Advancing Community College Students through Mentored and Course-Based Research

The project aims to serve the national interest by creating opportunities for community college students to engage in undergraduate research experiences. It is widely accepted that participation in undergraduate research provides a mechanism to engage students in authentic STEM practices and prepares students to pursue advanced degrees or careers in related industries.

Students at Hudson Valley Community College have yet to have access to these experiences on the college campus and consequently have not had these benefits. This project intends to remedy this by developing, implementing and assessing undergraduate research experiences on par with regional four-year institutions. These research experiences enable students to gain improved growth in critical thinking, perseverance, and self-determination, setting the foundation for lifelong success.

Project outcomes center on enhanced student engagement, increased transfer rates, greater success in obtaining professional positions, and additional knowledge regarding the impact of early research experiences on student success in STEM at a community college.

The overall goal of this project is to develop, implement and assess a variety of undergraduate research experiences for STEM students at a two-year college in the northeast region of the country. Two approaches will be used to maximize opportunities for students to engage in undergraduate research: (1) mentored research experiences provided at partner four-year universities and (2) course-based undergraduate research experiences in natural and applied science courses.

For the first approach, students majoring in biology, biotechnology, and physical sciences may apply to participate in mentored research projects at partner four-year institutions during their second academic year. These experiences are will be designed to engage students in authentic research experiences while completing a STEM degree at a two-year college.

For the second approach, course-based undergraduate research experiences will be embedded in second-year STEM courses across biology, biotechnology, and the physical sciences. The intended outcome of this project is measurable growth in critical thinking, perseverance, and self-determination as determined by published surveys and the results of semi-structured interviews.

The faculty team engaged in this project aim to disseminate these practices to other faculty within the department and throughout the college. The leadership team intends to share generated knowledge and best practices at regional and national conferences and in publications. The NSF IUSE: Innovation in Two-Year College STEM Education (ITYC) Program seeks to accelerate the impact of and advance knowledge about emerging and evidence-based practices in undergraduate STEM education at two-year colleges.

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.