Broader Impacts: This project features seven interrelated activities designed to advance community college leadership in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, encourage the development of ATE-related programs in more community colleges, and to share information about the value, accomplishments, and community impact of the ATE program in and beyond the education field. The activities build upon the successes previous efforts of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) supported by the National Science Foundation. The project aims to enrich and expand the current network of institutions in the forefront of technological education reform, support that network by advancing opportunities for professional development and mentoring programs that provide venues and forums for identifying issues and solutions to challenging areas, and disseminate information about successful programs and their national significance. The impact of these activities help community college leaders to make the important connections and partnerships necessary to build and sustain their STEM programs. In addition, the activities help to expand, shape, and focus the future of the ATE program as it positions itself to meet the increasing demand for a trained technical workforce amid the challenges of maintaining U.S. competitiveness in a global economy.
Intellectual Merit: The activities include: 1. Three National ATE Principal Investigators Conferences in 2005, 2006, and 2007. 2. Continuation of the AACC MentorLinks program to help community colleges establish new programs or strengthen existing programs in STEM fields, and a publication of best practices and strategies for program institutionalization from past and present MentorLinks participants. 3. A pilot Regional ATE Conference focusing on the northwest region in 2006. 4. Two AACC Briefs, one focusing on the outcomes of the MentorLinks program, and one featuring discipline-based programs, such as the applications of geographic information systems, to come out of the Regional ATE Conference. 5. Three issues of a newsletter, TECHcitement, highlighting ATE projects and National ATE conference proceedings. 6. Dissemination of information about ATE programs and goals through AACC publications, presentations, feature stories, conference proceedings, an ATE grantee database searchable by discipline and geographic location, and a Web page. 7. Evaluation.
