Aurora University

EMERGENCY AID TO THE UNIVERSITY AND ITS STUDENTS UNDER THE CORONAVIRUS AID, RELIEF, AND ECONOMIC SECURITY (CARES) ACT

EMERGENCY FINANCIAL AID GRANTS TO STUDENTS UNDER THE CORONAVIRUS AID, RELIEF, AND ECONOMIC SECURITY (CARES) ACT

EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND FOR MINORITY SERVING INSTITUTIONS UNDER THE CORONAVIRUS AID, RELIEF, AND ECONOMIC SECURITY (CARES) ACT

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

COMMUNITY NETWORK PRACTICES TO CULTIVATE RESILIENT STEM EDUCATORS -THE PROJECT AIMS TO SERVE THE NATIONAL NEED TO PREPARE HIGH-QUALITY SECONDARY STEM TEACHERS TO FILL MAJOR SHORTAGES. RECOGNIZING THAT STUDENTS OFTEN HAVE MULTIPLE, OVERLAPPING IDENTITIES THAT IMPACT INTEREST IN AND PREPARATION FOR STEM EDUCATION CAREERS, THE PROJECT WILL RECRUIT, PREPARE, AND SUPPORT HIGH-ACHIEVING SECONDARY STEM EDUCATION STUDENTS FROM AREA INSTITUTIONS WITH DIVERSE STUDENT POPULATIONS AND NEURODIVERSE STUDENTS IN A COLLEGE PATHWAYS PROGRAM, PROVIDING SCHOLARSHIPS TO INCREASE INTEREST IN AND ACCESS TO STEM TEACHING CAREERS. THE PROJECT WILL USE CULTURALLY RELEVANT PRACTICES AND ACADEMIC SUPPORTS TO INCREASE THE GRADUATION OF SECONDARY STEM TEACHERS, INCLUDING HISPANIC AND NEURODIVERSE TEACHERS, TO SERVE IN HIGH-NEED DISTRICTS. INNOVATIVE HACKATHONS WILL INVOLVE STUDENTS IN ?HACKING? SOLUTIONS TO ISSUES FACED BY EARLY CAREER TEACHERS, BUILDING COLLABORATIVE AND PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS AS WELL AS A STEM EDUCATOR COMMUNITY. CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE AND SUMMER STEM EXPERIENCES WILL ALSO ENRICH STUDENT DEVELOPMENT. THE PROJECT WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT GRADUATES AS THEY GAIN EXPERIENCE IN THE CLASSROOM AND HELP TO BUILD AND MAINTAIN A COMMUNITY NETWORK OF STEM TEACHERS. THE PROJECT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO INCREASE AND DIVERSIFY STUDENTS PURSUING AND SUCCEEDING IN STEM TEACHER CERTIFICATION, PARTICULARLY STUDENTS FROM CULTURALLY AND LINGUISTICALLY DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS AND THOSE WHO ARE NEURODIVERSE. THIS AURORA UNIVERSITY PROJECT INCLUDES PARTNERSHIPS WITH TWO HIGH-NEED SCHOOL DISTRICTS, WEST AURORA AND EAST AURORA, AND ELGIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE, A TWO-YEAR HISPANIC SERVING INSTITUTION. THE PROJECT WILL RECRUIT 24 UNDERGRADUATES IN BIOLOGY, CHEMISTRY, AND MATH MAJORS OVER FIVE YEARS, USING CULTURALLY RELEVANT LESSON PLANS AND ACADEMIC SUPPORTS TO BUILD SUCCESS IN EARLY STEM COURSES AND BROADEN THE CAPACITY OF ALL STUDENTS TO INCREASE SECONDARY STEM LICENSURE. THE PROJECT USES A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK OF INTERSECTIONALITY TO HELP IDENTIFY AND SUPPORT STUDENT NEEDS, AND TO TEACH PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS TO DO SO IN THEIR FUTURE CLASSROOMS. PROJECT GOALS INCLUDE 1) INCREASING ENROLLMENT, RETENTION, AND GRADUATION IN STEM SECONDARY EDUCATION, 2) INCREASING AWARENESS OF STEM SECONDARY EDUCATION CAREERS; 3) DECREASING DROP/ FAIL/ WITHDRAWAL RATES AMONG STEM MAJORS USING STEM CONTENT SUPPORTS, TUTORING, AND FACULTY INTERVENTIONS; AND 4) MONITORING AND MENTORING NEW STEM TEACHERS USING AN ONLINE RESOURCE HUB, MENTORING, AND HACKATHONS. THE PROJECT TEAM WILL GENERATE KNOWLEDGE ON THE IMPACT OF INTERSECTIONALITY AMONG STEM TEACHING STUDENTS AND OF ENCOURAGEMENT, SUPPORTS, AND INTERSECTIONALITY ON NEURODIVERGENT STUDENTS PURSUING STEM TEACHING. THE PROJECT EVALUATOR WILL REVIEW ACTIVITIES AND COLLECT AND SYNTHESIZE DATA TO EVALUATE SUCCESS MEETING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES AND CONDUCT INTERVIEWS AND SURVEYS TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PARTICIPANTS AS TEACHERS IN HIGH-NEEDS SCHOOLS AND HISPANIC POPULATIONS. DISSEMINATION OF RESULTS THROUGH THE PROJECT WEBSITE, ACADEMIC JOURNALS AND CONFERENCES WILL ALLOW BROADER IMPACT THROUGH ADAPTATION AND REPLICATION AT OTHER INSTITUTIONS. THIS TRACK 1: SCHOLARSHIPS AND STIPENDS PROJECT IS SUPPORTED THROUGH THE ROBERT NOYCE TEACHER SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM (NOYCE). THE NOYCE PROGRAM SUPPORTS TALENTED STEM UNDERGRADUATE MAJORS AND PROFESSIONALS TO BECOME EFFECTIVE K-12 STEM TEACHERS AND EXPERIENCED, EXEMPLARY K-12 TEACHERS TO BECOME STEM MASTER TEACHERS IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOL DISTRICTS. IT ALSO SUPPORTS RESEARCH ON THE EFFECTIVENESS AND RETENTION OF K-12 STEM TEACHERS IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOL DISTRICTS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

AURORA UNIVERSITY, EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES LEARNING LAB

COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING/CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING - CONSTRUCTION - AURORA UNIVERSITY (AU) IS LOCATED IN AURORA, ILLINOIS, WHICH IS 35 MILES WEST OF CHICAGO AND THE SECOND LARGEST CITY IN THE STATE. AS THE SIXTH LARGEST PRIVATE UNIVERSITY IN ILLINOIS, THE INSTITUTION ENROLLS APPROXIMATELY 6,000 DEGREE-SEEKING STUDENTS EACH YEAR, WITH MORE THAN 3,600 FULL-TIME UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS. THE SCHOOL OF NURSING, AU’S LARGEST UNDERGRADUATE POPULATION, HAS A TOTAL OF NEARLY 800 STUDENTS. AURORA UNIVERSITY IS ONE OF ONLY 15 FEDERALLY DESIGNATED HISPANIC-SERVING INSTITUTIONS (HSI) IN THE STATE. AU PLAYS A CRITICAL ROLE IN OPENING THE DOORS TO HIGHER EDUCATION FOR A DIVERSE STUDENT POPULATION THAT INCLUDES DREAMERS. OVERALL, 38% OF AU STUDENTS ARE LATINX, WHILE 43% OF NURSING STUDENTS IDENTIFY AS SUCH. IN ADDITION, 53% OF ALL AU STUDENTS ARE THE FIRST IN THEIR FAMILY TO ATTEND COLLEGE. THAT PERCENTAGE MATCHES NURSING STUDENTS, 53% OF WHOM ARE ALSO THE FIRST IN THEIR FAMILY TO PURSUE A FOUR-YEAR DEGREE. ILLINOIS IS FACING A SIGNIFICANT SHORTAGE OF NURSES. ACCORDING TO THE ILLINOIS NURSING WORKFORCE CENTER, ABOUT 52% OF CURRENT RNS ARE OVER 55 YEARS OF AGE, MEANING MANY ARE ON THE CUSP OF RETIRING. AU’S SUCCESSES AND COMPETENCY IN NURSING WILL BE THE STATE’S GAIN. THE NURSING PROGRAM HAS PROVEN TO BE ONE OF THE MOST VIABLE PIPELINES FOR NURSING GRADUATES THROUGHOUT NORTHERN ILLINOIS AND THE STATE. IN THE SPRING OF 2021, AU CREATED PLANS FOR THE SCHOOL OF NURSING CENTER FOR IMMERSIVE LEARNING IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19, AND TO CREATE RESILIENCY, SUSTAINABILITY, AND CONTINUED SUCCESS IN PREPARING AND GRADUATING NURSES WHO ARE JOB-READY ON DAY ONE. THE NEW CENTER FOR IMMERSIVE LEARNING WILL PROVIDE HANDS-ON TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FOR AU’S NURSING STUDENTS BY BRIDGING THE THEORIES AND KNOWLEDGE OF THE CLASSROOM WITH THE REAL WORLD OF APPLICATION. COMPRISED OF A NEW TECHNOLOGY IMMERSIVE CLASSROOM, COMPLETE WITH VIRTUAL REALITY AND STUDENT COLLABORATION STATIONS, TWO NEW SKILLS LABS WHERE STUDENTS ACQUIRE FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS DIREC TLY CONNECTED TO PATIENT CARE, AND AN EXPANSION OF THE SIMULATION LAB, TO INCLUDE ADDITIONAL SIMULATIONS TO ALLOW STUDENTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENHANCE THEIR CRITICAL DECISION MAKING SKILLS IN HIGHLY REALISTIC PATIENT CARE SCENARIOS. THE PRIMARY FOCUS FOR USE OF THE FEDERAL DOLLARS IS ON ADVANCED ACADEMIC TECHNOLOGY DIRECTLY IMPACTING LEARNING OUTCOMES. AN ADDITIONAL, AND SIGNIFICANT, BENEFIT OF THE NEW SIMULATION EQUIPMENT WILL BE MORE CLOSELY REPLICATING THE DIVERSITY OF PATIENTS AU’S NURSING STUDENTS WILL SEE IN THE WORKPLACE. THE CURRENT AU SIMULATION MANIKINS WERE PURCHASED IN 2006 AND ARE OPERATING WITH OUTDATED TECHNOLOGY. PLANNED PURCHASES INCLUDE YOUNG AND ADULT MALE AND FEMALE MANIKINS OF VARYING AGES AND ETHNICITIES, AS WELL AS SPECIALTY EQUIPMENT SUCH AS A MOTHER MANIKIN THAT PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY FOR SCENARIOS DURING OBSTETRICAL ROTATIONS. THESE NEW STATE-OF-THE-ART MANIKINS WILL REALISTICALLY MIMIC MEDICAL CONDITIONS AND REAL-WORLD HEALTHCARE SCENARIOS. AND THE NUMBER OF MANIKINS WILL BE EXPANDED, ALLOWING STUDENTS MORE ONE-ON-ONE, IMMERSIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCES WHERE THEY ARE THE NURSE ACTIVELY MANAGING THE PATIENT AS OPPOSED TO OBSERVING OTHER STUDENTS ENGAGING IN SIMULATIONS. THE NURSING PROGRAM AT AU IS MADE UP A DIVERSE BODY OF STUDENTS WHO WISH TO MAKE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE MEDICAL OUTCOMES OF THEIR COMMUNITY, BOTH LOCALLY AND STATEWIDE. THE CENTER FOR IMMERSIVE LEARNING WILL ENABLE THEM TO LEARN IN AN ATMOSPHERE AND WITH METHODOLOGY THAT PROVIDES FOR A COMPREHENSIVE UNDERSTANDING OF THE CULTURAL NEEDS AND SENSITIVITIES OF THE MULTITUDE OF PATIENTS THEY WILL CARE FOR THROUGHOUT THEIR CAREERS. AND AS THE STUDENTS ENROLLED IN AU’S NURSING PROGRAM CONTINUE TO REFLECT THE CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS OF SOCIETY, THEY WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE DIVERSITY IN THE WORKFORCE AND MEET THE NEED FOR BILINGUAL NURSES. WITH ITS STRONG NURSING PROGRAM AND DEDICATED STUDENT BASE, AU IS ADDRESSING THE IDENTIFIE

MULTI-UNIVERSITY INTEGRATION OF SOLID-STATE CHEMISTRY AND POWDER X-RAY DIFFRACTION INTO THE UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM

BUILDING CAPACITY TO PRODUCE STEM TEACHERS AT A HISPANIC SERVING INSTITUTION IN ILLINOIS

PURPOSE: TO SUPPORT A MULTIMEDIA EXHIBITION AND RELATED OUTREACH ACTIVITIES.