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INVESTIGATOR: Johnson, A. B.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
Central State University
1400 Brush Row Rd.
Wilberforce, OHIO 45384

INCREASING STUDENT ENROLLMENT IN THE COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: College of Science and Engineering at Central State University proposes to use an integrated approach to increasing student enrollment by 30% annually. With a combined effort of our College's academic, extension, and research staff, we propose to: 1) empower the 4-H Youth development program to engage limited-resource communities and assist youth with the appropriate life and career choices in agriculture and life science, 2) develop an academic outreach program to increase student enrollment in agriculture and life sciences, and 3) develop strategies to retain students in the College. To achieve our goal, we will conduct workshops, meetings and programs with parents of high school students; conduct in-service trainings for high school agriculture and science teachers; host FFA Career Development Events; teach K-12 life skills and career choices; conduct high school summer programs; and establish intrusive advisement and early intervention for enrolled at-risk students in the College. With these activities, we will be able to develop relationships with the agriculture and science teaches; establish a collegiate FFA chapter; targeted parents and students will be aware of the academic programs in the College; and enrolled at-risk students will be aware of university services that will help them keep focused in their pursuit of academic excellence. We propose to institutionalize this project into a program, so that our capacity will be enhanced in developing the human capital that will contribute to the agricultural and STEM related workforce of the United States.

OBJECTIVES: The overall goal is to increase student enrollment in the College of Science and Engineering. The following three objectives will enhance our ability to accomplish the above goal: 1) Empower the 4-H and Youth Development program to engage limited-resource communities and assist youth with appropriate life career choices in agriculture and human sciences, 2) Develop and academic outreach program to increase student enrollment in agriculture and human sciences, and 3) Implement strategies to retain students in the College.

APPROACH: To be successful in our quest to increasse student enrollment, we will employ formative, process, summative, and outcome evaluation schemes. The objectives and associated tasks will be assessed periodically to enhance our ability to improve the project in subsequent years. A Project Evaluation and Assessment Team will be established. The Team will be charged with determining the focus and design of the evaluation;developing anevaluation plan and performance indicators;collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data; and preparing a report on evaluation findings. Data analysis will be conducted for each task to see how to change the awareness of the College's academic programs; students' willingness to enroll in the College's programs; satisfaction of activities; and student enrollment trend.

PROGRESS: 2019/04 TO 2020/03
Target Audience:-High school student from underserved communities in montogmery, adams, cahuga, green and franklin counties of the state of ohio -Parents/ families of high school students from counties listed above these were mostly from low income households. -K-12 Stem and Ag Teachers from the counties serving the students Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?1. In-service traing for Ag and STEM K-12 teachers/ educators- Curriculum development 2. Biotech workshop for high school students- Experiential learning activities to create awareness of biotech and ag related careers. 3. Trained counselors in positive youth developmen and leadership 4. CPR certification for couselors and faculty involved in the summer camp How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? 1. During the visits by high schools during the academic session, relevant programinformation was shared 2. CSU website site and also save-the-date mailed out cards to the community. 3. During k-12 teachers workshops, relevant information was shared 4. During the opening and closing sessions of the summer camps What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?1. Increased school visit to other counties stated in the proposal 2. Establish learning communities to enhance retention 3. More engagement of new cohorts of K-12 teachers 4.Leveraging and developing4H-related partnerships with inner city and rural community schools.

IMPACT: 2019/04 TO 2020/03
What was accomplished under these goals? 1. Youth empowerment- Participants were instructed in professional and personel development activities including but not limited to : team building, time management, academic success, civics and citizenship 2.Experiential learning skills- the research projects under the supervision of research mentors developed an enhanced handson problem solving skills. They developed critical thinking and analytical skills. This also helped to develop both their written and oral( presentation) communication skills 3. Visits by 3 high schools during the academic session was a recrutiment strategy. the students were exposed to the resources in the university and aslo the type of research by faculty.-career awareness. 4. Workshop organized for 12 High school teachers-Biotechnology career areas 5. Ohio Farm Bureau Explore Ag Event- An Opportunity to highlight on-going research with prospective students interested in agricultural degrees and research 6. Field trip to Ohio state University and participated in the Ohio Association of Agricultural Educators Summer Conference

PUBLICATIONS (not previously reported): 2019/04 TO 2020/03
No publications reported this period.