricula for undergraduate STEM students, and providing professional development for STEM faculty. To achieve our goals, we propose to develop a tutoring program for engineering students to strengthen students' basic skills in STEM areas and prepare them for the Professional Engineering License exam, develop a STEM-SI Peer Tutoring (Supplemental Instruction) program, develop a Summer Bridge Program to prepare incoming STEM students, develop a Summer Sophomore Mathematics Program for STEM Gatekeeper courses, enhance STEM curricula by creating a series of advanced interdisciplinary courses, expand undergraduate research in all STEM related disciplines, organize a set of faculty development workshops on the integration of cyberinfrastucture resources such as video podcasts and facebook groups, and provide STEM related seminars with prominent scholars from institutions of higher education and industry. We are aiming for a reduction of attrition in lower level undergraduate gate-keeping courses, an increase in the number of under-represented minority students matriculating in and graduating from STEM fields, an increase in student participation in interactive discovery based undergraduate research, and an increase in the passing rate of the Professional Engineering License exam.
