# Presentation: 720952

## Bridges To the Baccalaureate Program

**Shiva P. Singh, Ph.D.**
**Division of Minority Opportunities in Research**
**National Institute of General Medical Sciences**
**National Institutes of Health, USDHHS**
**April 18, 2008**

## Outline of Presentation

**Overview of Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program (****PAR-07-411****)**
**Guidance for****  ****Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program Development **

## Bridges Program Goals

- 	An **institutional** program funded by NIGMS and NCMHD that is designed to increase the number of community college students from underrepresented groups and/or health disparities populations (URMs) who transfer and complete the baccalaureate degree in biomedical and behavioral sciences.** **
**	**

## The Bridges Program Emphasizes:

**	****Institutional Focus:** with impact on Bridges and non-Bridges students alike so more students transfer from the community college to the four-year institution.
**	****Partnership **of 2-year community colleges with four-year institutions
- 	“**Baccalaureate Readiness”** Program** **with well-integrated activities that will provide URMs with the necessary academic preparation and skills to enable their transition and successful completion of the baccalaureate degree in biomedical/behavioral sciences.
**	****Clear Expectations and Accountability**

## Partnership/Consortium

**Purpose:** To facilitate a seamless transition of targeted
- 	students from two-year to four-year institutions and their
- 	subsequent graduation with baccalaureate degrees in
- 	biomedical/behavioral sciences
- Up to 4 institutions in the partnership, including the applicant institution, unless strongly justified otherwise
- An institution may participate in more than one Bridges
- 	partnership if strongly justified by the potential to magnify
- 	the programs’ and institution’s outcomes

## Bridges Students

- Students from groups underrepresented in the biomedical and behavioral research enterprise of the nation and/or populations disproportionately affected by health disparities (targeted groups). Nationally, these groups include, but are not limited to, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans (including Alaska Natives), Natives of the U.S. Pacific Islands, and/or rural Appalachians.
- Must be U.S. citizens or non-citizen nationals or permanent residents.
- Must be matriculated full-time in an associate degree program in biomedical/behavioral science fields at the partner community college.

*(**Students who receive support in the form of salaries/wages)*

## Student Selection & Critical Mass

**Student Selection****  **
- Institution’s responsibility to establish student qualifications
- Describe the criteria for selection and retention of Bridges students into the program
**Critical Mass**
- 15-20 Bridges students in the program, each year
- 4 Bridges students from each community college

## Program Expectations

- Baseline Data & Goals to Improve
- Effective Partnerships
- Strong Pool of Targeted Students
- Well-integrated Student Development Activities year-round
- Strong Institutional Commitment
- Sound Evaluation Plan

## What Are the Baseline Data & Measurable Objectives?

**Baseline**
- The baseline is a starting point; it serves as a guide to capacity,
- 	and is necessary to gauge the impact of the program. For example,
- 	an increase of 100% on a base of 1 is not nearly as impressive as if
- 	it were on a base of 10.
- Usually it’s an average data over a 3-5 year period
**Measurable Objectives**
- These are brief (and focused) statements of end results –
- 	connected to the long range goal. They can be qualitative and
- 	quantitative, but must be measurable.
- They are not a means to an end, or a checklist of “to do” list.
- The activities proposed are the means to achieve your goals and
- 	objectives.

## Examples of Baseline Data & Measurable Objectives

- 	An application proposes to increase the number of community college students who transfer to four-year institutions in biomedically relevant sciences
- How many and what percent of its students currently transfer to four-year institutions in biomedically relevant disciplines? (baseline)
- What is the proposed number and percentage of students who will transfer to four-year institutions in biomedically relevant disciplines during the grant period (measurable objective)

## Examples of Baseline Data & Objectives, cont.

**Institutional Baseline:****  **
- 	Out of a total of 100 potential transfer students (60% non-URM and 40% URM), 18 non-URMs (30%) and 8 URMs (20%) actually transfer to 4-year institutions in biomedically relevant disciplines per year (average data from 2004-2007).
**Institutional Objective:**
- 	The URM transfer in biomedically relevant disciplines will increase from the current rate of 20% to 30% (from an average of 8 to 12 students per year) by the fourth year of the grant award.

## Examples of Baseline Data & Objectives, cont.

**	****Bridges Baseline on Students Transfer -**** **An average of 5 out of 10 (50%) Bridges students in the program transferred to a 4-year institution in biomedically relevant disciplines per year (average data from 2004-2007).
**	****Objective -** The transfer of Bridges students from the program to 4-year institutions in biomedically relevant disciplines will increase from the current rate of 50% to 70% (from an average of 5 to 7 students per year) by the fourth year of the grant award.
**	****	**
**	****Bridges Baseline on Degree Completion -**** **An average of 2 out of 5 (40%) transferring Bridges students completed the baccalaureate degree in biomedically relevant disciplines per year during the previous funding cycle (average data from 2004-2007).
- 	**Objective -** Bridges students’ baccalaureate degree completion in biomedically relevant disciplines will increase from the current rate of 40% to about 60% (to 4 graduates per year) by the fourth year of the grant award.

## Goals to Improve the Track Record

- Clearly stated goals, and measurable objectives relative to the baseline and in context of NIH expectations
- Must improve on the previous record and make substantial progress towards meeting the NIH expectations during the next 5 years

## NIH Expectations

**Institutional**
- Increase in the institutional transfer of targeted students (Bridges & non-Bridges) to 4-year institutions in biomedically relevant sciences by 50% in five years
**Bridges**
- Increase in the retention and academic preparation of Bridges students as a result of curricular changes, skills development, and mentored research experiences, etc.
- Increase in the transfer of Bridges students to baccalaureate degree programs in biomedically relevant sciences (70% in five years)** **
- Increase in the degree completion of transferring Bridges students (75% in five years)

## BASELINE DATA AND OBJECTIVES

| Applicant Institution/Unified Institutional Program | Partner Institutions | Institutional Transfer of URMs and non-URMs (# of students who transfer/ # of potential transfer students) | Institutional Objectives on the Transfer of URMs | Bridges Transfer (# of Bridges students who transfer/ total # of Bridges students in the program) & Degree Completion (# of Bridges students who complete the baccalaureate degree/ # of transferring Bridges students) | Bridges Objectives on the Transfer & Degree Completion  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Great University | Champion Community College |   |   |   |   |
|   |  |   |   |   |   |
|   | Valley Community College |   |   |   |   |
|   |  |   |   |   |   |
|   | Star Community College |   |   |   |   |
|   |  |   |   |   |   |
| Unified Institutional Program |   |   |   |   |   |

## Examples of Developmental Activities

- To Move the Institution Forward from Baseline to NIH Expectations
- Developing community college courses and curricula that are
- 	fully transferable to the baccalaureate institution
- Four-year institution faculty serving as visiting lecturers at the two-year institution, or developing joint team-taught courses
- Introduction of research concepts into the community college
- 	curriculum and/or offering a research skills course to stimulate
- 	students’ interest in science
- Supplementary instruction in “gate-keeping” courses at the community college
- Mentored research experiences for the Bridges students,
- 	including summer research internships

## Examples of Developmental Activities, Cont.

- Skills development (e.g., critical thinking, communications skills, study and time management skills) workshops
- Preparing community college students, through college orientation classes, etc., for transfer to the 4-year institution
- Peer mentoring and tutoring, and research career seminars
- Advanced or special courses for Bridges faculty (CC)* *at the partner 4-year institution
- Research education conferences for Bridges faculty (CC)
- Research conferences for 4-year faculty mentors, if accompanying students making presentations
- Others

## Institutional Commitment

- 	Strong commitment to the goals of the proposed program from all participating institutions, including commitment to:
- Provide the institutional data on transfer of URMs and non-URMs in biomedically relevant sciences
- Provide data on transfer and degree completion by Bridges students in biomedically relevant sciences
- Track Bridges students over a ten-year period as they progress through the pipeline
- Institutionalize some of the Bridges-supported activities

## Evaluation

**Purpose:** Provide information useful to the applicant and the partner institutions for improving the program, and for institutionalizing the most effective activities supported by the Bridges program.
- A sound evaluation plan, with timeline, that’s in-line with measurable goals and objectives
- Identify the selected evaluator and include his/her biosketch

## Consortium Agreement

- Consortium agreement between the associate and baccalaureate
- 	 degree-granting institutions define the participating institutions’
- 	respective roles in administering the Bridges program.
- The application must include a letter from each collaborating
- 	institution signed by the appropriate institutional officials and
- 	program director/program coordinator, acknowledging participation
- 	in the program. These letters must also include the following:
- 	**“****THE APPROPRIATE PROGRAMMATIC AND ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL **
**	****OF**** ****EACH INSTITUTION INVOLVED IN THIS GRANT APPLICATION ARE AWARE **
**	****OF THE**** ****NIH CONSORTIUM GRANT POLICY AND ARE PREPARED TO**
**	**** ****ESTABLISH THE**** ****NECESSARY INTER-INSTITUTIONAL AGREEMENT(S) **
**	****CONSISTENT WITH THAT POLICY.”**

## Budget and Years of Support

- The program provides support for student, faculty, and institutional development activities.
- Budget must be reasonable, well documented, and fully justified and commensurate with the scope of the proposed program
- Duration: up to five years

## Guidance for  Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program Development

## Develop a Plan

- Read the FOA and F&Qs
- Institutional assessment and gather baseline data-how many transferring/graduating with BS, why not more transferring/graduating? what can change so more will transfer/graduate?
- What are the institutional needs?
- What is your long range goal?
- What are your goals and measurable objectives?
- What activities will help your institution achieve these objectives
- How will you evaluate your program outcomes?
- Follow all of the instructions in writing the application!!

## Application Components/Organization

**Project Summary, & Performance site (s)**
**Facilities & other Resources**
**Key Persons and their Biographical Sketches**
**Budget**
**Research Plan:**

## Application Components/Org., Cont.

**Research Plan:**
**(Introduction)**
**Specific Aims and Measurable Objectives**
**Background and Significance: ****Institutional & student data; vision and anticipated value**
**Preliminary Studies or Progress Report: ****Specific Outcome Data & Impact on the Institution**
**Research Design & Methods:**

## Application Components/Org., Cont.

**Research Design & Methods:**
**PD and Program Faculty**
**Developmental Activities:**
**The rationale and detailed description**
**Who will implement and the timeline**
**Possible pitfalls and alternative approaches**
**Responsible Conduct of Research**
**Evaluation Plan**
**Consortium Agreements**

## Presentation of Data

- Present data in figures, graphs, tables or text
- Place figures, tables, and graphs close to where they are referred to in the text
- Make all figures, tables, and graphs clearly legible
- Avoid irrelevant information
- Do not use the Appendix to circumvent the page limitations of the Research Plan

## Common Reasons for Failure

- Missing or inadequate baseline data
- Lack of clear and well-defined measurable objectives
- Lack of adequate progress
- Activities poorly related to the objectives
- Poorly developed or missing evaluation plan
- Lack of institutional commitment or support
- Lack of  coordination with other institutional programs aimed at accomplishing similar goals
- “Program-centric” application vs. institutional application

## Summary: Bridges “Essentials”

**Institutional baseline data on enrollment and transfer of URM & non-URM students in biomedically relevant disciplines**
**Bridges baseline data on the transfer and baccalaureate degree completion of targeted students**
**Clear statement of program goals, specific aims, and measurable objectives relative to the baseline**
**Detailed progress report, if applicable**
**PD/PI, Coordinators, and program faculty with appropriate training and experience**
**Detailed description of developmental activities**
**Sound evaluation plan (see for example, **_[http://](http://oerl.sri.com/)__[oerl.sri.com](http://oerl.sri.com/)__[/](http://oerl.sri.com/)_** and **_[http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2002/nsf02057/start.htm](http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2002/nsf02057/start.htm)_**)**
**A plan for training in responsible conduct of research**
**Evidence of strong institutional commitment**
**Consortium Agreement with “specific language”**
**A well justified budget that is commensurate with the scope of the proposed program**

## BASELINE DATA AND OBJECTIVES

| Applicant
Institution/
Unified
Institutional
Program | Partner
Institutions | Institutional
Transfera
of URMs and
non-URMs | Institutional
Objectivesb on
the Transfer of URMs | Bridges
Transferc &
Degree 
Completiond | Bridges Objectivesb
on the Transfer &
Degree Completion |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Great
University

 | Champion
Community
College |   |   |   |   |
|  | Valley
Community
College |   |   |   |   |
|  | Star Community
College |   |   |   |   |
| Unified
Institutional
Program |  
  |   |   |   |   |

## INSTRUCTIONS

- a Provide the number and percent of URMs and non-URMs who transfer to a 4-year institution in biomedically relevant sciences from each participating community college. Usually this is an average data over a 3-5 year period. The institutional transfer is calculated by the number of students who actually transfer to a 4-year institution in biomedically relevant sciences divided by the number of potential transfer students. The potential transfer students may be defined as those undergraduate students in biomedically relevant sciences who are enrolled in an associate degree program, taking 12 or more credit hours and have declared an intent to transfer, etc., depending upon the institutional setting.
- b The objectives must be measurable, relative to the current baseline and in context of NIH expectations (see FOA for details)
- c Provide the number and percent of Bridges students in the program who transferred to a 4-year institution in biomedically relevant sciences during the previous funding cycle. The transfer is calculated by the number of Bridges students who actually transferred divided by the total number of Bridges students in the program. Provide the collective data for the entire program (not the individual partner community college)
- d Provide the number and percent of Bridges students in the program who completed the baccalaureate degree in biomedically relevant sciences during the previous funding cycle. The degree completion is calculated by the number of Bridges students who actually completed the baccalaureate degree divided by the total number of transferring Bridges students. Provide the collective data for the entire program (not the individual partner community college)