Virginia State University (VSU) in agreement with nine two-year colleges listed below proposes to make available to the biomedical science research enterprise the qualified youth who will be from the underrepresented minority group (African-American group) by implementing the project, """"""""BRIDGES to Baccalaureate"""""""" with funding from the National Institutes of Health. VSU has made appropriate consortium agreements with its partner colleges, Southside Virginia Community College - Alberta campus, Southside Virginia Community College-Keysville campus, Danville Community College, Germanna Community College, J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College, John Tyler Community College, Thomas Nelson Community College, Rappahannock Community College, and Richard Bland College, to plan and coordinate activities which will contribute to the preparation of the minority students (from partner colleges) for their transition from Associate of Science degree programs into Bachelor of Science programs. The main goal of this project is to increase this transition rate by 30% (7 students/year); 50% (14 students); and 90% (18 students) at the end of first, second, and third year, respectively, by offering required courses for transfer, hands-on research experiences in biomedical science, mentoring, academic advising services, and hosting of career awareness workshops by role model professionals. The measurable objectives are:(i) To strengthen the ongoing activities on the preparation of students from the partner two-year colleges listed above for their transition from Associate of Science degree programs into baccalaureate degree programs in biomedical sciences, through a combination of academic year and summer programs; (ii) To conduct student-centered activities on mentoring, academic advising, hosting workshops for skills development, and seminars in biomedical sciences; (iii) To conduct a summer program for: (a) offering laboratory research experiences in VSU's funded research, (b) offering upper-level courses (e.g. Human Anatomy-BIOL 315, Elementary Statistics-STAT 210) for credit, and field trips to biomedical research sites; (iv) To equip students for making presentations at national professional meetings; (v) To involve partner colleges' science faculty in the ongoing VSU's research projects; and (vi) To involve partner college in ongoing faculty development programs at VSU. The progress of the project will be evaluated by assessment of all programmatic activities, materials, staff, faculty, and student participants.
