The All Nations Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (ANLSAMP) program is the only Alliance focusing on Native American (NA) undergraduate students in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The United States continues to fall short in graduating enough STEM professionals to meet this nation's growing demand, especially NA and other under-represented minorities (URM). To help address this continuing national crisis, the ANLSAMP will continue to improve and grow the pipeline for NA and other URM STEM students through its established network of collaborating partner institutions. Thirty-eight institutions of higher learning have again come together to continue the effort toward broadening the participation of NA and URM in STEM at the baccalaureate level. The increase in the number of STEM bachelor's degree programs at tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) is a key indicator that the NA community has a wholehearted interest in strengthening the knowledge base in STEM. The number of BS STEM degree programs at partner TCUs has increased from three to eight during the period 2005 - 2010. The goal of the ANLSAMP program is again to double the number of Native Americans and other under-represented minorities enrolled in STEM disciplines at partner institutions and assist them in completing a STEM BS degree. In order to achieve this goal and related supporting objectives, the ANLSAMP program has built activities through lessons learned and constructive input from it's established cohort of partner institutions. Part of what makes the ANLSAMP program unique is that over the years most the TCUs have been involved in the Alliance at some point. TCUs are spread out over a fourteen states, primarily in the upper Midwest. TCUs are targeted because more NA students are pursuing their higher education at TCUs (IPEDS, 2010). Because many TCUs lack a variety of STEM degrees, especially STEM BS programs, it is still important to have mainstream colleges and institutions within the network to transition students from the associate level to the bachelor level and beyond. The objectives of ANLSAMP are as follows: 1. Increase by 100%, the enrollment of Native American students in STEM disciplines at Bachelors of Science degree-granting institutions. 2. Increase by 100%, the number of Native American students who receive a BS in STEM. 3. Increase by 100%, the number of ANLSAMP Scholars that transition from a two-year STEM program into a four-year STEM program. 4. Increase by 20%, the retention of Native American students in STEM disciplines at BS degree-granting institutions. 5. To enroll 15% of the ANLSAMP Scholar recipients in STEM graduate programs. The broader impact of this program reaches beyond expanding the opportunities for NA and other URM in STEM, ANLSAMP will continue to break down barriers and expand horizons for the target population of mostly rural and economically challenged NA students. The intellectual merit of the ANLSAMP program, through the refinement and process of continual improvement within state activities, is expected to have a transformative effect on how to incorporate proven best practices into STEM research and education.
