Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The Soil Science Integrated Learning and Career Opportunity Partnership (SSOIL-COP) aims to attract underserved students to pursue soil science careers and increase enrollment and retention in undergraduate and graduate education through a coordinated multistate collaborative program. We are a cooperative partnership of eight HSI and emerging institutions from Texas and California encompassing diverse levels of education, from community colleges to R1 universities. SSOIL COP will create a student success and support program to attract and retain underserved students, establish intercollegiate mentorship and leadership training, create and coordinate summer internships, and develop an accessible online curriculum and introductory soil science course materials
Animal Health Component
30%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
70%
Applied
30%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
SSOIL-COP GOAL: Attract underserved students to pursue soil science careers and increase their enrollment and retention in undergraduate and graduate education through a coordinated multistate collaborative program of emerging and Hispanic-serving higher education institutionsOBJECTIVES: Establish a multistate soil science education and career opportunity programthrough an integrated network of higher education HSI institutions and career placement partners in Texas and California. The project-specific aims are: 1)Create a support program to attract andretain undergraduate and graduate students from underrepresented groups interested in pursuingcareers in soil sciences, 2) Establish an intercollegiate mentorship and leadership trainingprogram to support academic development, career placement, and success at all levels ofundergraduate and graduate education, 3) Create and coordinate a summer internship program insoil sciences for undergraduate students from underserved and underrepresented groups toenhance career placement opportunities, participate in high-level learning research opportunities(e.g., REU, REEU), and gain valuable experience working at federal agencies, NGOs, andprivate partner institutions, 4) Generate a sharable curriculum and course material and content insoil science to be used by community colleges in lower-level or introductory university coursesin soil science.
Project Methods
The SSOIL-COP platform will coordinate a consortium of HIS and emerging community colleges, 4-year universities, and R1 research institutions to promote and strengthen soil sciences programs or coursework and create a network of federal and state agencies, NGOs, and private companies managing soil resources or working on soil-related issues for potential student career opportunities (see letters of collaboration). Through this consortium, we expect to bolster individual institutions' ability to develop and sustain soil sciences-focused programs at graduate and undergraduate levels and stimulate student enrollment and career pathway opportunities. SSOIL-COP considers soil sciences-centered student training, academic and scientific mentorship, academic success support fellowships, career development and leadership training, summer internships, advanced scientific and professional learning opportunities, job placement opportunities, and soil science curriculum development. The management plan will be overseen by Dr. Felipe Aburto, Project Director and Assistant Professor from the Soil and Crop Sciences Department at TAMU (Figure 3). Dr. Aburto has over 10 years of experience in soilscience research, teaching courses at different levels and mentoring graduate and undergraduate students. In addition, Dr. Heather Smith from RCC will serve as project Co-director and co-coordinatorfor the California chapter of SSOIL-COP. Dr. Smith has over 20 years of experience teaching soil classes at community colleges and directing education projects in soil sciences. The director and co-director will continuously communicate about the project's progress and management aspects. Each partner institution has a local co-coordinator. The directors and co-coordinators will meet online biweekly to discuss and evaluate project progress and impact and address potential management issues. Directors will ensure project goals and activities at each institution are met on time, navigate any conflict resolution, and decide on actions to enhance the project's impact with the input of the local coordinator.Leadership Program: SSOIL-COP will design leadership activities and provide opportunities to practice the skills the students acquire. In this program, the participating faculty and institutions will provide one-on-one leadership training online or at their institutions. In addition to one-on-one with the students with specific leadership guidance, we will use local institutional resources (detailed above) and the NRCS leadership resources. We will use team-based projects to impart leadership skills, while the project participant's involvement in student organizations will help develop and practice these skills. The underrepresented students participating in this project will be encouraged to join the Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences (MANRRS) organization in their institutions. We will host online leadership workshops for students throughout the year open to all partner institutions.SSOIL COP is supported by the states' USDA-NRCS and the Soil and Plant Science Division (see letters of support). This will facilitate student enrollment in summer internships, involvement in USDA-NRCS-supported research, and support applications to soil sciences and related career pathways.Soil Science and Curriculum Development: The Project Director and Co-Director will coordinate soil science curriculum and materials. The SSOIL-COP team and a private soil science education consultant will collaboratively create these materials, overseeing compiling, curating, and preparing themfor publication. Graduate students supported by the program will also contribute their perspectives to course material creation.