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Start Early. If colleges and universities want to achieve diverse student bodies, they cannot wait for high schools to produce a steady stream of qualified applicants. Rather than fighting over a small pool of students, colleges and universities have to help expand the pool. Many programs aim young. "We try to find kids in junior high and provide them with academic reinforcement every summer so that they can achieve at the level they'll need to if they're going to achieve success in biomedical sciences," says Xavier's JW Carmichael. In fact, Carmichael would like to target even younger children, since many African American males already are turned off to science by junior high. Other institutions engage in outreach programs specifically tailored for the precollege students in their areas. Oklahoma State University in Stillwater organizes science day camps at elementary schools in Oklahoma, which is the home of more Native Americans than any other state in the nation. It also prepares "footlockers" of resource materials for teachers to use during the year and holds month-long science summer camps for promising high school students from nearby tribes. At the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez Campus, the "Science on Wheels" project travels by van along the western coast of the island, visiting rural towns where schools lack modern laboratory equipment. "It's very cost effective," says the university's Juan G. Gonzalez-Lagoa. "This program has made it possible to reach many more students and teachers than any other activity." Of course, not all students involved in a college-initiated outreach program will matriculate at that institution. But many do, and the programs as a whole can help significant numbers of young women and minorities nationwide become more familiar with the content and expectations of college-level science. Between 1988 and 1995, for example, campuses supported through the HHMIundergraduate program reached more than 55,000 students and 16,000 teachers at the precollege level. Provide Lots of Support. Undergraduate science can be a forbidding environment for some students, especially those unfamiliar with the culture of science. But making students feel welcome is not complicated, faculty members say. The most important step is simply getting to know them outside the lecture hall, whether in discussion sections, laboratories, or social gatherings. For instructors to greet students by name and take a moment to speak with them one on one makes them feel like they belong in this new setting. "Being a minority myself, I know that something that simple can turn out to be very important to minority students," says Andrew Martinez of the University of Texas at San Antonio. Individual attention makes it much easier to know when a student is struggling. At Xavier, nearly constant quizzes during the freshman and sophomore years let faculty members know when someone is floundering. Students also need academic advising to ensure they take the right courses and keep on track to a degree and good job. Sometimes this advising covers financial or personal difficulties or at least provides guidance about where to get help for non-academic problems. In some institutions many of these forms of support are tied together in comprehensive programs. At California State University-Los Angeles, the Minority Science Program specifically seeks to improve the retention rates of minority students in freshman science and mathematics courses. The 50 or so students in the program, representing a wide range of ethnic groups, receive frequent advising and counseling. They work in small groups to develop skills like problem solving, writing, speaking, and effective studying, with upperclassmen serving as facilitators. "The meetings are not tutorials," says biochemistry professor Raymond Garcia. "Tutors can't take an exam for you. So we try to get students to work through problems for themselves." Encourage Students To Help Each Other. Faculty members sometimes overlook the most important form of support available to a student who is struggling: other students in the program. Friends and classmates can be invaluable sources of assistance and advice on both academic and personal issues. At the University of California-Berkeley, more than 200 undergraduates, many from minority groups, work together regularly through the Biology Scholars Program. They study in groups led by undergraduate tutors, attend presentations by scientists from the campus and elsewhere, carry out research, and present their results. Senior Alissa Myrick calls it "the new old boys' network." On some campuses this sense of community extends throughout the student body. At women's colleges like Wellesley or historically black colleges and universities like Xavier, the entire campus becomes a peer group. "All of the emphasis of teaching and scholarship at Wellesley is focused on undergraduate women," says Allen. |
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aculty members involved in programs to attract women and minorities
to biology agree there is no magic strategy for success. But they point
to several initiatives that, in combination, produce results.
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