The underrepresentation of minorities in the science, mathematics, engineering, and technology workforce is still a national problem, ten years after the National Science Foundation (NFS) initiated the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Program. By all accounts great progress has been made, but not enough to turn the problem around. As one of the six oldest National Science Foundation (NSF) Alliances in the nation, Alabama has been in the forefront of efforts to increase the quantity and the quality of underrepresented minorities receiving baccalaureate degrees in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology (SMET) fields. Many of the Alabama Alliance's programs have been replicated by other alliances. The Alabama Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (ALSAMP) began in 1991 with a baseline of 431 minority SEM undergraduate degrees and reached a peak of 979 in 1999, a 127% increase. The baseline minority SEM enrollment for ALSAMP is 3,301. The minority SEM enrollment for the 1999-2000 academic year is 5,876, a 78% increase. These are indicators of success for ALSAMP Phase I and Phase II.
The ALSAMP Phase III proposal is designed to a) sustain the B.S. Degree production levels and student retention rates specified as Phase II goals and b) define a baseline level of and commitment to a significant increase in the number of previous, current, and future baccalaureate recipients entering either a SMET graduate program or a graduate program in teacher education. Thus, the project approach for LSAMP will involve sustaining and institutionalizing current LSAMP Phase II activities and the implementation of new LSAMP Phase III activities as given below.
Programs to be Sustained and Institutionalized New LSAMP Phase III Programs LSAMP Summer Bridge Program GRE Preparation for All Students LSAMP Scholars Program Undergraduate Research for All Students Summer Research Internship Program GRE Required for All LSAMP Students LSAMP Graduate Bridge Program SEM Student Mentoring Program Increase Number of SMET Students Entering Graduate School through Tracking Effort Drop-In Centers/Cooperative Learning Intensify Recruitment of Technology Students Summer Research Conference Increase Collaboration with Other Programs Publication of The National LSAMP Magazine National LSAMP Publication in Phase III Budget
The major portion of the Phase III budget will support these new programs. Consequently, the Phase II programs will be sustained by cost sharing from participating institutions, support from private sources, and institutionalization. During the next five years, LSAMP will define a baseline level of and commit to a significant increase in the number of baccalaureate degree recipients entering either a SMET graduate program or a graduate program in teacher education. This effort will involve preparing students for success in graduate school and placement in a graduate school of choice. Students will be tracked through graduate school by means of the LSAMP Success Link Program and a graduate student database will be maintained by the Alliance.
Collaboration with other NSF programs will be increased substantially, particularly with the NSF Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate Program and the NSF Urban Systemic Program. Program activities will be disseminated through the publication of the National LSAMP Magazine and a full-time program evaluator will be appointed to oversee assessment and evaluation activities.
