Bridges To the Baccalaureate Program

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Bridges To the Baccalaureate Program

• Shiva P. Singh, Ph.D.
• Division of Minority Opportunities in Research
• National Institute of General Medical Sciences
• National Institutes of Health, USDHHS
• April 18, 2008

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Outline of Presentation

• Overview of Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program
  (PAR-07-411)
• Guidance for Bridges to the Baccalaureate
  Program Development

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Bridges Program Goals

• An institutional program funded by NIGMS and
  NCMHD that is designed to increase the number of
  community college students from underrepresented
  groups and/or health disparities populations
  (URMs) who transfer and complete the
  baccalaureate degree in biomedical and behavioral
  sciences.

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The Bridges Program Emphasizes

• Institutional Focus with impact on Bridges and
  non-Bridges students alike so more students
  transfer from the community college to the
  four-year institution.
• Partnership of 2-year community colleges with
  four-year institutions
• Baccalaureate Readiness Program with
  well-integrated activities that will provide URMs
  with the necessary academic preparation and
  skills to enable their transition and successful
  completion of the baccalaureate degree in
  biomedical/behavioral sciences.
• Clear Expectations and Accountability

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Partnership/Consortium

• Purpose To facilitate a seamless transition of
  targeted
• students from two-year to four-year institutions
  and their
• subsequent graduation with baccalaureate degrees
  in
• biomedical/behavioral sciences
• Up to 4 institutions in the partnership,
  including the applicant institution, unless
  strongly justified otherwise
• An institution may participate in more than one
  Bridges
• partnership if strongly justified by the
  potential to magnify
• the programs and institutions outcomes

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Bridges Students
(Students who receive support in the form of
salaries/wages)

• Students from groups underrepresented in the
  biomedical and behavioral research enterprise of
  the nation and/or populations disproportionately
  affected by health disparities (targeted groups).
  Nationally, these groups include, but are not
  limited to, African Americans, Hispanic
  Americans, Native Americans (including Alaska
  Natives), Natives of the U.S. Pacific Islands,
  and/or rural Appalachians.
• Must be U.S. citizens or non-citizen nationals or
  permanent residents.
• Must be matriculated full-time in an associate
  degree program in biomedical/behavioral science
  fields at the partner community college.

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Student Selection Critical Mass

• Student Selection
• Institutions responsibility to establish student
  qualifications
• Describe the criteria for selection and retention
  of Bridges students into the program
• Critical Mass
• 15-20 Bridges students in the program, each year
• 4 Bridges students from each community college

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Program Expectations

• Baseline Data Goals to Improve
• Effective Partnerships
• Strong Pool of Targeted Students
• Well-integrated Student Development Activities
  year-round
• Strong Institutional Commitment
• Sound Evaluation Plan

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What Are the Baseline Data Measurable
Objectives?

• Baseline
• The baseline is a starting point it serves as a
  guide to capacity,
• and is necessary to gauge the impact of the
  program. For example,
• an increase of 100 on a base of 1 is not nearly
  as impressive as if
• it were on a base of 10.
• Usually its an average data over a 3-5 year
  period
• Measurable Objectives
• These are brief (and focused) statements of end
  results
• connected to the long range goal. They can be
  qualitative and
• quantitative, but must be measurable.
• They are not a means to an end, or a checklist of
  to do list.

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Examples of Baseline Data Measurable Objectives

• An application proposes to increase the number
  of community college students who transfer to
  four-year institutions in biomedically relevant
  sciences
• How many and what percent of its students
  currently transfer to four-year institutions in
  biomedically relevant disciplines? (baseline)
• What is the proposed number and percentage of
  students who will transfer to four-year
  institutions in biomedically relevant disciplines
  during the grant period (measurable objective)

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Examples of Baseline Data Objectives, cont.

• Institutional Baseline
• Out of a total of 100 potential transfer
  students (60 non-URM and 40 URM), 18 non-URMs
  (30) and 8 URMs (20) actually transfer to
  4-year institutions in biomedically relevant
  disciplines per year (average data from
  2004-2007).
• Institutional Objective
• The URM transfer in biomedically relevant
  disciplines will increase from the current rate
  of 20 to 30 (from an average of 8 to 12
  students per year) by the fourth year of the
  grant award.

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Examples of Baseline Data Objectives, cont.

• Bridges Baseline on Students Transfer - An
  average of 5 out of 10 (50) Bridges students in
  the program transferred to a 4-year institution
  in biomedically relevant disciplines per year
  (average data from 2004-2007).
• Objective - The transfer of Bridges students
  from the program to 4-year institutions in
  biomedically relevant disciplines will increase
  from the current rate of 50 to 70 (from an
  average of 5 to 7 students per year) by the
  fourth year of the grant award.
• Bridges Baseline on Degree Completion - An
  average of 2 out of 5 (40) transferring Bridges
  students completed the baccalaureate degree in
  biomedically relevant disciplines per year during
  the previous funding cycle (average data from
  2004-2007).
• Objective - Bridges students baccalaureate
  degree completion in biomedically relevant
  disciplines will increase from the current rate
  of 40 to about 60 (to 4 graduates per year) by
  the fourth year of the grant award.

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Goals to Improve the Track Record

• Clearly stated goals, and measurable objectives
  relative to the baseline and in context of NIH
  expectations
• Must improve on the previous record and make
  substantial progress towards meeting the NIH
  expectations during the next 5 years

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NIH Expectations

• Institutional
• Increase in the institutional transfer of
  targeted students (Bridges non-Bridges) to
  4-year institutions in biomedically relevant
  sciences by 50 in five years
• Bridges
• Increase in the retention and academic
  preparation of Bridges students as a result of
  curricular changes, skills development, and
  mentored research experiences, etc.
• Increase in the transfer of Bridges students to
  baccalaureate degree programs in biomedically
  relevant sciences (70 in five years)
• Increase in the degree completion of transferring
  Bridges students (75 in five years)

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BASELINE DATA AND OBJECTIVES
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Examples of Developmental Activities

• To Move the Institution Forward from Baseline to
  NIH Expectations
• Developing community college courses and
  curricula that are
• fully transferable to the baccalaureate
  institution
• Four-year institution faculty serving as visiting
  lecturers at the two-year institution, or
  developing joint team-taught courses
• Introduction of research concepts into the
  community college
• curriculum and/or offering a research skills
  course to stimulate
• students interest in science
• Supplementary instruction in gate-keeping
  courses at the community college
• Mentored research experiences for the Bridges
  students,
• including summer research internships

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Examples of Developmental Activities, Cont.

• Skills development (e.g., critical thinking,
  communications skills, study and time management
  skills) workshops
• Preparing community college students, through
  college orientation classes, etc., for transfer
  to the 4-year institution
• Peer mentoring and tutoring, and research career
  seminars
• Advanced or special courses for Bridges faculty
  (CC) at the partner 4-year institution
• Research education conferences for Bridges
  faculty (CC)
• Research conferences for 4-year faculty mentors,
  if accompanying students making presentations
• Others

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Institutional Commitment

• Strong commitment to the goals of the proposed
  program from all participating institutions,
  including commitment to
• Provide the institutional data on transfer of
  URMs and non-URMs in biomedically relevant
  sciences
• Provide data on transfer and degree completion by
  Bridges students in biomedically relevant
  sciences
• Track Bridges students over a ten-year period as
  they progress through the pipeline
• Institutionalize some of the Bridges-supported
  activities

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Evaluation

• Purpose Provide information useful to the
  applicant and the partner institutions for
  improving the program, and for institutionalizing
  the most effective activities supported by the
  Bridges program.
• A sound evaluation plan, with timeline, thats
  in-line with measurable goals and objectives
• Identify the selected evaluator and include
  his/her biosketch

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Consortium Agreement

• Consortium agreement between the associate and
  baccalaureate
• degree-granting institutions define the
  participating institutions
• respective roles in administering the Bridges
  program.
• The application must include a letter from each
  collaborating
• institution signed by the appropriate
  institutional officials and
• program director/program coordinator,
  acknowledging participation
• in the program. These letters must also include
  the following
• THE APPROPRIATE PROGRAMMATIC AND ADMINISTRATIVE
  PERSONNEL
• OF EACH INSTITUTION INVOLVED IN THIS GRANT
  APPLICATION ARE AWARE
• OF THE NIH CONSORTIUM GRANT POLICY AND ARE
  PREPARED TO
• ESTABLISH THE NECESSARY INTER-INSTITUTIONAL
  AGREEMENT(S)
• CONSISTENT WITH THAT POLICY.

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Budget and Years of Support

• The program provides support for student,
  faculty, and institutional development
  activities.
• Budget must be reasonable, well documented, and
  fully justified and commensurate with the scope
  of the proposed program
• Duration up to five years

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Guidance for Bridges to the Baccalaureate
Program Development
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Develop a Plan

• Read the FOA and FQs
• Institutional assessment and gather baseline
  data-how many transferring/graduating with BS,
  why not more transferring/graduating? what can
  change so more will transfer/graduate?
• What are the institutional needs?
• What is your long range goal?
• What are your goals and measurable objectives?
• What activities will help your institution
  achieve these objectives
• How will you evaluate your program outcomes?
• Follow all of the instructions in writing the
  application!!

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Application Components/Organization

• Project Summary, Performance site (s)
• Facilities other Resources
• Key Persons and their Biographical Sketches
• Budget
• Research Plan

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Application Components/Org., Cont.

• Research Plan
• (Introduction)
• Specific Aims and Measurable Objectives
• Background and Significance Institutional
  student data vision and anticipated value
• Preliminary Studies or Progress Report Specific
  Outcome Data Impact on the Institution
• Research Design Methods

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Application Components/Org., Cont.

• Research Design Methods
• PD and Program Faculty
• Developmental Activities
• The rationale and detailed description
• Who will implement and the timeline
• Possible pitfalls and alternative approaches
• Responsible Conduct of Research
• Evaluation Plan
• Consortium Agreements

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Presentation of Data

• Present data in figures, graphs, tables or text
• Place figures, tables, and graphs close to where
  they are referred to in the text
• Make all figures, tables, and graphs clearly
  legible
• Avoid irrelevant information
• Do not use the Appendix to circumvent the page
  limitations of the Research Plan

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Common Reasons for Failure

• Missing or inadequate baseline data
• Lack of clear and well-defined measurable
  objectives
• Lack of adequate progress
• Activities poorly related to the objectives
• Poorly developed or missing evaluation plan
• Lack of institutional commitment or support
• Lack of coordination with other institutional
  programs aimed at accomplishing similar goals
• Program-centric application vs. institutional
  application

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Summary Bridges Essentials

• Institutional baseline data on enrollment and
  transfer of URM non-URM students in
  biomedically relevant disciplines
• Bridges baseline data on the transfer and
  baccalaureate degree completion of targeted
  students
• Clear statement of program goals, specific aims,
  and measurable objectives relative to the
  baseline
• Detailed progress report, if applicable
• PD/PI, Coordinators, and program faculty with
  appropriate training and experience
• Detailed description of developmental activities
• Sound evaluation plan (see for example,
  http//oerl.sri.com/ and http//www.nsf.gov/pubs/2
  002/nsf02057/start.htm)
• A plan for training in responsible conduct of
  research
• Evidence of strong institutional commitment
• Consortium Agreement with specific language

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BASELINE DATA AND OBJECTIVES
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INSTRUCTIONS
a Provide the number and percent of URMs and
non-URMs who transfer to a 4-year institution in
biomedically relevant sciences from each
participating community college. Usually this is
an average data over a 3-5 year period. The
institutional transfer is calculated by the
number of students who actually transfer to a
4-year institution in biomedically relevant
sciences divided by the number of potential
transfer students. The potential transfer
students may be defined as those undergraduate
students in biomedically relevant sciences who
are enrolled in an associate degree program,
taking 12 or more credit hours and have declared
an intent to transfer, etc., depending upon the
institutional setting. b The objectives must be
measurable, relative to the current baseline and
in context of NIH expectations (see FOA for
details) c Provide the number and percent of
Bridges students in the program who transferred
to a 4-year institution in biomedically relevant
sciences during the previous funding cycle. The
transfer is calculated by the number of Bridges
students who actually transferred divided by the
total number of Bridges students in the program.
Provide the collective data for the entire
program (not the individual partner community
college) d Provide the number and percent of
Bridges students in the program who completed the
baccalaureate degree in biomedically relevant
sciences during the previous funding cycle. The
degree completion is calculated by the number of
Bridges students who actually completed the
baccalaureate degree divided by the total number
of transferring Bridges students. Provide the
collective data for the entire program (not the
individual partner community college)