INCREASING PARTICIPATION IN THE GEOSCIENCES AT EL PASO COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Currently community colleges serve 44% of all undergraduate students and 45% of all of all first-time freshmen in the US. Hispanics now constitute 15% of the general population and 19% of our community college population. This increase has led to more institutions emerging as HSI (Hispanic Serving Institution) by the federal government. These facts illustrate the potential community colleges hold to encourage minorities as well as non-minorities to major in STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) fields. But the reality is the number of STEM associate degrees awarded at community colleges has not followed the same trends as enrollment. El Paso Community College (EPCC) currently enrolls 27,000 students with Hispanics comprising 85% of the student body. More than 130 programs of study are offered, including an Associate of Science degree in Geological Sciences. Over the past three years we have implemented several initiatives in our effort to increase the number of Geological Science (GS) majors at EPCC. These efforts are aimed at: (1) decreasing attrition rates of science majors by streamlining the GS degree plan along with the process of class registration, (2) introducing field-based projects that allow hands-on research and the development of a working relationship with faculty at the local four year institution (University of Texas at El Paso), (3) increasing the number of geology courses offered including a field-based capstone course (GEOL 2407- Geological Field Methods), and (4) strengthening the educational-bridge between the Geological Science Departments of EPCC and University of Texas at El Paso.