Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Increasing urbanization has led to a dramatic decrease in students with direct livestock health and production experience before starting college. This results in a student base with decreased knowledge of the agriculture industry and animal health practices. In contrast, the agriculture industry is advancing rapidly in regards to animal health with the incorporation of precision agriculture concepts. This widening gap leads to a shortage in qualified workforce applicants. To directly address this need, we propose a novel network of four, geographically diverse universities that will develop a collaborative, innovative undergraduate research fellowship program focused on animal health and production. Students with an interest in animal science and/or agriculture will be recruited with specific efforts to recruit from underrepresented groups. The overall program objectives include: (1) provide immersive, animal health focused, experiential research opportunities to undergraduate students; (2) strengthen leadership and essential employability skills of participants; and (3) increase the number of students prepared for careers in animal health and production and/or graduate programs. Through the 8-week summer fellowship program, students will complete educational modules, establish professional networking connections, and engage in individual research projects focused on health concepts using precision health monitoring technology and traditional methods. Completion of the summer program will address a critical workforce need by helping students learn technical, leadership, and employability skills in order to prepare them for animal health and production careers or for graduate programs.
Animal Health Component
50%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
25%
Applied
75%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The goal of this project is to form a network of four, geographically diverse universities that will develop a collaborative, innovative undergraduate research fellowship program focused on animal health and production.The overall program objectives include:Provide immersive, animal health focused, experiential research opportunities to undergraduate students;Strengthen leadership and essential employability skills of participants; andIncrease the number of students prepared for careers in animal health and production and/or graduate programs.
Project Methods
Student Activities: Through the 8-week summer fellowship program, students will complete educational modules, engage in individual research projects and present their project at the annual symposium.Student Recruitment, Selection, and Retention: Partner institutions have been identified by each host university and these institutions have designations as Indigenous, historically Black, and Hispanic-serving or having populations of other underrepresented groups including veteran and first-generation students. Although students will be primarily recruited from targeted, partner institutions, any student who meets the inclusion criteria will be able to apply. Recruitment materials will be emailed to established, primary contacts at the partner institutions. Recruitment materials will direct students to the program website where current information and application materials are available. We will recruit and train a cohort of 8 students each summer with balanced engagement both within and across host institutions and mentors.Educational Modules: Online learning modules will provide basic background information. Modules will be hosted on the NDSU educational platform to allow for a uniform educational experience across host universities and an opportunity to connect participants with one another. Many of these modules will be enhanced with hands-on learning activities. Emphasis will be put on developing and creating inclusive and accessible materials. All summer cohort students will complete the same series of educational modules and corresponding hands-on activities. Modules would be completed during the first 6-weeks of the program.Individualized Student Research Projects: Students will plan, execute, and analyze individual research projects related to equine health at their host university. Projects will focus on health concepts using precision technology as well as traditional methods to collect data. Research projects exploring precision technology in animal health are expected to address topics of importance to the equine industry. Standardized collection protocols across host universities will allow for multi-site data collection if desired, while individual specialties of mentors provide unique individualized projects.Weekly Cohort Meetings: The summer research cohort (students and mentors) will meet regularly throughout the 8-week program. During the weekly meetings, students and mentors will engage in research discussions, mentoring activities, and professional development, including informal coaching of success skills and critical aspects of networking, communication and diversity appreciation. Relevant industry/academic/graduate speakers may also share experiences during these meetings.Program Conference: At the end of each summer session, all participants will come together at one of the host universities for a research conference. The focus of the conference is on undergraduate participants and their work, with minimal attention on faculty. Key components of the conference include participants' oral presentation of their research, discussion about successes and challenges of experiments and experience, wet labs where techniques can be learned and challenges addressed, social time such as meals and games where participants can develop a rapport with one another, and tours of the hosting university and its agricultural facilities.Project Evaluation and Reporting:Student Assessment Plan: Both formative (during program) and summative (after program) evaluations will occur. Each will be customized to the student based on the student's prior knowledge and goals for the experience. A summative assessment rubric (SAR) for each student based on common student learning objectives (SLO) will be developed at the start of the summer program. The focus of each SAR will be a set of common knowledge, research skills, and professional skills the student and mentor aim to develop in that student during the program. Education modules will utilize quizzes for level 1 (remember/understand) and specific level 2 (apply) proficiencies. An education module will have questions tailored toward specific SLO, where multiple SLO may be assessed in a given education module. To successfully complete that module, students must have at least 80% or higher correct responses per SLO question set. Most level 2 (apply) and higher proficiency SLO will be assessed by completing the prior proficiency level and observations by the mentor. Higher level SLO will be added by the mentor and mentee to individualize the experience. These higher level SLO will be chosen using the student's application, interview to the program, and research project identified. Additional formative assessments during the student's program will include:reflection journal by the student; weekly individual review meetings between the student and mentor; and weekly cohort meetings. The goal for each student is to meet at least 80% of common SLO in their SAR, with preference to 90% or more, and higher level SLO identified. An exit survey for participants will also be used to indirectly assess how SAR SLO were met and ask questions pertaining to education and career goals following the program.Longitudinal Tracking & Evaluation: Demographics of the student (application, exit survey), the SAR and student exit survey will be used to summarize outcomes of that year's program by institution and overall. This summary will also be used to generate a shared data file of participant completion rate, future plans, and updates gathered over 5 years after the program is completed. Longitudinal tracking of students after a program experience will occur at least once per year, typically in the program's adjustment phase indicated on the timeline. A yearly executive summary will be distributed to project team membersto enhance recruiting, make adjustments to program focus, and/or use in manuscripts using these metrics.