GEOPATHS-IMPACT: GROWING GEOSCIENCE ENROLLMENT THROUGH ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS WITH NORTH CAROLINA COMMUNITY COLLEGES

North Carolina Central University (NCCU) received a three-year (2019- 2022) NSF GEOPATHS-IMPACT award that will help us create sustainable partnerships with two North Carolina community colleges – Carteret Community College (CCC) and Alamance Community College (ACC). Both institutions were selected because of their proximity, the population they serve (rural students in case of CCC and urban, minority students in case of ACC), and the interest in developing the associate geoscience programs. HBCUs make up less than 5% of the US higher education institutions yet award 37% of all B.S. degrees in physical sciences earned by African American students. As NCCU is a top producer of minority geosciences graduates, strengthening the quality of geoscience education and creating long lasting partnership with community colleges will have a significant impact on the future of the geosciences workforce in North Carolina.

NCCU is leading this effort by: 1) Creating an online version of the existing 4-year Geoscience Concentration for B.S. in the Environmental and Geographic Sciences degree, thus allowing transfer students from partner community colleges flexibility of completing a 4-year degree without leaving their communities; 2) Providing online transfer students “critical positive experiences” that research has identified as creating a sense of belonging to the geoscience profession and influencing career choices; and 3) Ensuring sustainability of the program by formalizing partnerships by negotiating memorandums of understanding with ACC and CCC and by reaching out to other potential community college partners. The state of North Carolina has one of the most developed community college systems in the nation consisting of 58 community colleges, and this network will be used to spread geospatial programs across the state. NCCU is uniquely positioned to lead this work as it one of a few HBCUs that has both undergraduate and graduate degrees in geosciences and has a long history of graduating African American students in STEM fields. This project will address critical needs for each partner institution while increasing recruitment and retention of students traditionally underrepresented in geosciences by providing seamless pathways from associate degrees to a 4-year B.S. in Geosciences.