HBCU UP

The Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) aims to strengthen the undergraduate curricula, research, student recruitment and retention, and faculty development activities in Agriculture, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (A-STEM).

Virginia State University (VSU) T-CUAR Implementation grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) is a comprehensive educational project that is based on the foundation that was established during the previous HBCU-UP grants.

The VSU’s T-CUAR objectives are:

Through the proposed T-CUAR, the following objectives will be pursued:

1. Increase the number of STEM graduates who will be offered an employment in their field of study or attend a full-time graduate program within six months of their graduation.
2. Increase the number of STEM students who will participate in an international/global study abroad program.
3. Increase the retention of engineering and computer science freshmen. Improve undergraduate research STEM infrastructure

The activities that support these objectives includes:

Conducting a study on closing competency gaps.

The goal of this study is to enhance engineering curricula. T-CUAR will collaborate with local industries to identify the competencies that they desire from engineering graduates. Competency is defined as the capability to apply or use a set of related knowledge, skills, and abilities required to successfully perform critical work functions or tasks in a defined work setting. The intention of this collaboration is to provide a foundation for continuous improvement of engineering programs as well as training our students to enhance their marketability upon their graduation. Data will be collected from industries through survey/interview every five years. 

Applied Summer Research Institute (ASRI)

The purpose of ASRI is to 1) enhance students’ competencies in project management, problem solving, team work, communication, and ethics; 2) improve student retention and graduation; and 3) improve faculty knowledge of competencies that are desired of graduates to meet the needs of industries in their respective fields. This is essential for improvement of our STEM programs. 

Summer Transition and Enhancement Program (STEP)

The purpose of STEP is to provide an in-depth orientation to college life and resources, academic advising. SEB will also provide support for academic coursework; academic support to prepare students for the rigors of college academics and college life and social support. In addition, STEP will build strong networks among students (and faculty) to foster a greater sense of connection to the VSU and to the College Engineering.

STEP is a three-week residential program that will establish a learning community through which will include the Introduction to Engineering course, field trips, and workshops on team building, time management, and leadership. Participants will live in the same residence hall and will enroll in at least two of the same courses during the fall semester

Strengthening the Study Abroad program

T-CUAR staff will work closely with the Office for International Education (OIE) to assist STEM students in identifying study abroad programs appropriate for their major. Under this program, we will work with the OIE to identify suitable partners among foreign institutions that will host our STEM students. VSU is a Direct Member of the International Student Exchange Program (ISEP), through which our students have access to over 150 international universities in over 50 countries.   Working closely with the ISEP university outreach staff, the Director of the OIE asked ISEP to map VSU’s STEM programs and course offerings to help identify international universities that were good matches for our students

Intellectual Merit

Attrition in STEM disciplines continue to be of national concern.  T-CUAR is expected to advance knowledge of factors that lead underrepresented STEM students at HBCUs to persist.  It is essential that students who remain in STEM fields possess the skills and attributes to be highly competitive.  This project will contribute to the understanding of a framework for developing the skills and attributes needed for a successful career in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics

The knowledge that will be gain from this project will enrich STEM curricula and would be extremely beneficial to university career development centers, university administrators, and professionals in the field of STEM teaching and learning. In addition, the proposed activities will advance the competencies of STEM graduates through collaboration with industries and will close the competency gaps that exist in terms of the current skills of university graduates and those desired by industry through applied research and internships. The attained knowledge will be made available to other STEM programs as a foundation for enhancing their curricula and course offerings. The project will also include a Study Abroad program for enhancing VSU STEM graduates’ knowledge and ability to compete in the global marketplace. 

Broader Impact

The contributions of this T-CUAR program to the areas that are defined by the NSF will be as follows:

Advance Discovery and Understanding While Promoting Teaching, Training, and Learning

Integrates research into undergraduate level.

Mentor undergraduate students

Tracking students’ progress after graduation

Encourages student[s] to participate in research and professional conferences.

Broaden Participation of Underrepresented Groups

Establishes research and education in STEM program for African Americans in general and male students in particular

Includes participation of African American students in research and education activities

Establishes research and education collaborations with students from other HBCUs

Enhance Infrastructure for Research and Education

Partners with other institutions, government agencies and industry to provide internships to VSU students

Involves government agencies and industry in pre-college education

Publishes the program in the VSU HBCU-UP website for the general public

Reports the outcomes of the activities to the NSF

Participates in workshops and conferences

Integrate research with education activities.

The HBCU UP program has offered on and off campus internship to A-STEM students. It has increased student’s awareness for doing research and has increased students’ participation in research. All HBCU UP activities are coordinated under the T-CUAR. The activities are interdisciplinary involving all STEM departments at VSU.

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