The San Joaquin Valley is an agriculture-based, primarily rural region of California with a rapidly growing, largely immigrant population that should become over 50 percent Hispanic in another 20 years. All of the participating academic institutions in this application already have over 50 percent minority enrollment. This rural, immigrant culture traditionally has not participated in either successful completion of college education or high paying science careers in the biomedical field. This proposed program addresses many of the problems with successful participation in biomedical science by minority students in our region. This program will solve a problem with the CA state educational master plan, that directs students to complete their general education with just two science courses while at the Community College (CC), through implementation of a dual admission plan that allows students to take adequate science course work in the first two years. The program also provides structured peer and faculty advising workshops for CC staff to educate them on the specific curriculum needs of science majors and on the solutions provided by individualized educational plans and dual admission. This program will solve the problem of """"""""barrier"""""""" course for minority students by instituting a Supplemental Instruction program with peer instructors for biology and chemistry. Adequate student preparation will be improved by development of better coordination of introductory science curricula at the community colleges and the university. This program will solve the problem of minority students failing to see themselves in biomedical careers by taking students to nearby science meetings with significant minority student presentations, providing students with campus tours and research methodology training, hiring students as summer lab helpers, and then providing both academic year and summer research opportunities with participating faculty. The three-component program integrating advising, instructional and research elements with a true partnership between university and community college faculty and staff should improve the transfer and graduation success rates of Central California minority students and enrich the diversity of students pursuing biomedical careers.
