This fall seven community college teams — each with a faculty member lead and supportive administrator — embarked on two years of MentorLinks assistance to develop new or strengthen existing STEM technician education programs.
At the meeting where they met their mentors, the teams received guidance applicable to educators and institutions embarking on program development that depend on external funding.
“Don’t get overwhelmed. Figure out what you need and just work on that part of it first … and then everything else will fall in place,” said Sheela Vemu, associate professor of biology at Waubonsee Community College. Vemu is the project director of Jump Start, a 2021-2023 MentorLinks project that developed plans for a water and wastewater technology program.
“Look to see what others are doing in the [discipline] area in which you are interested in doing a grant,” said Nicole Ernst of Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC). She explained that by understanding what other community colleges were doing in geospatial technologies, HACC was able to collaborate with them in ways that benefitted students and employers in multiple service areas. Based on those experiences, HACC’s team was then in position to develop a grant proposal to fill gaps in existing programs.
Vince DiNoto, principal investigator of the GeoTech Center and Ernst’s MentorLinks mentor in 2017-2019, urged everyone to use demographic data about prospective students and employer partners as the first step in developing a new program. DiNoto has been both a mentee and long-serving mentor in the MentorLinks program.
“Understanding your community, understanding the demographics, makes a big difference in building a program,” he said during a presentation at the MentorLinks meeting that preceded the 2023Advanced Technological Education Principal Investigators’ Conference.
The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) offers MentorLinks and hosts the annual conference for ATE grantees with ATE grant support from the National Science Foundation.
To help community colleges build and sustain technician education programs, MentorLinks provides the selected teams with $30,000; two years of mentoring from an individual who has experience in community colleges and success in the ATE program; professional development opportunities; technical resources; and travel support.
A little advice
To show how understanding demographics can influence programmatic decisions, DiNoto shared dynamic maps of Louisville, Kentucky, that showed the educational attainment, ethnicity and income of residents. When DiNoto has shown college administrators at mentee colleges enrollment and retention data overlaid with their communities’ demographic data, they have told him the illustrations improved their understanding of their student populations.
Several years ago DiNoto researched students’ success rates at Jefferson Community and Technical College, where GeoTech is located. The research was for Project Lead the Way. He found that when a pilot group of students from across the college’s service area were given bus passes they persisted at higher rates than other students. Since then the college has continued to provide bus passes at no additional cost to students who request them.
Linda Rehfuss, an emeritus professor of biology and biotechnology at Bucks County Community College and Vemu’s mentor, urged educators developing ATE grant proposals to understand the administrative structure of their colleges. She recommended getting to know the personnel and processes of the grants and accounting offices, and informing staff members of funders’ requirements. “Make sure they have everything in place when you get your grant,” she advised.
DiNoto, who was a MentorLinks mentee two decades ago and whose leadership as an ATE principal investigator has helped Kentucky attain its current roster of 13 active ATE grants, encouraged the new MentorLinks teams to persist despite adversity and rejection.
“If you write a proposal, [and] it doesn’t get funded, don’t quit. If you are declined, read those comments [from reviewers] very, very carefully. Start by re-crafting your proposal. Listen to what the reviewers said. Make the change. Get ready to resubmit. Don’t quit after the first try…Try again and be positive about it,” he said.
Here is what the 2023-2025 MentorLinks cohort plans to do:
Onondaga Community College wants to ramp up programs to address Micron Technology’s need for nanotechnicians and other people with advanced technology skills to operate the semiconductor manufacturing facility under construction in Clay, NY. The team envisions partnering with other colleges and universities in the region to cultivate new instructors while recruiting students and developing virtual and in-person instructional resources.
Tompkins Cortland Community College aims to make secondary school students aware of careers in advanced manufacturing and in micro- and nanotechnology, which will be available as a result of Micon’s superfab. The team plans to begin with programming to inform teachers and students about micro- and nanotechnology applications.
Hudson Valley Community College plans to incorporate cell and gene therapy technologies in its biotechnology curriculum to prepare technicians for the expansion of biomanufacturing in the region. The team’s first goal is to prepare faculty to teach the theoretical lessons and hands-on activities; the second is to add cell and gene therapy modules to every course in the existing program. To meet employers’ needs, the college s preparing to recruit students from previously overlooked populations including veterans, refugees, and immigrants.
West Hills College Coalinga plans to create partnerships that lead to a new environmental and energy incubator and research development center. The small, rural college hopes to build on the strengths of its biology, chemistry and physics faculty to develop an ATE proposal for a program that prepares students for STEM careers with wages that can support families. The mean salary is $33,000 in the community where most people are employed either at a prison, a state hospital, in the oil fields, or in agriculture.
Cleveland State Community College wants to increase enrollment and improve retention in its pre-engineering program. The team hopes to build on the strengths of its dual enrollment program to improve pre-engineering students’ math skills. The team anticipates that improvements to advising services will be part of the initiative.
Leeward Community College seeks to increase enrollments and the rates at which students persist and complete the integrated industrial technology associate degree and certificate program. Some narrowing of the currently broad program is anticipated. The team also intends to tackle the challenge of identifying subject-matter experts who can teach and promote the program in the community.
South Arkansas College envisions addressing the region’s need for industrial lab technicians by adding courses within its existing industry engineering technology program. The project plans to build on its industry partnerships to involve subject-matter experts who can provide feedback on the competencies employers want. Another priority is developing a strategy that helps prospective students overcome their hesitancy regarding mathematics and chemistry.