U.S. National Science Foundation investing $14.5M in inaugural Innovation in Two-Year College in STEM Education awards

The U.S. National Science Foundation is investing $14.5 million in the inaugural set of awards through its Innovation in Two-Year College in STEM Education (ITYC) program. The program aims to support potentially transformative projects that will advance innovative, evidence-based practices at two-year colleges nationwide in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education. 

"Community colleges play a critical role in training people from all parts of the country for a variety of STEM careers including future scientists, engineers, and technicians," said NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan. "The Innovation in Two-Year College in STEM Education program is essential to how we expand pathways and opportunities so that more talented people from every part of the nation have the opportunity to make their way into STEM. I'm pleased that Congress recognized the critical role of community colleges in the 'CHIPS and Science Act of 2022' and the foundation they provide for educational opportunities. Programs like ITYC are how we build on that foundation to reach more young people who have bright futures ahead of them in the STEM community."

The twin goals of the ITYC program are to (1) center students in the effort to advance innovation, promote equitable outcomes, and broaden participation for all students in STEM education at two-year colleges and (2) enhance the capacity of two-year colleges to harness the talent and potential of their diverse student and faculty populations through innovative disciplinary, multi-department and collegewide efforts. These goals will be reached by investing in projects at two-year colleges that contribute to student success in STEM-based foundational courses and academic pathways for majors and nonmajors. 

ITYC features two tracks — A Focus on the Academic Experiences of Two-Year College Students and Leveraging Institutional Strengths and Innovation. A total of 35 awards have been made to proposals in these tracks and for conferences, workshops and planning. The awards are to institutions in 18 states and the District of Columbia. Several projects involve collaborations among institutions.  

Track 1

• Promoting Student Success in Sciences Through Environmental Research and Local Partnerships, Lee College.
• Pre-Released Exam Strategy Assessment Research, Shoreline Community College.
• Advancing Student Success Through a Comprehensive Approach to STEM Pathway Design, Scottsdale Community College.
• A Research-based Intensive Summer Bridge to Build STEM Identity and Retention in Incoming Community College Students, North Seattle College.
• Transforming Biotechnology Education with a Student-Centered Approach to Promote a More Diverse STEM Workforce, Community College of Philadelphia.
• Beyond the Classroom: Increasing Persistence in STEM through External Validation 
  in Community College Undergraduate Research Experiences, Edmonds College.
• Community College Partnerships to Provide STEM Summer Research Opportunities, Los Angeles Valley College.
• Collaborative Research: Equitable STEM Student Success and Persistence Through 
  Leadership Development Contextualized in a Learning Assistant Program, Oakton College, Chicago State University, Northeastern Illinois University.
• Collaborative Research: Circle of Champions: Converting Latina/o STEM Students' 
  Social Capital into Academic Capital, Gavilan College, UCLA, University of Pennsylvania. 
• Collaborative Research: Providing Engineering Community College Students Opportunities for Research, Leadership, Mentoring, and Community Development, Fresno City College, California Polytechnic State University.
• Strengthening Transfer Pathways in the Laboratory Sciences through Undergraduate Research Experiences, Northern Virginia Community College.
• Developing and Sustaining Undergraduate Research Experiences at a Minority-Serving Two-Year College, Miami Dade College-Padrón Campus.
• Enhancing STEM Education with Leadership Academies in a Rural Two-Year College Context, Somerset Community College.
• Undergraduate Research Experiences in Imaging and Analysis for Geology and Engineering, Chabot College.
• Supporting Academic Excellence in STEM through Instructional and Co-curricular Practices, Minneapolis College.
• Advancing Community College Students through Mentored and Course-Based Research Experiences, Hudson Valley Community College.

Track 2 

• Building Undergraduate Research Infrastructure in Community Colleges, Anne Arundel Community College.
• A Unified Approach to Establishing a Culture of Research: Employing a Toolkit of Common Tools and Processes, CUNY Kingsborough Community College.
• Incorporating Civic Engagement in Undergraduate STEM: Working to Enable and Sustain Transformation, Bellevue College.
• Equity and Innovation in STEM Education Through Professional Development at a Community College, CUNY LaGuardia Community College.
• Support for Education and Employment in Data Science, El Camino College.
• Expanding Opportunities and Instructional Innovations for English Language Learners in Computer Science, Ohlone Community College District.
• State-wide Professional Development to Promote Active Learning in Mathematics for Michigan Community Colleges, Kellogg Community College.
• Collaborative Research: Supporting Innovation in Chemistry Teaching at Two-Year Colleges via Professional Development and Networking, SUNY Adirondack, SUNY Geneseo, University at Albany SUNY.
• Innovations for Implementing and Sustaining Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences Across STEM Curricula at a Community College, Arapahoe Community College.
• Improving Student Learning Through Undergraduate Research at a Community College, Kansas City Kansas Community College.
• Innovative Research, Industry, and Service Experiences to Increase STEM Engagement and Persistence at a Historically Black Community College, Lawson State Community College.

Planning

• Planning: Rural Community College Astronomy Research Consortium, Colorado Mountain College.
• Planning: Enhancing Engineering Education through a Project-Based Approach at a Community College, Estrella Mountain Community College.
• Planning: Montgomery College Student Hybrid Academic and Research Experience, Montgomery College.

Conferences and workshops

• Conference: A Virtual Workshop for Two-Year College Geoscience Faculty to Develop National Science Foundation Grant Proposal, Mount San Antonio College.
• Conference: Two-Year College Data Science Initiative (TYCDSI) Workshop, American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges.
• Conference: Building Leadership Capacity for STEM Education Innovation at Two-Year Colleges, Bioquest Curriculum Consortium.
• Conference: A Virtual Workshop for Building Leadership Capacity to Support Two-Year College and Disciplinary Society Collaborations, Carleton College Science Education Research Center.
• Conference: Psychology Educators from Two-Year Colleges in Disciplinary Societies: Promoting Equitable Educational Outcomes and Broadening the Pathway into Psychology, American Psychological Association.
   

The ITYC program is aligned with the NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education framework, which is a comprehensive effort to accelerate improvements in the quality and effectiveness of undergraduate education in STEM fields. The program advances research on the nature of learning and teaching at community colleges to improve outcomes for students who enter the workforce upon completion of their STEM degree or credential, or transfer to four-year institutions, as outlined in the "CHIPS and Science Act of 2022." 

To learn more about the program, visit the ITYC webpage.