STEM

News flash: STEM degrees yield big returns in the workforce. Not surprisingly, college graduates who focused on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields are expected to earn the highest starting salaries in 2016 and are some of the most sought-after candidates entering the job market. Tarrant County College is producing a steady stream of STEM graduates, but the labor market of the future will need many more.

A look at recent U. S. Labor Department data shows the 10 fastest-growing occupations from 2008-2018 and their median wages:

• Biochemists and biophysicists: $82,840
• Physician assistants: $81,230
• Biomedical engineers: $77,400
• Medical scientists (except epidemiologists): $72,590
• Network systems and data communications analysts: $71,100
• Financial examiners: $70,930
• Athletic trainers: $39,640
• Skin care specialists: $28,730
• Home health aides: $20,460
• Personal and home care aides: $19,180

“These jobs are high demand and offer salaries that can definitely change lives,” said Joy Gates Black, vice chancellor of academic affairs.

For American students to compete in a global 21st century economy driven by advanced technology, educators, employers and policymakers all agree that the U.S. education system must do a better job of developing STEM-literate students.

Consider other industrialized countries around the world. Most countries have surpassed the United States in STEM education. According to 2012 statistics from the National Math + Science Initiative, students in 26 industrialized nations outperformed U.S. students in math, and students in 19 industrialized nations outperformed U.S. students in science. The same report shows that by 2018, an estimated 63 percent of all jobs in the U.S. will require some post-secondary education, while 92 percent of all STEM-related jobs will require post-secondary training.

Improving this country’s rankings in science and math has caught the attention of Washington, DC, with the Obama administration investing millions of dollars to produce an additional 1 million STEM undergrads by 2022 and another 100,000 STEM teachers by 2021. STEM jobs are growing at 1.7 times the rate of non-STEM jobs, and the U.S. simply isn’t producing enough candidates to fill them. Study after study show that today’s employers, regardless of industry, need STEM-literate workers.

Education experts agree that community colleges represent an integral mechanism to improve the STEM landscape here in the U.S., but it means forging strong connections with both high schools and the business community. Higher education institutions and secondary schools need to have a better understanding of what defines “college readiness” so that high schools are able to prepare students for college-level work when they arrive on campus.

Like other colleges across nation, TCC is poised to help steer young people in science, technology, engineering and math disciplines. This is why TCC has allocated a wealth of resources to develop a STEM Strategic Framework that will position the school as one of the leading forces in the study of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The College wants to be the ideal starting point for students who pursue STEM careers that require advanced degrees or an avenue for students to earn an associate degree and other certifications.

“Our mission is student success and completion. We believe rigorous and relevant STEM education supports innovative thinking in all students.”

Joy Gates Black

“At the end of the day, it’s all about access. Getting more students in the programs, helping them experience success while here, and seeing them complete on-time or transfer to a four-year college or university,” Black said.

Under this new strategy, TCC will provide all students exposure to STEM fields through strategic partnerships, programs, faculty equipped with the latest active learning techniques and engaging courses of study.

Students should be excited about the District’s new focus, as it will help increase the value of a TCC education. While creating a STEM institution constitutes a major undertaking, Black said it further illustrates TCC’s willingness to invest in its students and their future financial independence. The College’s STEM framework, which is being developed by TCC faculty, encourages cross-campus collaboration, increases the College’s STEM focus through communication and fosters collegiality among all faculty members.

“Each TCC campus is encouraged to develop a strategic plan that will address the needs of its student population, leveraging key strengths in the process,” Black said. “Barriers related to curriculum, credit and funding issues, the lack of qualified teachers, difficulty in conducting research while teaching in the classroom and time constraints in the classroom have been removed so faculty can ultimately experience successes in the classroom.

Allowing faculty to drive this initiative is certainly a culture shift, but it is one that will pay big dividends in the long run, according to Black. Typically, administrators design and implement initiatives for the District, but this collaborative approach should increase the amount of buy-in from faculty.

As the program evolves, TCC faculty and staff will be encouraged to promote integrated learning, investigation and questioning in the classroom. For example, a STEM classroom may pose a problem and then require students to do original research inspired by a class-wide inquiry project, where they must use technology to gather and analyze data, design a test, propose a solution and then communicate their findings to their peers in another country.

“I think that adding technical writing into STEM classes provides a huge benefit,” said Kristopher Row, a science major at TCC Northeast. “Personally, from talking to professors, lab researchers and STEM professionals, there is a gap from the way you are told to do things in the classroom compared to actually working in the field.” Row said an example of this would be the way students present data. In most classroom settings, students will follow a protocol, write down the data, make some conclusions and turn it in. When working in a lab, the raw data means nothing without context. “Being able to write a proper research paper or business memo about the findings, these are the skills that will help the student stand out,” he explained.

As the District continues to evolve, expect to see more collaboration on all levels. Over the past few years, faculty members at the Northeast Campus have been collaborating to integrate STEM into non-STEM disciplines. For example, the chair of the English Department and the dean of Humanities are in the process of reworking textbook choices to include more technical writing. Math is very important in the world of dance, which is offered on multiple TCC campuses. Dancers must constantly be counting their steps in order to keep time with the music. If they miss a beat, they will no longer be synchronized with the other dancers.

“This new STEM model will allow us to deliver relevant and credible content tailored to meet the students’ needs,” said Stacy Stuewe, a professor of English at TCC Northeast. “Currently, English faculty can choose from among three different textbooks, each focusing on writing across disciplines. It promotes dialogue and prepares STEM students to write papers on subjects related to their fields. We use open source materials as well to cater to the STEM students in the class.” Stuewe is currently working with a science professor to bring student learning groups or cohorts to TCC sometime in 2017.

Robert Edmonds, a professor of physics and chief architect of the STEM initiative at TCC Northeast, is thrilled the College is opening the doors to more faculty collaboration. He thinks the institution is on the cusp of a major breakthrough.

“You are talking about a signature identity for this College. If done right, this framework can help brand TCC as the first in higher education to tackle STEM at this level. We will have business and technology incubators and accelerators that tie into pre-college, college and professional, plus we have these multidisciplinary teams working together—no one else is doing that.”

Robert Edmonds

Initially, Edmonds had a difficult time convincing faculty that his framework for a new STEM focus was viable. The team only met once in 2014, with Edmonds unable to gain buy-in from his colleagues, many of whom did not understand his vision. The early lack of support forced Edmonds to take some time off to retool, but he continued to have the backing of campus leadership. A few semesters later, with the support of Allen Goben, president of the Northeast Campus, Edmonds resurrected his STEM framework with a new core team that included faculty he recruited directly.

Late in 2015, Edmonds and some of his new teammates – Caroline Hamilton, associate professor of biology; William Kucera, professor of chemistry; and Kenneth Drake, associate professor of chemistry -- pitched the expanded concept to Black and other key players within the District. “At the end of the two-hour-meeting, Black simply said ‘perfect.’ In fact, she said it three times,” Edmonds explained.

Black also suggested the team share the plan with the campus leadership during the Presidents Retreat to gain their support. A few weeks later, the team presented a comprehensive plan that would alter of course of history at TCC. The campus presidents unilaterally agreed this would help TCC become one of the leading STEM institutions in the region, if not the country.

After the retreat, District leadership started working with internal and external consulting teams to improve the TCCD P-16 pipeline (preschool to college) by evaluating current programming to identify strengths and development points. Once this analysis is complete, the consulting team will offer recommendations for alignment with state and nationally recognized best practices in STEM education, particularly at community colleges.

“Aligning with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s “60x30TX” strategic plan, which calls for 60 percent of its 25-to-34-year-old workforce to hold a postsecondary degree credential by 2030, will be important to the state’s economic future,” said Black.

Each step of the way, TCC is working hard to attract and keep STEM applicants. To augment the instruction provided by TCC’s experienced faculty, the College is developing a series of STEM initiatives designed to ensure the success of all TCC students. This includes a short-term bridge program aimed at preparing students for difficult STEM courses, and the creation of a first-year STEM cohort program designed to improve the retention rates of this population.

TCC prides itself in delivering affordable and accessible educational opportunities to all students. To this end, both the TCC Foundation and TCC’s Grants Development Office continue to identify diverse funding sources and win grants that support student learning toward STEM credentials and careers.

“Federal, state and private grant funding enables TCC to test new approaches to student success in STEM fields and to expand proven programs that impact greater numbers of students,” said Jacqueline Maki, associate vice chancellor for the Office of Grants Development. “Grants are important resources in expanding TCC’s capacity to provide innovative STEM youth camps, high-demand job training, scholarships, experiential learning, and career awareness in such fields as aviation, robotics, mathematics, biology, and the geosciences.”

Counselors and STEM faculty members are key to improving college completion rates and ensuring that students have the information and support they need to find and succeed in the programs for which they are best suited.

“Student Services is a very important partner because we are the ones to help onboard those First Time in College students, and we help start the conversation [related to selecting a major],” said Magdalena De La Teja, vice president of student services for TCC Northeast. “Faculty will work on retaining them and helping them access the different types of support services that they will need in order to be successful. That’s why it important for us to partner with the STEM faculty to better understand all the options students have so we can talk with the students about them.”

Another component of the strategy is the offering of interactive events designed to expose students to high-demand STEM careers before they graduate, which have become more frequent throughout the District. In March, the Trinity River and Northeast campuses co-hosted the “Converge Conference and Expo: Exploring the Fusion of Science, Art and Technology in a 3-D World” expo featuring Wake Forest scientist Mathew Varkey as well as some of the leading manufacturers involved in the 3D revolution: 3d Digital, Fanuc, LabResources, Stratasys and TechLabs. TCC students were able to learn more about companies involved in scanning, modeling/design, additive manufacturing and product development. The Northeast Campus also hosted “STEM your World,” an event featuring speakers from Alcon and Accenture, plus a hands-on activity led by informal science educator Cheryl Potemkin. Similar events are being planned for each campus to expose students to STEM career fields.

These are the types of initiatives Black would like faculty and staff members to submit for approval and financial support. The first step is to submit a proposal to campus leadership for initial approval. Approved proposals would then move on to Chancellor’s Executive Leadership Team (CELT) for a second approval. Once CELT members give the go-ahead, the STEM Council, a cross-functional group of TCC faculty and staff, will support the initiative. Individuals or teams interested in submitting a proposal should contact their campus STEM deans for more information.

“If we stay on the right track, I think this effort will bring the College community closer together,” said Edmonds. “I think this is where it’s got a lot of people excited because this is a collaborative model, not only intercampus but intra-campus. We can work with the District, the campuses can maintain their own separate identity, and we can work with other non-science, non-technology disciplines.”

Edmonds hopes TCC eventually opens the Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology Innovation, or CASTI, as a dedicated facility that will show the community TCC’s STEM education “chops.” The professor believes CASTI would be an important step to guiding and cultivating new talent in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math. After careful review, TCC leaders officially adopted the CASTI STEM Strategic Framework in May, much to the delight of Edmonds and his team.

Once a STEM major earns an associate degree from TCC, he or she will able to transfer to a four-year school for further education. TCC currently holds articulation agreements with 74 colleges and universities around the country, with several others under consideration. Articulation agreements match coursework between schools, which helps students make a smoother transition from one institution to another by minimizing duplication of coursework. Ultimately, students can save time and money without sacrificing quality.

“Because of STEM, our students are going to be better prepared to enter the workforce. We are discussing programs like micro-badging and stackable credentials, things like that," Edmonds said. “It’s highly competitive out there. Nowadays it’s not just good enough to have a degree. You have to bring something with you. That’s why you have academic cooperatives and interning. These micro-credentials can be posted to a LinkedIn page or an electronic résumé. It just helps all
away around.”

Micro-credentials could meet a need for working adults who already have college degrees, while also helping motivate current students who are trying to finish an associate or bachelor’s degree. TCC is gathering information on micro-credentials and learning from some of the leading digital badging programs in the country.

“Universities and employers all want someone that has the skills that the STEM program instills in students,” said Reginald Peek, a communications major at TCC Trinity River.

“Adding STEM on any resume puts you on another level compared to your counterparts.”

Reginald Peek

For more than 50 years, TCC has produced thousands of leaders who work together with scientists, engineers and health practitioners in Texas and beyond. As TCC eyes the future, faculty and staff will continue to collaborate as a way of branding to help TCC become a more comprehensive college. Ultimately, TCC’s goal is to give its students an accessible path to a four-year degree in STEM fields.

“Improving STEM education for all students will increase our competitiveness and boost our economic strength,” said Black. “In Texas, economic success depends on three things: innovation, hard work and know-how. STEM ensures our future workers have all three and are primed for success in career and in life.”