Implementation Project: Strengthening the STEM Pathway through a Holistic Multi-layer Approach

Implementation Projects in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities - Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) provide support to design, implement, study, and assess comprehensive institutional efforts to increase the numbers of students receiving undergraduate degrees in STEM and building STEM education research capacity. This implementation project at Tougaloo College seeks to integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI), expand the STEM workforce, and equip students with the skills needed for future careers through early engagement, mentorship, and interdisciplinary research. The project is grounded in evidence-based practices, specifically leveraging student research experiences to bolster engagement and retention in STEM. The project is guided and informed by an ongoing evaluation, as well as by internal and external advisory committees. The goals of the project are to 1) streamline the bridge between high school and college academic expectations through teacher-faculty collaboration in the Summer Science and Engineering Program; 2) enhance the interdisciplinary freshmen seminar course to strengthen math and scientific literacy; 3) establish a community college transfer pipeline with partner institutions; and 4) deploy AI-assisted learning tools (e.g., Civitas Learning, ChatGPT) to enhance personalized instruction and predictive analytics. Successful completion of this project has the potential to transform STEM Education at Tougaloo College resulting in improved student success outcomes for STEM students and increased scholarly output for the university’s STEM faculty. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.