Progress 10/01/06 to 09/30/07

Outputs
Objective 1. SRSU and TAMU have finalized their Cooperative Doctoral Program and a Memorandum of Agreement has been approved by both universities. Two members of the faculty from each university serve on a Cooperative Doctoral Program Advisory Committee. During Phase 1 of the project, the staff recruited and graduated nine Masters of Science (M.S.) students (six from SRSU and three from TAMU), all of which are Hispanic. Three of the nine students have been successfully recruited into the Cooperative Doctoral Program. Objective 2. The staff successfully coordinated the purchase and installation of a videoconferencing link between SRSU and TAMU. Videoconferencing equipment has been used frequently to discuss logistics of the current grant, as a mechanism to obtain input on graduate research projects from "distant" committee members, and as the primary medium for course content. Project collaborators piloted a course using the smart-classroom technology. Project collaborators co-taught the graduate course composed of fellowship recipients and other graduate students (16). Student evaluations of the course were very high (3.8 on 4.0 scale). Objective 3. Project collaborators are currently finalizing course materials associated with our summer field course designed to bring faculty and fellows from TAMU and SRSU together in an intense two-week course. Objective 4. The project staff believes this objective has had the most impact in or ability to recruit underrepresented students into higher education. Seven research technicians (all Hispanic) have been hired using grant funds. Students are hired as research technicians and gradually introduced to the scientific method and field research. This exposure has allowed staff to mentor undergraduates and encourage them through their academic careers. Because of this program, the staff successfully recruited four of the six undergraduates into our respective graduate programs. In addition to assisting with their research projects, all students were provided mentoring with college career alternatives including agriculture, participated in several professional development seminars focusing on agriculture, and visited with various faculty from SRSU and TAMU. The staff believes this type of experiential learning and mentoring has great benefits. The agriculture and science higher education programs have experienced a 75 percent recruitment rate. Although these results are based on the small number of students, we believe this model can be applied across all agriculture disciplines at SRSU and TAMU that have research projects. Objective 5. This project has been very successful in networking with fellow professionals at Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK) and New Mexico State University (NMSU), as well as, between the two partnering universities (SRSU, TAMU). Of the seven fellows enrolled in the program, two originated from NMSU, two from SRSU, two from TAMUK, and one from TAMU. The staff is also networking with other agricultural professionals and trying to expand its linkages with other four- and two-year programs. PRODUCTS: The tangible products of this project include (1) a new Cooperative Doctoral Program and its' accompanying curriculum (Advisory Board, Adjunct Faculty, degree plans, courses, fellowships, etc) between SRSU and TAMU, (2) a teleconferencing network to enhance educational exchange between SRSU and TAMU, (3) a new course for both campuses that promotes cultural awareness as well as educational rigor, (4) a network between resource agencies and the respective universities established through the internship program, and (5) a network for recruiting Hispanic students among 3 HSIs (SRSU, NMSU, TAMUK) and a leading land-grant institution (TAMU). OUTCOMES: The results of this project will include increased recruitment and retention of Hispanics and other underrepresented populations into agricultural sciences at TAMU, SRSU, NMSU and TAMUK. Thus far we have been able to matriculate 7 Hispanic graduate students into our program because of this grant. Once they graduate we are providing a better educated and experienced work force that is better represented by Hispanics. In addition, we have been able to provide a cost-effective use of our limited resources to better educate students at both universities. By collaborating (across 500 miles) via our teleconferencing network, we are saving money and exposing students to new cultures, programs, and regions. Our initial proposal of 1 course has expanded to 4 courses in less than 2 years time. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: Dissemination activities have come in a variety of forms. Advertising for graduate students via listservers, job boards, and flyers has been an unanticipated method of exposure for our project. Media releases (e.g., newspapers, alumni propaganda, and websites) have promoted our Coop Doc program and the collaborative project. All research presentation that are supported from this grant acknowledge the project and USDA. FUTURE INITIATIVES: Presently, our staff is seeking additional funding from other agencies and organizations to build upon the success of our multi-institutional higher education program.

Impacts
At this early stage it is difficult to truly gauge the impact of our project. However, every indication suggests our collaborative project will have a tremendous impact. Our impact is best measured by the number of students we influence (7 Hispanic graduate students to date) with the majority of our impact coming in the last 2 years of this 3 year grant. We project that our minority enrollment in our graduate programs alone will increase by 15% in the first 2 years of the grant. The number of new courses offered via distance education will also increase by 10% within the first 2 years. Additionally, we are unable to measure the impact we will have with our undergraduate internships and mentoring program until that phase of the project is launched in the coming year.

Publications

• No publications reported this period

Progress 10/01/04 to 09/30/05

Outputs
Based on the proposed timeframe, we are on-track for all objectives. Below is a brief description of each objective and the status of each objective. Obj 1: Develop a Cooperative Doctoral (Coop Doc) Program in Natural Resources between SRSU and TAMU. We established an Advisory Committee for the Coop Doc Program in Natural Resource Management. Based on their input, we drafted an articulation agreement specifying degree requirements for the Coop Doc. SRSU and TAMU obtained the necessary signatures to formalize the Coop Doc between the Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences (TAMU), Dept. of Rangeland Ecology and Management (TAMU) and the Dept. of Natural Resource Management (SRSU). Representative faculty obtained Adjunct Faculty status at the partnering university. To date, SRSU and TAMU have successfully recruited and employed 7 Hispanic graduate students using fellowships. Three of these students plan to continur with their education and enrolling in the Coop Doc program. Obj 2: Facilitate educational exchange between SRSU and TAMU. We coordinated the purchase and installation of a videoconferencing link between SRSU and TAMU. Videoconferencing equipment has been used frequently to discuss logistics of the current grant, as a mechanism to obtain input on graduate research projects from distant committee members, and as the primary medium for course content. Project collaborators piloted a course (Analysis of Radiotelemetry Data) using the smart-classroom technology. Project collaborators co-taught the graduate course composed of fellowship recipients and other graduate students (16). Student evaluations of the course were very high. Obj 3: Initiate a team-taught course to promote cultural exchange and awareness between students and faculty at SRSU and TAMU. In Fall 2005, we piloted our first co-taught course that is broadcast to the respective partnering university (see above for details). We are also tentatively offering 2 other courses simultaneously between TAMU and SRSU for Fall 2006. Project collaborators are currently finalizing course materials associated with our summer field course. The summer course is designed to bring faculty and fellows from TAMU and SRSU together in an intense 2-week course. We currently have 3 tentative sites selected for our course that are centered on graduate student research sites: East Texas, West Texas, and Northern Mexico. Obj 4: Enhance experiential learning opportunities for minorities through internships. Although this phase of the project does not start until year 2, we are currently screening undergraduates at the respective universities to participate in our internship program we plan to offer. Obj 5: Strengthen linkages with other HSIs with agriculture programs. We have been very successful in networking with fellow professionals at TAMU-Kingsville (TAMUK) and New Mexico State University (NMSU), as well as, between the 2 partnering universities (SRSU, TAMU). Of the 7 fellows enrolled in our program, 2 originated from NMSU, 2 from SRSU, 2 from TAMUK, and 1 from TAMU. We are also networking with other agricultural professionals and trying to expand our linkages with other 4- and 2-year programs. PRODUCTS: The tangible products of this project include (1) a new Cooperative Doctoral Program and its accompanying curriculum (Advisory Board, Adjunct Faculty, degree plans, courses, fellowships, etc) between SRSU and TAMU, (2) a teleconferencing network to enhance educational exchange between SRSU and TAMU, (3) a new course for both campuses that promotes cultural awareness as well as educational rigor, (4) a network between resource agencies and the respective universities established through the internship program, and (5) a network for recruiting Hispanic students among 3 HSIs (SRSU, NMSU, TAMUK) and a leading land-grant institution (TAMU). OUTCOMES: The results of this project will include increased recruitment and retention of Hispanics and other underrepresented populations into agricultural sciences at TAMU, SRSU, NMSU and TAMUK. Thus far we have been able to matriculate 7 Hispanic graduate students into our program because of this grant. Once they graduate we are providing a better educated and experienced work force that is better represented by Hispanics. In addition, we have been able to provide a cost-effective use of our limited resources to better educate students at both universities. By collaborating (across 500 miles) via our teleconferencing network, we are saving money and exposing students to new cultures, programs, and regions. Our initial proposal of 1 course has expanded to 4 courses in less than 2 years time. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: Dissemination activities have come in a variety of forms. Advertising for graduate students via listservers, job boards, and flyers has been an unanticipated method of exposure for our project. Media releases (e.g., newspapers, alumni propaganda, and websites) have promoted our Coop Doc program and the collaborative project. All research presentation that are supported from this grant acknowledge the project and USDA. Additionally, project collaborators have been working on a manuscript to chronicle the success of this project. FUTURE INITIATIVES: The partnership between SRSU and TAMU seems to have endless possibilities. During the past year, project collaborators have formed an allegiance that is analogous to the collegiality found within a department. This collegiality would not have been possible with out this grant. Currently, we are formulating additional collaborative efforts for research, teaching, and project proposals (USDA, NSF, private foundations) that will provide more opportunities for underrepresented students. We have already surpassed the proposed number of co-taught courses, number of graduate student that have benefited from our collaboration, and the number of students that are projected to matriculate into the Coop Doc program that was established by this grant.

Impacts
At this early stage it is difficult to truly gauge the impact of our project. However, every indication suggests our collaborative project will have a tremendous impact. Our impact is best measured by the number of students we influence (7 Hispanic graduate students to date) with the majority of our impact coming in the last 2 years of this 3 year grant. We project that our minority enrollment in our graduate programs alone will increase by 15% in the first 2 years of the grant. The number of new courses offered via distance education will also increase by 10% within the first 2 years. Additionally, we are unable to measure the impact we will have with our undergraduate internships and mentoring program until that phase of the project is launched in the coming year.

Publications

• No publications reported this period