Assessment of NIH Minority Research and Training Programs Phase 3 (2005) / Chapter Skim
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3 Undergraduate Programs
3 Undergraduate Programs
Pages 47-84
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From page 47... ...
They may also face challenges related to the quality of the research infrastructure at institutions that serve minority populations and whether nonminority faculty take minority students as seriously as they do nonminority students. In order to increase the participation and success of underrepresented minorities, the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
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From page 48... ...
At the undergraduate level, the R25 Bridges to the Baccalaureate program focuses on building partnerships between community or tribal colleges and four-year baccalaureate institutions, with the goal of providing a nearly seamless transition for underrepresented minority students at community or tribal colleges who are interested in careers in biomedical research. It does so by improving the skills and opportunities of these students through coursework and hands-on research experience.
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From page 49... ...
program initiated an Honors Undergraduate Research Training program in 1977 to improve the preparation of an increasing number of underrepresented minority students in their junior and senior years for graduate training in the biomedical sciences. In 1996 it replaced the program with the T34 U*
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From page 50... ...
STAR campus program administrators. (The NIH data contractor did not conduct interviews with T34 COR program administrators.)
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From page 51... ...
For example, among those who participated in the R25 Bridges to the Baccalaureate program, survey respondents were more likely to have transferred to a four-year institution and completed a bachelor's degree than program participants in general. In addition, large numbers of respondents had at least one family member with a bachelor's or graduate degree.
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From page 52... ...
STAR and T34 COR programs -- students who are upperclassmen and may already have focused on graduate school. They were substantially less likely to say they expected the program to increase their chances for admission to a graduate program or to medical school.
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From page 53... ...
One campus administrator said an ideal candidate "would be a student who has an interest in one of the natural sciences and the desire to go on for a baccalaureate and perhaps a further degree." Furthermore, students accepted into the program should be "highly motivated" and have "good follow-through." Other comments by program administrators suggest that, in reality, many students need to be motivated and to increase their confidence and that they still need key skills to help them through the educational process. One administrator said the successful candidate for the program is someone who goes on to earn an M.S.
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From page 54... ...
However, once students are in the program, providing them with a research experience, guidance and counseling, and a sense of how one's education and career unfold after the program is also critical. Many minority students come into the Bridges program knowing little about biomedical research as a career option.
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From page 55... ...
Among those respondents to the trainee survey who were in the R25 Bridges program, for example, a majority indicated that they considered working in the health professions as a career option, compared to a minority of respondents in the T34 U* STAR and T34 COR programs.
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From page 56... ...
As one respondent put it when asked the best feature of the program, "the ability to go into the lab and do the work." A very large majority of R25 Bridges respondents reported having daily or weekly contact with their laboratory or research group, typically 4-10 people and typically including many minority students. In terms of the influence of laboratory or research groups over their careers, however, respondents were spread evenly across a spectrum from a lot to none.
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From page 57... ...
One respondent asked that programs become "more standardized as to what students and professors should expect from each other." Does the (R25) Bridges Program Work?
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From page 58... ...
Several respondents had a contrary experience and noted that, after trying the program, they decided research was not for them. Typically and not surprisingly, given the fields from which program administrators recruit for the R25 Bridges program, these respondents generally went into nursing instead.
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From page 59... ...
This serves as an indicator that the program provided, at a minimum, important value to its participants. Meeting Goals for Transfer and Bachelor's Degree Attainment In 1999, NIGMS convened a working group to examine the current status of the R25 Bridges program and to review and revise program goals for the future.30 As part of its work, this working group reviewed data from NIGMS staff and found that, as of September 1999, NIGMS could assert that after five years, 70 percent of all R25 Bridges to the Baccalaureate program students had transferred to four-year institutions, and of those who transferred, 45 percent completed the four-year degree.
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From page 60... ...
A third issue is variability in the success with which institutions move students to program completion and transfer. Among the three program administrators interviewed for this study, two indicated the percentage of students that transferred and these
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From page 61... ...
Lessons from the Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program Many students recruited to the R25 Bridges program are new to research, have not decided on their educational and career options, have relatively lower educational and career expectations than minority students who are upperclassmen at four-year institutions, and need to improve their confidence and motivation. The R25 Bridges program is designed to address each of these issues.
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From page 62... ...
STAR and (T34) COR Programs The support of NIGMS for underrepresented minorities at the undergraduate level began in 1977 with the MARC Honors program and has continued since 1996 with the T34 U*
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From page 63... ...
A similar proportion of T34 COR respondents were women. Interviews with program administrators at recipient institutions indicate that most trainees in most programs are female.
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From page 64... ...
STAR respondents most often considered clinical research, biological research, and teaching as potential career options; T34 COR respondents most often considered behavioral research, clinical research, and teaching.
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From page 65... ...
The primary method, and one cited by most of the program administrators interviewed, is personal contact with minority students in the sciences who have already shown a certain aptitude in their freshman and sophomore years. This typically begins with a process for identifying students.
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From page 66... ...
STAR and T34 COR programs provide students is important to their success, and many T34 U* STAR and T34 COR respondents noted the importance of the financial support received when asked about the best features of the program.
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From page 67... ...
When asked how the PI influenced their education or career path, respondents reported they did in so in four key areas: improving the trainee's research skills, providing motivation and personal growth, providing career guidance, and promoting the trainee for scholarships and outside internships. Just as important, as evidenced by trainee responses, is the manner in which the PIs provided this training, motivation, and guidance.
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From page 68... ...
One T34 COR respondent detailed how mentoring can be key to the trainee's research experience, saying that the best features of the program were "the opportunity to do undergrad research, opportunity to develop close relationships with faculty members, being able to complete and present a research study and article at a conference." Another comment by a T34 COR respondent presents a different dimension of mentoring -- that of a mentor who is influential in the trainee's overall experience and provides motivation for the next step. This respondent reported, "My experience was so positive because the director of the [T34 COR program]
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From page 69... ...
The data available to the committee do not allow a direct analysis to determine whether the T34 U* STAR and T34 COR programs are "successful" in strictly quantitative terms.
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From page 70... ...
A T34 COR respondent summed up the benefit of the research experience and also cited other key program features (mentoring, travel) by citing the "opportunity to do undergrad research, opportunity to develop close relationship with faculty members, being able to complete and present a research study and article at a conference." In addition, a T34 U*
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From page 71... ...
However, when asked how their PIs influenced their education or career path, respondents reported that they were very helpful, particularly in four key areas: (1) improving the trainee's research skills, (2)
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From page 72... ...
T34 COR respondents noted a wide variety of skills such as writing, presentation skills, critical thinking, academic research, lab techniques, scientific methods, teamwork, networking, discipline, and "the skill that I needed to be able to survive at graduate school." However, respondents wanted additional help with research, graduate applications, GRE preparation, time management, grant writing, and publications. Two respondents specified the need for help with "the transition to graduate school." Networking.
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From page 73... ...
Interviews of Program Administrators at Recipient Institutions Trainee Selection Criteria Program administrators at recipient institutions (PARIs) were asked what criteria they look for when selecting program trainees.
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From page 74... ...
STAR program administrators at recipient institutions who were interviewed for this study were asked to discuss the kinds of challenges that trainees in the T34 U* STAR program face.
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From page 75... ...
Another set of challenges that program administrators cited was the ability of trainees to focus their efforts and manage their time in the right way. This appears to have several dimensions to it.
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From page 76... ...
· T34 COR program administrators also note that career advancement has become increasingly more difficult in many respects, for all students, not just minority students. Getting into graduate school is more difficult and getting out is even harder.
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From page 77... ...
· On the other hand, according to some numbers and anecdotal reports from T34 COR program administrators, the majority of the trainees who have been successfully tracked through their graduate training and beyond, are in academic (teaching) settings.
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From page 78... ...
She was really distressed." Program administrators may act as mentors themselves, but most programs typically have many mentors with whom students work. The level of interaction between administrators and mentors appears to vary.
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From page 79... ...
Similarly, T34 U* STAR program administrators interviewed for this study reported a high level of success among program participants.
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From page 80... ...
In May 2001, the National Advisory Mental Health Council's Workgroup on Racial/Ethnic Diversity in Research Training and Health Disparities Research issued a report on racial/ethnic diversity in mental health research careers. This workgroup drew on the findings of an October 1999 Workshop on NIMH Minority Training Programs and NIMH staff analysis of data collected about student progress under NIMH's minority training programs.34 The data on student progress reported by the working group and staff analysis were particularly impressive, suggesting that at least 85 percent of all participants in the T34 COR program had already completed and graduated with bachelor's degrees.
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From page 81... ...
This sketch appears to confirm the overall success of students in the T34 COR program. At the workshop in October 1999, T34 COR training directors commented on this level of student success as summarized in an NIMH staff report: PIs and other participants in the October Workshop expressed the opinion that it is probably not reasonable to expect undergraduate students to commit to long-range plans for a research career.
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From page 82... ...
NIMH Training Programs for Underrepresented Racial/Ethnic Minorities (NIMH interim staff report)
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From page 83... ...
Program administrators reported a need for greater outreach to African-American males. Financial Support.
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From page 84... ...
STAR program, required recipient institutions to develop opportunities for extramural research projects for their trainees. This is mandatory for the summer research experience and may also be developed as necessary for research projects during the academic year.
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