Santa monica college (SMC), a comprehensive, transfer-oriented hispanic-serving community college addressing the educational needs of west LOS angeles county in southern california, is seeking…

Santa monica college (SMC), a comprehensive, transfer-oriented hispanic-serving community college addressing the educational needs of west LOS angeles county in southern california, is seeking cipair funding to develop the curriculum alignment and research advancement (cara) project: bridging community college stem education with the NASA mission. Through this initiative, SMC will strengthen its stem curricula through a two-pronged interdisciplinary approach designed to raise faculty and student awareness of NASA's strategic goals and career opportunities, while supporting the development of skills necessary to be successful in these positions. SMC will utilize grant funds to support: * faculty fellowships at the jet propulsion laboratory; * curriculum improvements, including the integration of NASA-related content in existing coursework; * curriculum development, including four new courses to address specific workforce skills; and * development of faculty/student research projects, utilizing the expertise and resources of the jet propulsion laboratory and the university of california LOS angeles. The cara project will engage faculty and students from the physical sciences, computer sciences, earth sciences, and environmental sciences, thus ensuring that students from multiple disciplines have access to program resources. The nature of the community college experience is such that many students enter without clear career goals and often unaware of potential educational and career pathways. For this reason, students use their time to identify their interests and aptitudes and to develop the skills necessary to be successful when they transfer. Students often change course as they realize their potential and other opportunities available to them. This is particularly true in community college stem programming as students change majors as new and exciting options are presented to them. As such, the interdisciplinary approach to integrating NASA-related content is essential because IT is likely that NASA's future workforce will enter the pipeline through an array of portals, including such new and emerging fields as computer gaming, cyber technology/defense, and environmental sustainability, as well as more traditional paths, like astronomy, chemistry, and physics. By moving forward in a concerted effort, faculty from each department will help assure access to all students. Faculty are key to the success of this project. They must understand and embrace the NASA mission and culture and be able to share this information with their students. This project will support faculty in their efforts to develop long-term relationships with NASA scientists and engineers at JPL through such activities as faculty fellowships, recruitment of NASA personnel as guest lecturers, and ongoing support and guidance by NASA personnel to the faculty/student research teams. Recognizing that student research opportunities may be limited at JPL, SMC faculty will also engage faculty from the university of california, LOS angeles, to further integrate research into the community college curriculum. The cara project will target student populations who are traditionally underrepresented in stem disciplines, including hispanic and african american students. As predominantly low-income, first generation college students, many of these students have not considered NASA as a potential employer and long-term career opportunity. Thus, this project will expand the horizons of students who may think that NASA is beyond their reach and/or not interested in what they have to offer.