Virginia State University (VSU) is an HBCU with an enrollment of 4,014 of which 90 percent are African American. The two-year colleges have a total enrollment in excess of 22,000 students with 6,518 minority students. Of the hundred or so students transferring into VSU from two-year colleges virtually none of the students major in the sciences. This program is developed to remedy that situation. The goal of the proposed project is to increase the number of minority students enrolled at the five partner two-year colleges who transfer to four-year colleges to earn baccalaureate degrees in the biomedical and behavioral sciences. The program will be implemented through (1) academic enrichment activities in the biomedical and behavioral sciences such as seminars and workshops for the students by faculty; (2) provide academic advisement and mentoring for two-year college students to ease the two-year to four-year transition; (3) providing tuition free classes and paid research internships for students during the summers to facilitate their transfer to four-year colleges; (4) organized site visits to scientific installations; and (5) to provide personalized guidance and nurturing to insure that the students stay the course.
