South Florida State College has
been awarded a nearly $5 million, five-year grant from the U.S. Department of
Education to launch a postsecondary Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
(STEM) project called “Re-Engineering Our Future.” Similar to one of FLATE’s
outreach initiatives in reaching out to a diverse populace that include
reaching out to students in rural areas, SFSC’s Re-Engineering Our Future project is expected to create educational
opportunities for Hispanic and low-income students in the college’s service
district of DeSoto, Hardee, and Highlands counties. “We at FLATE are excited to
have SFCC join the ranks of state and community colleges in Florida offering the
Engineering Technology degree, and are looking forward to mentoring their
adoption and implementation” said Dr. Marilyn Barger, Executive Director of
FLATE.
For the project, the SFSC will
focus on four major activities. These will center on developing a high-tech degree
pathway with
transfer into the University of South Florida and Florida
Polytechnic University, to improve pre-collegiate services to better prepare
low-income Hispanic students for these programs; to improve college academic
support and students services to better support low-income Hispanic college
students, and to create a more culturally sensitive campus culture to increase
student engagement and success at the college. Funds from the grant will allow
SFSC to create and adopt new degree programs like the FLATE-developed statewide
A.S. ET degree, mechatronics, and biomedical science. These high-tech degree pathways
are expected to make it easier for students to transfer directly into biomedical
science degree programs at the University of South Florida and/or one of
several engineering programs at Florida Polytechnic University. In fact, SFSC
will be the first college to set up such an articulation agreement with Florida
Polytechnic University.
Through the grant, $1 million worth
of new, state-of-the-art technology will support these programs as well as
enhance the lab sciences courses at the Hardee and DeSoto campuses. Included will be a series of mechatronics and
engineering-specific lab equipment. “This grant will enhance academic and
support services for students seeking STEM degrees,” said Dr. Timothy Wise,
dean of Student Services, and project director for the STEM grant. It will
provide resources to hire specialists who will provide support who can assist
students, such as academic advisors, recruiters, tutors, coaches. The biomedical
science program will make use of a negative 80 degrees freezer, phase contrast
microscope, fluorescent microscope, illuminometer, and nuclear magnetic
resonant spectrometer. The college also plans to send two instructors to
Berlin, Germany, for Level One and Level Two Siemens mechatronics training and
certification. Siemens is known for offering the gold standard of training in
the field of mechatronics.
SFSC’s student population is 30.6
percent Hispanic, and is considered a Hispanic-serving institution. The grant
will allow SFSC to
reach out to students and their families, and expand campus-based
services and support for Hispanic students. For instance, the college will
produce Spanish language versions of key student services materials focused on
graduation and transfer. The college will create a more culturally-sensitive
institutional environment through employee professional development sessions.
Given the critical role mathematics plays in serving as a firm foundation for preparing
students for STEM majors, a summer program called MathSteps will be available
to recent high school graduates, first-year-in-college students, and dually
enrolled students. It will prepare students for college-level mathematics and all
the way through pre-calculus, if needed.
Students will be able to
participate in a residential program developed in conjunction with Florida Gulf
Coast University so SFSC students can learn more about what engineering
students do. Other student support will include expanding tutoring
opportunities for the college’s Hardee and Highlands campuses. SFSC will also create
a Spanish language version of its new student orientation and develop an
orientation specifically for parents of potential students so families of
students can learn more about the first year of college. Plans are also
underway for SFSC to employ an early alert program so instructors, coaches, or
support personnel can better identify students who are running into academic, or
personal stumbling blocks.
Students who have graduated from
SFSC and encounter the challenges of transition to a university will be able to
rely upon ‘Inside Track’ coaching for support. This nationally recognized,
distance-based coaching service assists students in navigating through the
academic experience. “The ‘Re-Engineering Our Future’ project is a perfect
example of how education and economic development can work together,” Dr.
Leitzel said. To sustain the momentum of the “Re-Engineering Our Future”
project, SFSC will kick start a $250,000 endowment to go hand-in-hand with SFSC
Foundation’s Partnership Project. Donations to the endowment would be matched
one-to-one and used to support ongoing programs and student scholarships for
Hispanic and low-income students.
For
more information about the SFSC STEM grant contact Erik Christensen, Dean of
Applied Sciences and Technologies at Erik.Christensen@southflorida.edu/863.784.7424,
or visit http://www.southflorida.edu.
For information on FLATE’s STEM-based programs and initiatives and the
award-winning A.S degree in Engineering Technology visit the Made in Florida page, or contact Dr.
Marilyn Barger at barger@fl-ate.org.
