The goal of All Nations Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (ANLSAMP) program is that of substantially increasing the number of American Indians and other under-represented minorities who enroll in STEM disciplines at partner institutions and complete B.S. degrees in the STEM fields. In order to achieve this goal, the ANLSAMP partner institutions have designed program components that will increase the number of American Indians who will graduate with A.A. and B.S. degrees in these fields. ANLSAMP is uniquely situated in that it works with most of the nations tribal colleges as well as a number of majority colleges/universities. We have assembled these particular groups for two reasons. First, a greater number of American Indians are pursuing higher education at tribal colleges. The participation of this group of course, insures that NSF funding will impact the greatest number of Native American students. Second, since many tribal colleges do not have STEM bachelors degree programs, it is important to have majority institutions within our network to bridge our students from the associate degree level to the bachelor degree and beyond. ANLSAMP has developed the following list of five-year objectives to accomplish the goal presented above: Increase by 100%, the enrollment of American Indian students in STEM disciplines at Associate degree-granting institutions. To increase by 100%, the enrollment of American Indian students in STEM disciplines at Bachelors of Science degree granting institutions. To increase by 100%, the number of American Indians who received Bachelors degrees in STEM disciplines. To double the number of Bachelors Degree programs in STEM at tribal colleges, from 3 to 6. To enroll 15% of the STEM bachelor degree recipients in graduate degree programs. Thirty-six institutions of higher education have come together to form an Alliance with the specific intent of influencing American Indian students as well as other under-represented minority students to pursue and attain associate and bachelor degrees in one of the science, technology engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The under-representation of American Indians in the STEM professions has been highlighted and targeted as an action item at the national level over several decades. However, the participation of American Indians in STEM careers has shown only marginal improvements over the years, such that their current representation amount to less than 0.5% of the STEM workforce. This low representation has the potential of failing to tap into the unique capabilities and talents of American Indians. ANLSAMP has carefully considered its project development in order to meet the intellectual merit required of an LSAMP project. As a consequence of an evaluation of the levels of commitments and needs and of the availability of resources, ANLSAMP has re-organized its partner institution into three tiers. This tier structure will build capacity and facilitate the participation of all STEM faculty and students at partner institutions while, at the same time, ensuring that program objectives are accomplished. The ANLSAMP partner institutions will utilize a 4-R model to address the four most important areas for our students and our program. They are: 1) Recruitment, 2) Retention, 3) Research and, 4) Reporting. Within each R, our focus is that of continually providing opportunities to substantially increase the number of Native American STEM students who enroll in and graduate from partner institutions. Upon the successful implementation of program activities, the Alliance leadership expects to observe a significant and sustained increase in STEM student enrollment at the partner institutions. The increase in enrollment will accrue from the success of the recruitment initiatives within the high school and two-year colleges. The enhancement of the academic activities for student participants, the culmination of tutoring, mentoring and field and internship experiences are expected to stimulate and sustain students interests with a concomitant increase in student retention rates. The activities presented in this proposal are expected to generate an increase in the rate of student persistence and progression in pursuit of these accomplishments. The broader impact for this program reaches beyond American Indians in higher education. The Alliance leadership expects that the support from the NSF, the non-federally funded internships and scholarships along with in-kind contributions from the partner institutions will ultimately pay significant dividends to the States in which partner institutions are located, to the nation and in particular, to American Indian Communities.
The All Nations Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (ANLSAMP) program was funded through the Directorate of Education and Human Resources at the National Science Foundation (NSF). ANLSAMP was a national Native American initiative aimed at substantially increasing the number of Native Americans (NA) and other underrepresented minorities (URM) receiving baccalaureate degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematic (STEM) disciplines. To reach this goal the program provided direct support to qualified students (AMP Scholars) in the form of stipends, travel assistance, and STEM research opportunities at our partner institutions. ANLSAMP also assisted with recruitment and retention of NA and URM students at partner institutions. The 34 ANLSAMP partners consisted of 10 mainstream colleges and universities and 24 Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCU). The program was geographically dispersed across 14 states and included the majority of this nation’s TCUs. Partner institutions varied by mission, size, and STEM offerings, which required a wide-range of strategic interactions and support efforts. ANLSAMP organized its partner institutions into three tiers in order to facilitate targeted program activities and maximize NSF funding. Tier-One partner institutions (15) offered at least one STEM bachelor degree, Tier-Two partners (14) offered at least one STEM associate degree, and Tier-Three partners (5) offered STEM courses. To better serve the needs of each partner, ANLSAMP established an AMP Liaison position at each institution. The AMP Liaison was responsible for identifying potential AMP Scholars, mentoring students, implementing recruitment and retention strategies, and assisting with data collection and reporting. Utilizing the AMP Liaison as mentors and onsite support for our AMP Scholars was a key component leading to successful graduation of NA/URM students. In addition, AMP Liaisons at two-year college partners coordinate transfers and support bridging efforts of AMP Scholars to our four-year partner institutions. ANLSAMP’s long standing involvement and support of student activities at national conferences increases the program’s visibility and exposes NA/URM students to the many STEM opportunities available to them. The coordination and sponsorship of undergraduate poster and oral presentations at both the annual American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) and American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) conferences increased the number of NA/URM students able to present their research to an expanding audience of STEM professionals. In addition, the annual AIHEC conference Science Bowl competition hosted by ANLSAMP is both fun and rewarding for TCU participants. ANLSAMP continues to expand NA/URM student opportunities throughout Indian country and its network of partner institutions. For example, through the efforts of ANLSAMP and other NSF programs the number of STEM bachelor degree offerings at TCUs grew from three in 2005 to 13 by 2011. Increasing the quality and quantity of STEM degree options available to NA/URM students and providing funding to worthy students with financial need will greatly impact the number of graduates.
