USDE Title III HSI STEM - ACCESO

Cabrillo College proposes Advancing in College & Career-pathways to Expand STEM Opportunities (ACCESO), a five-year HSI STEM and Articulation project addressing the goals of increasing access to and baccalaureate transfer in high-demand STEM fields, including Biotechnology (Biotech) among Latino and/or Low-income students. Activities and services include the following:

1. Develop contextualized math courses with active learning components to increase the pipeline of Latino and low-income STEM students with a focus on dual enrollment to enhance student momentum to completion;

2. Develop/revise/pilot courses for a new A.S. degree in Biotechnology;

3. Provide professional development to faculty in active learning & equity pedagogy;

4. Provide STEM outreach to high school students to encourage pursuing STEM pathways;

5. Provide Biotech career pathway development and articulation including curricula alignment, program map development, and establishing articulation agreements with neighboring universities such as UCSC, SJSU, and UC Davis;

6. Provide integrated student support services that are evidence-based and align with the college's Guided Pathways initiative;

7. Connect students with work-based learning opportunities in Biotech / STEM and organize STEM Colloquium with industry speakers to inspire students in STEM careers.

NSF - LSAMP 2021 - 2024

The California Central Coast Community College Collaborative (C6) is an innovative, cross-disciplinary, and multi-institutional collaboration developed by STEM programs and leaders from eight community colleges. The C6 Alliance will launch a model for how community college STEM programs can collaborate and leverage existing support structures and best practices across the member institutions to address inequities in STEM outcomes for a population of students who are too often ignored: first generation Hispanic/Latinx and other URMs in rural areas. The C6 Alliance is focusing on three pillars to support URM STEM majors: (1) Research Opportunities: Fall Research Symposium and university and LSAMP partnerships, (2) Academic Support: Embedded Tutors in gateway STEM courses, and (3) Professional Development/Career Exploration for students and for faculty: workshops, mentoring, and networking. Reinforcing each pillar is a commitment to creating culturally sensitive, relevant and responsive learning environments. For more information please contact Sarah Hulick, Project Director.

• USDE HSI Sustainability in STEM Grant: 2016 - 2021

  Cabrillo College, a Hispanic-Serving Institution in Aptos, CA proposes Sustainability in STEM, a five-year project designed to address the purposes of the HSI STEM and Articulation program. Cabrillo proposes to develop/revise key STEM curricula to infuse content and resources related to environmental sustainability and to develop/pilot student-centered services that promote STEM success, persistence, degree completion, and transfer. New/revised curricula will allow establishment of transferable AS degrees in Sustainable Agricultural Technology and Environmental Sciences, as well as a new Certificate in Sustainability, while expanding transfer pathways to "green" STEM bachelor's degrees at University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) institutions. Robust student-centered services include STEM advising, coaching for STEM majors, and STEM tutoring, with outcomes including increased STEM enrollment, degree completion, and transfer.

• USDE HSI STEM Grant: 2011-2016

  The HSI STEM project enables Cabrillo College to significantly scale up and centralize STEM student support services and activities to facilitate broader participation, greater persistence and higher rates of transfer into baccalaureate programs. One of the key project components includes the remodel of Building 800 on the Aptos campus, centralizing Engineering Technology, Engineering, Physics, Computer Science and Computer Information Systems programs with new laboratories, new classrooms and a new STEM Center (Home to MESA, the PLC and the Networking Lab). Additional components include a STEM Summer Program, increased academic support through peer led workshops and tutoring, developing a model articulation and transfer initiative, and building a comprehensive STEM database to allow faculty and administrators to make evidence-based decisions and improvements. The HSI STEM project is funded by the US Department of Education's Higher Education Programs Division, Institutional Service Office under the HSI STEM and Articulation Program.The Engineering Department was recently awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) S-STEM scholarship grant for engineering majors called SPECS: Scholars Program for Engineering College Students. The objective of the SPECS program is to support academically talented, financially disadvantaged students from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in engineering professions: minorities, women, and first generation college students. The goals of the SPECS program are to increase retention, success, and satisfaction among the scholars so that they transfer to a four year university to complete their BS degree in engineering.

• NSF S-STEM SPECS - Scholarships for Engineering Students: 2015 - 2020

  The Engineering Department was awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) S-STEM scholarship grant for engineering majors called SPECS: Scholars Program for Engineering College Students. The objective of the SPECS program is to support academically talented, financially disadvantaged students from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in engineering professions: minorities, women, and first generation college students. The goals of the SPECS program are to increase retention, success, and satisfaction among the scholars so that they transfer to a four year university to complete their BS degree in engineering.

• NSF EAGER - Engineering Abroad: Guatemala: 2013 - 2017

  Please visit Cabrillo's engineering abroad program for more information.

• NSF STEEP

  The Engineering Department was recently awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) S-STEM scholarship grant for engineering majors called SPECS: Scholars Program for Engineering College Students. The objective of the SPECS program is to support academically talented, financially disadvantaged students from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in engineering professions: minorities, women, and first generation college students. The goals of the SPECS program are to increase retention, success, and satisfaction among the scholars so that they transfer to a four year university to complete their BS degree in engineering.

Cabrillo College was the first MESA program at the community college level, and has been in existence since 1988. MESA programs exist at about one third of the community colleges in California to support low-income high need students in math-based majors to a successful university transfer. The community college MESA program provides academic support for students interested in math, science or engineering with the goal of transferring to a four-year institution. Some of the ways we support students:

• A Study Center

• Academic Excellence Workshops

• Academic, career and financial aid advising

• Transfer assistance

• Assistance in applying for scholarships, internships and research experiences for undergraduates

• Field trips

• Related enrichment programs