Investigator(s):

• Tonjua Williams president@spcollege.edu (Principal Investigator)
• Dustin Lemke (Co-Principal Investigator)
• Jose' Ors (Co-Principal Investigator)
• Magaly Tymms (Co-Principal Investigator)
• Natavia Middleton (Co-Principal Investigator)
• William Law (Former Principal Investigator)
• James Wysong (Former Co-Principal Investigator)
• Nydia Nelson (Former Co-Principal Investigator)
• Jesse Coraggio (Former Co-Principal Investigator)

Abstract at Time of Award:

The Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program assists universities and colleges in diversifying the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce through their efforts at significantly increasing the numbers of students from historically underrepresented minority populations to successfully complete high quality degree programs in STEM. The Tampa Bay Bridge to the Baccalaureate Alliance (TB-B2B) focuses on activities that provides effective educational tools and resources to prepare underrepresented minority (URM) community college students for successful transfer to and completion of STEM baccalaureate degrees.

TB-B2B will use a holistic system to recruit and strengthen students' preparation for STEM baccalaureate programs by focusing on: 1) awareness and outreach to encourage enrollment into the STEM pipeline through informal learning events, digital marketing and social networking; 2) intrusive guidance, deep engagement activities and experiential learning opportunities to retain students using STEM Learning Communities, including dedicated advising, peer and faculty mentoring, undergraduate research, internships and job shadowing; 3) academic supports to fortify math foundations, inclusive of math-based adaptive learning tools and summer bridge programming; and 4) transfer guidance to encourage matriculation to STEM baccalaureate programs. Faculty learning communities and professional development workshops complete the framework, ensuring an institutional shift in URM student outreach, preparation, retention and transfer.

TB-B2B is led by St. Petersburg College in partnership with State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota and Hillsborough Community College, a Hispanic-Serving Institution, and the University of South Florida System as an informal partner and point of transfer. TB-B2B builds on existing articulations between these institutions to bolster a region-wide effort in STEM degree attainment and career achievement.

Project Outcomes Report

The overall goal of the NSF LSAMP alliance-based program is to assist universities and colleges in diversifying the nation's STEM workforce by increasing the number of STEM baccalaureate and graduate degrees awarded to populations historically underrepresented disciplines.

Major outcomes of TB-B2B Alliance:

Matriculation into STEM Degrees: Total URM student transfers from TB-B2B 2-year institutions into a 4-year STEM degree:

• Grant Y1 (2017-18 cohort): 600
• Grant Y2 (2018-19 cohort): 492
• Grant Y3 (2019-20 cohort + 2020 Fall cohort): 369
• Total: 1,461

The data presented reflects total Institutional transfers, as of 4/16/21. With lag time in reporting of the National Student Clearinghouse data and students waiting a semester to transfer, a few more transfers could be accounted for at a later date. While enrollment in STEM programs for all students remained steady or dropped since 2017 at SPC, enrollment in STEM programs for URM students grew by 10% during the grant period.

Demographics: approximately 613 students applied to the TB-B2B program over the project period.

• Definitions: Tier 1 students were defined as meeting all of the LSAMP eligibility criteria & can receive direct funding per the activities outlined in the LSAMP proposal (paid research, paid conference attendance, etc.).  Tier 2 students were defined as those that do not meet all of the LSAMP eligibility & program criteria. These students may receive interventions, be advised, attend events, but cannot receive any direct LSAMP funding, including usage of software purchased with LSAMP funds. The Alliance didn’t track the activity participation of Tier 2 students.
  • 54% of applicants were female.
  • Approximately 50% of applicants identified their ethnicity as Hispanic.
  • Of all applicants identifying a specific race on their application, an estimated 202 identified as Black/African American, 201 identified as Hispanic, 4 identified as American Indian, 2 identified as Native Hawaiian, 45 identified as multi-race, and 159 identified as white/other.
  • Of the 613 applicants, 372 students enrolled as Tier 1 students since the beginning of the project.
    • 49.5% of our Tier 1 students were recruited from a referral by college staff/faculty.
    • 23% of Tier 1 students are 24+ years old.

Undergraduate Research Experience (URE): LSAMP students who participated gained the knowledge and skills needed to apply to their area of study.  Seventy-six URE opportunities were conducted by students during the award cycle. Forty-two of those URE opportunities were led by a faculty mentor, and thirty-four of those opportunities were with external STEM partners, such as MOTE Marine, University of South Florida, University of Georgia, NASA, and Moffitt Cancer Research Center.

Participant Support Costs: TB-B2B students earned awards to attend and/or present at various STEM related conferences: Emerging Researchers National Conference, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers Convention, Louis Stokes Midwest Regional Center of Excellence Conference, Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students Conference.

Dissemination of information: Co-PI, Magaly Tymms, attended and presented at the Association of American Colleges & Universities 2020 Transforming STEM Higher Education Conference. She presented the TB-B2B Alliance URE model.

Last Modified: 05/14/2021
Modified by: Tonjua Williams