This two day conference will launch a network of educational stakeholders from community colleges and the University of California (UC) to develop and implement a shared vision for the support and preparation of biology transfer students. The disparity in performance and career trajectories of biology transfer students compared to freshman start students is a critical problem that must be addressed, particularly in light of the high percentage of underrepresented and underserved students attending California community colleges. The proposed conference is the first of its kind in the region for educators and advisors from these institutions to meet and discuss the curriculum and expectations of their courses and programs, challenges students face, and potential solutions. This is particularly important for biology given the very large number of majors, student diversity, and the transformative and fast pace of changes in discoveries and technology with numerous interdisciplinary ties to other STEM fields. The results of this effort have the potential to impact thousands of transfer students a year and represents an initial effort to generate a scalable, collaborative, and sustainable instructional model for California and beyond.
The conference will include 55-60 individuals with equal representation from the UC and the community colleges. UC Davis campus is an ideal central location in Northern California with over 32 community colleges within a 100-mile radius. Two to four members from each institution will be identified and invited (including faculty, advisors, transfer coordinators, administrators) to insure a multifaceted view of the issues and buy-in from all stakeholders. The specific objectives include the following: 1) to establish more effective lines of communication between the UCs and community colleges in order to develop a shared vision; 2) to gather information about misalignments between the biology curriculum and prerequisites; 3) to initiate efforts toward better supporting successful learning progression for transfer students; 4) to discuss how the rapidly changing pace of research and technology is impacting curricula and requirements; and 5) to discuss instructional interventions and new teaching methods that could break the "sink or swim" instructional model that has plagued transfer students for many years.
This project is being jointly funded by the Directorate for Biological Sciences and the Directorate for Education and Human Resources, Division of Undergraduate Education as part of their efforts to address the challenges posed in Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action (http://visionandchange/finalreport/).
