STEM Graduate Outreach, Research, Leadership, and Training Program

1. NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HBCUTITLE III ADMINISTRATORS, INC.2013 Technical Assistance Workshop June 19-21, 2013 Best Practices and The Effective Use of Title III Funding Andrea L. Tyler, Ph. D. , Tennessee State University Sessi Aboh, Ph. D. , Tennessee State University Marjorie Seward, M. Ed. , Tennessee State University

2. Presented by Andrea L. Tyler, Ph. D.Director, Graduate STEM ResearchTENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITYNashville, TN STEM Graduate Outreach, Research, Leadership, and Training Program

3. Program Creation • Research suggest that too few students, specially African American students, enter and successfully exit graduate STEM programs. • No infrastructure in place to adequately support graduate STEM majors. • Provide a multifaceted approach that could serve and support graduate STEM students. Such an approach can only be created and sustained by the creation of a resource located within the School of Graduate Studies & Research.

4. University Alignment Access and Diversity Plan 2011-2015 STRATEGIC PLAN 2010‐2015 Complete College Tennessee Act of 2010 PROGRAM ALIGNMENT

5. Objectives • Provide a support resource that could create, coordinate, and sustain support services from graduate school entry through completion • Improve the completion rate of African American STEM graduate students by 5% annually. 

6. Program Model-Tinto's (1993) Dimensions of Institutional Action • Institutional Commitment to StudentsEffective retention programs are committed to the students they serve. They put student welfare ahead of other institutional goals. • Educational CommitmentEffective retention programs are first and foremost committed to the education of all, not just some, of their students • Social and Intellectual CommunityEffective retention programs are committed to the development of supportive social and educational communities in which all students are integrated as competent members.

7. University Partners • Biology Department • Chemistry Department • College of Engineering • Career Success Center • Tutoring Center • Title III Office

8. Program Activities Transition assistance Counseling and advising Early contact and community building Monitoring and early warning Academic involvement and support

9. Accountability/Assessment *Evaluate the effectiveness of Title III programming through an internal program evaluator, and input from student survey. *Title III students will also provide input on- • Transitional concepts • Pre/Post-graduate study • Career opportunities • Research experiences • Academic engagement • Mentoring

10. Anticipated Outcome Support institutional efforts towards increasing the educational attainment level of underrepresented and targeted sub-populations in graduate STEM disciplines. Increase the number of supported African American students in STEM areas at Tennessee State University.

11. Academic Collaborative: Enhancing Undergraduate Education Through Innovative Technologies Presented by Marjorie Seward, M.Ed. Associate Director, Title III Program Administration TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY Nashville, TN

12. Best Practices and Strategies for Title III Funded Programs and Initiatives This presentation is centered around the Title III focus area, Academic Quality, which is also one of the key performance indicators in Tennessee State University’s 2010-2015 Strategic Plan. The focus is on best practices and strategies for Title III funded programs and initiatives. During the latter part of the previous grant cycle, the state of Tennessee implemented the 2010 Complete College Tennessee Act. The Act requires state colleges and universities to demonstrate improvements in retention and graduation rates; and ties higher education funding to such outcomes-based improvements. In support of the new state mandate and the federal government mandate to downsize and reduce cost, collaboration and partnership became a key element to integrating Title III funding into the university fabric as the HBCU proposal was being developed.

13. HistoryIn the previous five year cycle, Tennessee State University distributed itsHBCU Title III resources among seven (17) activity projects across variousuniversity departments; each with its own set of objectives and its ownset of personnel. The projects became increasingly harder to manage. Every project hired an account specialists/bookkeeper to manage its financial records as well as other staff to carry out the programmatic objectives of the grant. Translation: Heavy personnel budget Data collection and timely reporting was even more difficult to manage.

14. New Funding Cycle Title III funds for this 2012-2017 grant period focuses on expectations outlined in each of the university’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) with an overall goal to increase retention and graduation rates. The KPIs are: Access and Diversity Academic Quality and Student Success Business Friendly Practices Revenue Generation/Research/Resourcefulness Engagement

15. THE COLLABORATIVE MODELBased on these key performance indicators, the TSU HBCU grant was developed and is composed of four (4) projects. The Academic Collaborative project is one component of the grant. It consist of five (5) activities, all with a common objective to improve student learning, but with different strategies and outcome expectations. Under its umbrella are the following activities: College of Business College of Liberal Arts (Integrated Arts, Media & Music) College of Engineering College of EducationCollege of Health Sciences (Division of Nursing)

17. HBCU Grant Implementation and StructureAll personnel is hired and managed by the Title III Program Administration office which eliminates the need for additional personnel. This office processes all administrative and budgetary paperwork freeing up the Principle Investigators (PIs) to focus on meeting objectives, observe and document outcomes. Principle Investigators (PIs) integrate tasks into their normal day-to-dayactivities utilizing existing faculty and staff which means no additional work just for the grant.Progress Reports are submitted to one designated PI for each project, then consolidated into one report for the group.Each activity has a small travel budget for the activity director to attend conference and related seminars.

18. * Faculty development and construction/renovation, components of the Institutional Management project, are also managed by the Program Administration Office. Those were removed from individual activities and developed separately to supports all activities. * Every grant year has a different focus. The main focus in year 01 is on Liberal Arts who has the largest budget allocated to upgrade technology, renovate 100 classrooms, and train faculty. Next year the focus will change and another activity will be fully funded to meet their goals and objectives as outlined in the grant. Example: Engineering is allocated a small amount this year to cover travel and a minimal amount for supplies. They are targeted to be fully funded next year to complete their goals and objectives.

19. Expectations

20. Academic CollaborativeProject Description Enhancing undergraduate education through innovative technologies describes five innovative, technology-intensive components. These activities focus on using technology to enable innovations in pedagogy that can increase learning. Although many innovations are possible without technology, the capabilities of new approaches to teaching and learning make it easier and more practical. Traditionally, courses have been comprised of lectures and laboratory sessions. Research indicates the traditional approach is not effective for all undergraduates because students have different ways of learning and benefit from different educational approaches (National research Council (NRC),1999a).

22. Project Goal The objective of the collaborative project is to improve student learning, retention, persistence, and graduation percentages across and within participating units by 5% annually. Although the objective is the same for all components of the project, they each use different strategies and expect different outcomes. The outcome measure is improved student performance.

23. Description of Activities COLLEGE OF BUSINESS The College of Business realized that a significant percentage of African American students in the business discipline were failing to complete core courses successfully on the first attempt. This hindered students from moving forward in their chosen Program adversely influencing retention and graduation rates as well as student enrollment. Additionally, the college had to address the issue of course delivery. There were no hybrid courses being offered to accommodate student ‘s other commitments to work and family. Strategy: Redesign core courses with high rates of (in excess of 30%) D-F- W final grade averages by infusing technology based instruction and problem based learning. Increase course offerings delivered in an alternative format through distance education programs (hybrid and online).

24. Expected Outcomes The expected outcome is improved student learning in the College of Business core courses as reflected in final grade averages by 10% annually. Improved academic instruction in business and technology programs in which African Americans are underrepresented.

25. COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS (INTEGRATED ARTS, MEDIA AND MUSIC)Faculty members in the College of Liberal Arts have experimented with collaborative team teaching and feel well prepared to provide the leadership for efforts to enhance undergraduate education through collaborative teaching and learning with an emphasis on problem based learning. Challenges faced were the need to enhance the infrastructure at the University to support collaborative teaching and learning and problem-based learning, and the need for further faculty development training.Strategy: Provide the infrastructure to support collaborative teaching and learning and innovative technologies by updating classrooms with state of the art technology and equipment conductive to collaborative teaching and learning. Provide support to improve faculty development.

26. Expected Outcomes

27. COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING The College of Engineering activity aims to provide well trained engineers to meet the critical demand for engineers and technicians in the field of Mechatronics, the field of design, operating, and servicing mechanical and electronic devices in automation for building products. Additionally, improve the engineering curriculum and student learning as reflected by performance on the field test. Strategy: To provide a certification program and curriculum for engineering students that will enhance the knowledge and skills of engineering students in the merging field of mechatronics by integrating the mechatronics training program in the electrical and mechanical engineering curriculum.

28. Expected Outcomes 70% of engineering students will have hands-on experience on newly acquired equipment during the funding cycle. 90% of the students in electrical and mechanical engineering who take the exam will be certified in mechatronics annually. Three (3) classrooms in the College of Engineering will be equipped with innovative learning tools for instructions.

29. Question & Answer Contact Information: Andrea L. Tyler, Ph.D. atyler2@tnstate.edu Marjorie Seward, M.Ed. mseward@tnstate.edu Sessi Adoh, Ph. D. saboh@tnstate.edu