Collaborative Research: Conference: Summit on Innovations in Two-Year College STEM Education

This project aims to serve the national interest by generating knowledge about effective evidence-based practices at two-year colleges that increase student success, strengthen undergraduate research, and expand pathways to the STEM workforce. Highline College, in collaboration with Carlton College, seek to develop and implement a multi-day conference that brings together awardees for the IUSE: Innovations in Two-Year College STEM Education (ITYC) program from across STEM disciplines to share expertise, ideas and innovations with each other, prospective principal investigators, and NSF program officers.

The project intends to contribute to building a robust community of two-year college STEM education researchers and provide a forum for discussing current and future research focused on STEM education at two-year colleges. This project represents a significant opportunity to increase engagement of two-year colleges with the National Science Foundation and build the capacity of two-year college faculty to strengthen STEM education in the nation.

Ultimately, this project will benefit the nation by positively affecting student learning in STEM at two-year colleges, thus potentially expanding the STEM workforce and increasing scientific literacy.

The project aims to: (a) share ITYC awardees’ expertise and experiences with their ITYC projects; (b) discuss solutions to challenges in STEM pathways and explore opportunities for leading funded projects; (c) increase awareness of NSF program opportunities for two-year colleges; (d) provide guidance and support for prospective awardees; and (e) foster networking and community-building among ITYC awardees, prospective awardees, and NSF program officers. To achieve these goals, the project engages participants in working groups, interactive topical sessions, and presentations.

Participants have opportunities to discuss successes and challenges, explore strategies for leading grant-funded projects, deepen their understanding of NSF programs, make recommendations, and consider future possibilities. Assessment and evaluation efforts focus on identifying effective strategies to support current and future ITYC awardees in leading NSF projects, as well as advancing knowledge on the design and evaluation of PI meetings.

Dissemination includes post-Summit webinars, a report, and a website that capture and share key conference highlights with participants and the broader STEM community. The Summit program is structured to foster networking and community-building among participants from various STEM disciplines and institutions, generating valuable insights into the role of two-year colleges in the STEM education ecosystem—particularly in teaching, learning, and workforce expansion.

The NSF IUSE: Innovation in Two-Year College STEM Education Program seeks to accelerate and advance knowledge about the impact of 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.