Foroozesh M, Morgan K, Coston T S, Wilkins-Green C, Billizon A
Xavier University of Louisiana (UNITED STATES).
EDULEARN Proc. 2019 Jul;2019:786-791. doi: 10.21125/edulearn.2019.0258.
With the increased competitiveness of undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs, the continuously accelerating rate of technological innovation and development of new global means of communication, and the evolving face of the local, national, and global job markets, choosing a long-term career has become a challenge for many. More and more students opt to take a gap period in their education, pre- or post-college, for soul searching to determine their future path or for improving their skills and competitiveness for successfully applying to academic institutions. Even though such gap years can lead to more mature and determined students, they often derail the educational path of the individual by leading to loss of interest or to new commitments which hinder going back to school. Engaging students in academic and skills training programs that keep them within the academic environment and provide them with exposure to the benefits of higher education has been shown to increase their persistence, leading to an increased rate of attaining higher-level degrees. A number of United States (US) federal funding agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have programs such as the Bridges to Baccalaureate Program (support for easing a student's transition from a 2-year junior or community college to a 4-year baccalaureate-granting institution) and Post-baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP, support for recent college graduates from underrepresented groups or disadvantaged backgrounds to strengthen their research skills and academic competitiveness for pursuing a doctorate degree in the Biomedical Sciences). At Xavier University of Louisiana (Xavier), we have developed a post-baccalaureate technician program under (the NIH National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) Division of Training, Workforce Development, and Diversity (TWD)-funded Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) Program), that provides research experience and training in soft skills to recent Xavier graduates to increase their preparation and competitiveness for graduate programs. The BUILD Technicians also receive both mentee and mentor training and serve as near-peer mentors to undergraduate students in their labs, increasing their scientific identity and preparing them for their future role as graduate teaching assistants. Here, we report the lessons learned from this program and how its differences from other post-baccalaureate programs, including those under the NIH PREP umbrella, have led to improved outcomes for Xavier graduates gaining admission to graduate programs in the Biomedical Sciences.
随着本科、研究生和专业课程竞争的加剧，技术创新的不断加速以及全球新通信手段的发展，还有本地、国家和全球就业市场的不断变化，对许多人来说，选择长期职业已成为一项挑战。越来越多的学生选择在大学前或大学后的教育阶段休学一段时间，进行自我探索以确定未来的道路，或者提升技能和竞争力，以便成功申请学术机构。尽管这样的间隔年可能会让学生变得更加成熟和坚定，但它们往往会打乱个人的教育路径，导致兴趣丧失或产生新的事务，从而阻碍重返校园。让学生参与学术和技能培训项目，使他们置身于学术环境中，并让他们了解高等教育的益处，已被证明可以提高他们的坚持性，从而提高获得更高学位的比例。包括美国国立卫生研究院（NIH）在内的一些美国联邦资助机构，设有诸如通向学士学位桥梁项目（支持学生从两年制初级或社区学院顺利过渡到四年制授予学士学位的机构）和学士学位后研究教育项目（PREP，支持来自代表性不足群体或弱势背景的近期大学毕业生增强其研究技能和学术竞争力，以攻读生物医学科学博士学位）等项目。在路易斯安那州泽维尔大学（泽维尔），我们在（由美国国立卫生研究院国家普通医学科学研究所（NIGMS）培训、劳动力发展与多样性司（TWD）资助的建设促进多样性基础设施（BUILD）项目）下开发了一个学士学位后技术员项目，为泽维尔大学近期毕业生提供研究经验和软技能培训，以增强他们为研究生项目做准备的能力和竞争力。BUILD技术员还接受学员和导师培训，并在实验室中担任本科生的近伴导师，增强他们的科学认同感，并为他们未来担任研究生助教做好准备。在此，我们报告从该项目中学到的经验教训，以及它与其他学士学位后项目（包括NIH PREP旗下的项目）的差异如何为泽维尔大学毕业生进入生物医学科学研究生项目带来了更好的结果。
