The city university of new york cuny is partnering with the NASA goddard space flight center gsfc to both enhance stem experience of community college students, thereby contributing to the development…

This $750,000.00 cooperative agreement was awarded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to the Research Foundation of the City University of New York (RFCUNY), doing business as RFCUNY - Queensborough Community College. The contract is part of the CUNY-NASA Solar and Atmospheric Research Program and Education Partnership (CUNY-NASA SOLARPREP), which aims to enhance the STEM experience of community college students and increase the participation of underrepresented groups in STEM fields. The project will focus on curriculum improvements, expanded engineering options, and engaging students, teachers, and faculty in NASA's space weather and heliophysics research. SOLARPREP will be piloted at Queensborough Community College and later expanded to other CUNY and local community colleges. The contract is not designated as a set-aside and has an ultimate completion date of May 31, 2020.

The city university of new york cuny is partnering with the NASA goddard space flight center gsfc to both enhance stem experience of community college students, thereby contributing to the development of the workforce, and increase the participation of groups historically under represented in stem fields. The cuny NASA solar and atmospheric research program and education partnership cuny NASA solarprep will primarily focus on the MC3I framework curriculum improvements in stem as degree and transfer programs, and will also include activities that will expand curricular options in engineering. Solarprep aims at developing a community of faculty, gsfc research scientists, students and teachers that will be engaged in educational activities and applied research in solar, geospace, and atmospheric physics, under the umbrella discipline of space weather. The proposal also has the capacity to further strengthen partnerships between cuny and other institutions such as the university of colorado at boulder colorado center for astrodynamics research ccar, the catholic university of america CUA, and the new york space grant consortium, which will result in the leveraging of educational and research resources. The project is particularly relevant to two of nasas objectives 1 understand the sun and its interactions with earth and the solar system, including space weather and 2 advance the nations stem education and workforce pipeline by working collaboratively with other agencies to engage students, teachers, and faculty in nasas missions and unique assets. Solarprepp will be based at the queensborough community college of cuny. During the first year of the project, project activities will be pilot tested at QCC with its students and faculty however workshops will be open to outside participants. The second year will be open to all cuny community colleges and in the final third year, other local area community college students and faculty can participate. The project will also use evidence based best practices research experience, mentoring, outreach, recruitment, engagement and partnership with 4 year colleges and institutions that have proven successful at increasing the retention, transfer and graduation rates of community college students at minority serving institutions msis. This project will offer benefits to society by providing future researchers with an understanding of space weather impacts on earths environment. Through a strong collaboration with cuny ccny NOAA crest, CUS colorado center for astrodynamics research ccar, and NASA gsfc space weather research center, the project will train and retain underrepresented community college students in NASA related stem fields.