The proposed Mid-Level Upstate Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (ULSAMP)- Clarkson University, Cornell University, Monroe Community College (MCC), Onondaga Community College (OCC), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), and Syracuse University (Lead Institution) - will build on, refine, and further institutionalize recruitment and retention interventions implemented in the first award cycle. The Alliance will also pilot new programming to boost the recruitment and retention of freshman and sophomore students, and employ research-proven, early-intervention strategies to enhance retention of upper level students for increased baccalaureate degree attainment and foster graduate matriculation.
Recruitment efforts will use a two-pronged approach: a) expanding the network of articulation agreements between two- and four-year colleges within and beyond the Alliance; and b) targeting nationwide "geographies of opportunity" by extending such 2+2 arrangements to cities such as New York, Washington DC, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Miami. The retention of first- and second-year students will be supported by improving both the academic preparation of students and the instructional performance of the STEM faculty who teach them. Pre-freshman summer bridge programs and academic "boot camps" will emphasize both college orientation and university-level skills in math and/or biology and chemistry. Syracuse University will also pilot a pre-sophomore Summer Scholars Program combining coursework in mathematics and science fundamentals with hands-on, faculty-mentored research as well as leadership training.
Beyond directly increasing the representation of African American, Latino American, and Native American students in STEM industries, research labs, and the professoriate, ULSAMP will: 1) contribute to the nation's knowledge base and best practices in recruitment, retention, and effective STEM education by developing, piloting, assessing, disseminating, replicating and institutionalizing successful interventions and collaborative approaches in these areas; and 2) further institutional transformation at seven key institutions of higher education in New York State, leaving them better prepared to engage with an increasingly diverse student body and to meet regional and national demands for a high-tech workforce and research community.
