University Of Saint Mary

UNIVERSITY OF SAINT MARY CARES ACT HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF - INSTITUTION PORTION

UNIVERSITY OF SAINT MARY CARES ACT HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF

LIVING LEARNING COMMUNITIES AND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING ACTIVITIES FOR ENHANCING LOW-INCOME ACADEMICALLY TALENTED UNDERGRADUATE STEM STUDENT SUCCESS -THIS PROJECT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE NATIONAL NEED FOR WELL-EDUCATED SCIENTISTS, MATHEMATICIANS, ENGINEERS, AND TECHNICIANS BY SUPPORTING THE RETENTION AND GRADUATION OF HIGH-ACHIEVING, LOW-INCOME STUDENTS WITH DEMONSTRATED FINANCIAL NEED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SAINT MARY (USM), A PRIVATE INSTITUTION IN LEAVENWORTH, KANSAS. OVER ITS SIX-YEAR DURATION, THIS PROJECT WILL FUND SCHOLARSHIPS FOR 21 FULL-TIME UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WHO ARE PURSUING BACHELOR?S DEGREES IN STEM DISCIPLINES SUCH AS BIOLOGY, CHEMISTRY, MATHEMATICS, AND ENGINEERING. FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS WILL RECEIVE RENEWABLE SCHOLARSHIPS ANNUALLY FOR UP TO FOUR YEARS BASED ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND CONTINUED FINANCIAL NEED. THE PROJECT AIMS TO ENHANCE STUDENT SUCCESS THROUGH THE IMPLEMENTATION AND INTEGRATION OF LIVING LEARNING COMMUNITIES (LLCS) AND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING ACTIVITIES (ELAS). SPECIFIC PROJECT ACTIVITIES INCLUDE COHORT-BASED MENTORING PROGRAMS, HANDS-ON RESEARCH EXPERIENCES, AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS DESIGNED TO EQUIP STUDENTS WITH ESSENTIAL SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE FOR THEIR FUTURE CAREERS. THE KANSAS CITY METROPOLITAN AREA HAS RECENTLY EMERGED AS A HUB FOR BIOLOGICAL TECHNOLOGY, GENERATING A NEED TO INCREASE THE REGIONAL STEM WORKFORCE. IMPORTANTLY, THIS PROJECT PLAYS A CRUCIAL ROLE IN ADDRESSING THIS NEED BY PREPARING LOW-INCOME STUDENTS TO CONTRIBUTE EFFECTIVELY TO THE WORKFORCE IN THIS GROWING SECTOR. THIS PROJECT ALSO SEEKS TO GENERATE CRITICAL INSIGHTS INTO THE EFFECTIVENESS OF COMBINING LLCS AND ELAS ON STUDENT SUCCESS. THESE FINDINGS ARE ANTICIPATED TO ENHANCE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW TO BEST SUPPORT AND OPTIMIZE STEM ACADEMIC PATHWAYS AND CAREER SUCCESS. THE OVERALL GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO INCREASE STEM DEGREE COMPLETION AMONG LOW-INCOME, HIGH-ACHIEVING UNDERGRADUATES WITH DEMONSTRATED FINANCIAL NEED. LIVING LEARNING COMMUNITIES AND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING ACTIVITIES ARE CONSIDERED HIGH-IMPACT PRACTICES IN STEM. HOWEVER, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE EFFECT OF PAIRING THESE HIGH IMPACT PRACTICES ON STUDENT OUTCOMES. THIS PROJECT WILL INVESTIGATE THE IMPACT OF INTEGRATING LIVING LEARNING COMMUNITIES IN YEARS 1-2 AND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING ACTIVITIES IN YEARS 3-4 ON ENHANCING STUDENT LEARNING AND RETENTION IN STEM DISCIPLINES. SPECIFICALLY, THIS PROJECT AIMS TO MEASURE THE IMPACT OF STRATEGICALLY PAIRING LLCS AND ELAS ON STUDENT SUCCESS, AND COMPARE OUTCOMES AGAINST CONTROL GROUPS AND EXISTING DATA. THE HYPOTHESIS IS THAT COMBINING THESE HIGH- IMPACT PRACTICES WILL YIELD GREATER POSITIVE EFFECTS THAN IMPLEMENTING EACH INDEPENDENTLY OR IN AN UNSTRUCTURED SEQUENCE. THE PROJECT WILL EMPLOY A MIXED-METHODS DATA COLLECTION APPROACH, COMBINING QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE METRICS WITH QUALITATIVE ASSESSMENTS THROUGH SURVEYS, INTERVIEWS, AND FOCUS GROUPS TO GAUGE OUTCOMES. ANTICIPATED RESULTS INCLUDE INCREASED GRADUATION RATES, ENHANCED STEM LITERACY, AND IMPROVED CAREER READINESS AMONG PARTICIPATING STUDENTS. PROJECT FINDINGS WILL BE DISSEMINATED THROUGH PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS, CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS, AND OUTREACH TO STEM EDUCATION STAKEHOLDERS, AIMING TO INFORM BEST PRACTICES AND INFLUENCE EDUCATIONAL POLICIES AND PROGRAMS. THIS PROJECT IS FUNDED BY NSF?S SCHOLARSHIPS IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS (S- STEM) PROGRAM, WHICH AIMS TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF ACADEMICALLY TALENTED, LOW-INCOME STUDENTS EARNING DEGREES IN STEM FIELDS. IT ALSO AIMS TO IMPROVE THE EDUCATION OF FUTURE STEM WORKERS, AND TO GENERATE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT ACADEMIC SUCCESS, RETENTION, TRANSFER, GRADUATION, AND ACADEMIC/CAREER PATHWAYS OF LOW-INCOME STUDENTS. 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.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

NURSING WORKFORCE DIVERSITY

CULTIVATING EXEMPLARY STEM TEACHERS FOR HIGH-NEED RURAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS -THIS PROJECT AIMS TO SERVE THE NATIONAL NEED OF PREPARING HIGH-QUALITY MATHEMATICS, CHEMISTRY, AND BIOLOGY TEACHERS TO TEACH IN PREDOMINANTLY RURAL HIGH-NEED SCHOOL DISTRICTS. NATIONALLY, STEM TEACHING POSITIONS ARE OFTEN HARD TO STAFF AND RETAIN, PARTICULARLY IN HIGH-NEED, RURAL SCHOOLS. THIS PROJECT WILL ADDRESS THIS NEED BY AWARDING SCHOLARSHIPS TO STEM STUDENTS WHO WILL EARN A BACHELOR?S DEGREE IN MATHEMATICS, CHEMISTRY, OR BIOLOGY WHILE COMPLETING A SECONDARY EDUCATION MINOR AND TEACHER LICENSURE PROGRAM. THESE STEM STUDENTS WILL ALSO COMPLETE THEIR STUDENT TEACHING PRACTICUMS IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOLS AND TEACH IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOL DISTRICTS FOR A MINIMUM OF FOUR YEARS AFTER GRADUATION. THE PROJECT WILL PROVIDE A UNIQUE BLEND OF SHORT- AND LONG-TERM FIELD EXPERIENCES, ONE-ON-ONE AND GROUP MENTORING AND TUTORING, AND INNOVATIVE NEW-TEACHER SUPPORT. THE PROJECT HAS POTENTIAL TO CONTRIBUTE TO KNOWLEDGE ON HOW TO PREPARE AND SUPPORT TEACHERS IN PREDOMINANTLY RURAL HIGH-NEED SCHOOL DISTRICTS. IN TURN, THE PROJECT AIMS TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF STEM GRADUATES PREPARED TO TEACH IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOLS AND ADDRESS THE STEM TEACHER SHORTAGE IN KANSAS AND MISSOURI, AND ACROSS THE UNITED STATES. THIS PROJECT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SAINT MARY (USM) INCLUDES PARTNERSHIPS WITH DONNELLY COLLEGE, A TWO-YEAR HISPANIC SERVING INSTITUTION, AND THE LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCIES (LEAS) OF LEAVENWORTH, LANSING, AND TONGANOXIE. PROJECT GOALS ARE TO: (1) RECRUIT, RETAIN, AND GRADUATE EIGHTEEN HIGHLY QUALIFIED STEM SECONDARY TEACHING CANDIDATES; (2) INCREASE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PRESERVICE CLINICAL TRAINING IN HIGH-NEED PARTNER SCHOOLS; AND (3) INCREASE THE RETENTION RATE OF STEM TEACHER ALUMNI IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOLS. THE PROJECT IS BASED ON THE THEORETICAL BASIS THAT WITH THE SUPPORT OF THREE MENTORS (FACULTY, IN-SERVICE TEACHERS, AND DISTRICT-APPOINTED) ALONG WITH A TOTAL OF 130 HOURS OF FIELD EXPERIENCE, THE COMPLETERS OF THE PROGRAM WILL BE MORE LIKELY TO BECOME HIGHLY EFFECTIVE TEACHERS WHO ARE RETAINED IN THEIR POSITIONS IN HIGH-NEED LEAS. THE PROJECT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE KNOWLEDGE BASE REGARDING HOW THE MENTORSHIP AND IN-SERVICE HOURS CONTRIBUTE TO PLACING AND RETAINING STEM TEACHERS IN THESE HIGH-NEED LEAS. THE PROJECT WILL BE EVALUATED USING A MIXED-METHODS APPROACH THAT INCLUDES PROCESS (FORMATIVE) AND OUTCOME (SUMMATIVE) COMPONENTS. IN COLLABORATION WITH AN EXTERNAL EVALUATOR, THE LEADERSHIP TEAM WILL DISSEMINATE RESULTS LOCALLY, REGIONALLY, AND NATIONALLY THROUGH MEETINGS WITH PARTNERS AND ORGANIZATIONS AND SUBMISSIONS TO SCHOLARLY JOURNALS AND CONFERENCES. 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.

ASPIRE TO SUCCEED

THE UNIVERSITY OF SAINT MARY (USM) SEXUAL ASSAULT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE DATING VIOLENCE AND STALKING (SDDVS) ON CAMPUS "OPEN EYES INITIATIVE"

CREATING PATHWAYS: BUILDING THE REGION'S CAPACITY TO ADDRESS THE STEM TEACHER SHORTAGE

FACULTY DEVELOPMENT AWARD

LINCOLN: THE CONSTITUTION AND THE CIVIL WAR - A TRAVELING EXHIBITION TO LIBRARIES

NURSING WORKFORCE DIVERSITY