Progress 06/01/23 to 05/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences for this project are students entering or continuing their undergraduate programs in the FANH sciences in the Marianas Islands and employers/agencies who need our qualified local graduates. This includes students and future students at the University of Guam (UOG), Guam Community College (GCC), and Northern Marianas College (NMC). Although the Western Pacific is extremely diverse culturally, socially, geographically, and ecologically, the representation of local community members in the agency or organizational workforce is low, where we see a growing skills gap and rapid growth of unemployment. The job skills of many (if not most) of our youth are insufficient for long-term employment, personal growth, and productivity, especially with the local and federal agencies that are active in the Marianas Islands. Given the lack of a skilled population for entry-level jobs or higher-level positions, most of those working in federal and local agencies are from the continental US. Unfortunately, most of these employees come to the islands for 2 years and then leave, just as they have become effective in the local environment (politically, personally, and professionally). Thus, NextGen provides opportunities for our young people to gain the necessary skills for gainful employment and to provide for long-term employment benefiting the islands, the economy of the region, and national development. This NextGen project is locally named COMPASS, which stands for "Creating Opportunities for the Marianas: Pathways for Access and Student Success." In the context of NextGen with multiple partner institutions and a student-centric model of learning opportunities, the compass is viewed as an ideal visual representation to refer to cooperative learning in a region of small, isolated, oceanic islands. Students served, Year 1 Thirty-eight students were provided with either paid internship/research experiences or fund support. Of these, 4 students completed training in water safety and coral reef survey techniques, 4 completed training in forest inventory analysis, 1 began training in fish aging and reproductive biology, 3 students participated in conferences, and 4 presented the results of their research at a conference. Most of the students are female (60.5%, 23 students), 34.2% (13) are male, 1 is non-binary, and 1 chose not to respond. Native Pacific Islanders make up 39.5% (15 students), 18.4% (7) are of mixed heritage (most a mixture of different Pacific Island cultures), 26.3% (10) consider themselves to be Asians, 7.9% (3) are Caucasians, and 7.9% (3) chose not to respond. Several academic majors were reported by students. Biology majors accounted for 38.6% (14 students), Agriculture & Life Sciences majors 26.3% (10), Natural Resource Management majors 13.2% (5), Communications & Media majors 5.3% (2), Liberal Arts majors 5.3% (2), Mathematics majors 2.6% (1), Human Nutrition & Food Sciences 2.6% (1), and 7.9% (3) who are still uncertain as to their major. Although these may not all appear to be FANH sciences--the students' activities outside the classroom have been focused on skills and training for FANH fields. Employer/Agencies served, Year 1 The home institution was the most popular source of internships, with 22 out of 34 students completing internships or research experiences at UOG or NMC. The remaining 12 students completed internships with federal agencies, local agencies, and non-profit organizations, but in most cases, a single student was the only NextGen intern for that employer. Beginning in June 23, we started to compile a database of agencies and organizations that have 1) employed students in the past, 2) expressed their interest in the NextGen program, or 3) might be willing to mentor a student in the future. This database continues to grow. Initiatives to Attract Students High-impact Experiences Student recruitment for Year 1 was based on encouraging motivated students to participate in various learning experiences such as internships, research experiences, training, and conferences. These paid experiences attracted students to the program and helped students to finance their academic programs while gaining practical knowledge and application of the concepts they learned in the classroom and lab. Career Guidance and Mentoring The Project Director and Career Counselor provide students with career guidance and other mentoring activities. This year, the Project Director offered guidance to students about their current and future studies, internships that potentially match their areas of interest and/or career aspirations, and charting career paths. This may occur in disparate settings: in the PD's office when they pick up their paychecks or are passing by; in the classroom; during student club meetings; and because we live in small communities--at events, such as 5K road races. The Career Counselor and PD have put the individual student's interests/goals at the center of their conversations to build mentoring relationships that are desired by the students: knowing that someone of "authority" cares about their progress, struggles, and goals. Participants in the COMPASS Program also serve as peer and near-peer mentors, spreading the word during informal conversations and personal testimonies. Publicity Additional efforts were made to reach not only students and employers but the public as well. Presentations in STEM classes, to student campus clubs, at career fairs (such as the Mariana Islands Conservation Conference Career Fair at NMC), and campus events (such as UOG's Charter Day) allowed more students to see the possibilities for their participation in the NextGen COMPASS Program. Additional efforts to reach the students included emails, the UOG NextGen COMPASS website (https://www.uog.edu/schools-and-colleges/college-of-natural-and-applied-science/compass/index), bulletin boards, and personal communications (both formal and informal) at UOG and NMC. Participating in community events, conferences, and community events, such as the NMC Resource Fair and UOG CNAS Migratory Bird Celebration ensures that the public (including potential employers and students hoping to complete a degree in STEM) consider careers in FANH or hiring local graduates in FANH fields. Innovative Approaches Small institutions, such as UOG, NMC, and GCC struggle to provide all the opportunities available at larger institutions. This means that we must form partnerships with those with similar missions. We have therefore partnered with the UOG Triton Advising Center and the Career Development Office to provide workshops and have taken advantage of UOG's partnership with Handshake--"a platform where employers can recruit talented University of Guam students for internships and jobs" (https://careerconnect.uog.edu/resources/handshake/). Finally, we are strongly focused on personal relationships. This program is designed to serve multiple institutions in the same region who share the same cultural history--our students on Saipan (NMC) have close family on Guam (GCC & UOG) and vice versa. We are bridging the campuses and providing support for students, including opportunities on the different (but historically connected) islands. In our small communities, focusing on personal relationships is a culturally relevant strategy. Changes/Problems:Changes These included: 1) the creation of a sub-award for partners at the University of Hawaii, Manoa (UH); and 2) replacing 2 co-PIs. Our grant proposal did not include a subaward for UH. Internal changes within the College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resources (CTAHR) at UH left too little time for subaward approval prior to the submission deadline. Instead, the budget itemized UH graduate teaching assistants and faculty working on curriculum development. Then, UH faculty found that a subaward was appropriate for properly processing paychecks. This subaward also required indirect costs for UH. The original budget was modified for the UH subaward of $557,299.89. The discussion among partners, their institutions, and the approval process are now complete at the end of Year 1. Year 1 funding will be carried over to Year 2. Note that the changes do not affect budget allocations to participant/student support and have received NIFA approval. Two co-PIs have changed. 1) Dr. Jon-Paul Bingham is now the co-PI for UH. He has been acting co-PI since project initiation. The previous co-PI, Dr. Walter Bowen, requested the change. He is currently unable to devote time to grant support as the Associate Dean of CTAHR. 2) Kelsey McClellan, the Natural Resources Management Program Director at NMC, has been acting co-PI since project initiation. Originally, Mr. Clement Bermudes was the co-PI representing NMC, as the acting Dean of Academic Programs and Services. He is no longer employed by the college. Delay We intended to have course-sharing software (for seamless registration among the partnering institutions, including processing of tuition, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, & transcripts) during Year 1. Unfortunately 3 issues arose: 1) confusion over the University of Guam's institutional mechanics, paperwork, and approvals concerning the request for proposals and/or bids, especially for software to be installed at 6 different institutions, 2) significant changes in the technology and mergers of firms involved and 3) continued difficulty in convincing some administrators and receiving approvals for software installation at the larger institutions, especially when other options may be available, given the relatively small impact this will have on the larger universities' enrollments. In Year 2 we will complete a smaller bid process, contracting for course-sharing software to be installed and operational at UOG, NMC, and Guam Community College (GCC). We believe that this will allow us to show the value of the software and its positive impacts for faculty and students alike. Then in Year 3, we hope to include all 6 partners in the contract for course-sharing software. Problems Recruitment Our small institutions have few students majoring in traditional Agriculture programs--too few to run a cohort project. UOG currently has 57 students enrolled in the 4-yr Agriculture & Life Sciences Program (ALS). Neither NMC nor GCC have Agriculture programs. (The closest are Family & Community Services, Environmental Tech certificate, and Culinary Arts/Chef Training at GCC and Natural Resource Conservation at NMC.) So, we have defined FANH sciences as those that are listed as jobs on the USDA website. This allows recruitment from the ALS Program and the larger Biology Program, as well as Computer Science (programmers), Mathematics (statisticians), and even the Communications & Media programs (STEM Publicists, etc.) The challenge is to develop individualized career development plans and to find appropriate internships and learning experiences. Structure and Processes Given the unique nature of the NextGen grant, structures and processes were not in place but had to be developed and revised; all while moving forward with activities. For example, we used several versions of our student application, internship application, host agency application, internship agreement, etc. These changes were partly a response to improving the processes, but also to ensure the necessary data are being collected. Also, our UOG team consists of only 2 full-time employees--a career counselor and a project manager. It has been a challenge to collect data, complete paperwork, onboard students, provide individualized academic & career advisement for students, ensure that students are paid for their internships and travel (and the work/travel completed documented), design and complete some outreach & communication, and provide these services to students from 3 campuses on 2 different islands. We are considering hiring an assistant to manage the financial paperwork. For our partner, the University of Florida (UF) The delay in contracting course-sharing software has led UF and UOG to pivot to using a less robust structure for sharing online courses for Year 2. This will be remedied as we complete the contractual process and incorporate the course-sharing software in Year 2 for the Marianas, and in Year 3 for UF (and UH, USU). In-person courses being developed by a UF professor on the Management of Vertebrate Invasions (for UOG, GCC, NMC, and UF students) may be limited by liability concerns of the UF International Center. We are trying to change the model to using the National Student Exchange system. For our partner, USU The process of developing or enhancing current/new courses from USU to deliver to the Marianas is not yet fully realized, given that UOG, NMC, and GCC are 1st focused on courses in wildlife biology, natural resource management, and dietetics. (The initial focus on these areas was, in part, based on the outcomes of the inception workshop, results of the faculty surveys, and online courses available through our partner institutions.) USU's strengths in the traditional agricultural sciences will be the focus of the next phase of curriculum development, likely Years 2 and 3. These efforts will require greater investment and direction from UOG, GCC, and NMC, as to how USU efforts can meet COMPASS students' needs. By that time, cross-institutional course-sharing software should be available to facilitate these efforts. The white paper which introduces the Mariana Islands, their unique challenges in supporting higher education, specifically in fields encompassed by FAHN, and has not yet progressed to submission for peer review. The paper describes UOG's NextGen grant, "Creation of a Cooperative BS Degree Program for the Marianas Islands and Beyond," and how the grant program is designed to relieve some of these challenges. We expect the manuscript to be submitted in Summer 24. An online survey was developed (with assistance from USU faculty) to assess student perceptions of challenges faced by agriculture, natural resources, and food/nutrition in the Marianas Islands. This survey explores how students perceive local education and employment opportunities and their interest in participating in experiential learning opportunities. The student survey was slowed by the necessary Institutional Review Board process at UOG and will be administered to students in Fall 24. For our partner, UH A change to the UH accreditation status indirectly impacted this project. Although this resulted in a delay, the changes allow an alternative pathway to becoming a Registered Dietitian. This will reduce the necessity of an undergraduate dietetics program at UOG and strengthen students' ability to transfer to the graduate program at UH. The most important team builder--conversation The UOG Team and our Partners meet regularly (UOG meets bi-weekly, and the partners meet quarterly). During meetings, all aspects of the project are discussed. These meetings ensure all members are productively working together and solving any problems that arise (delays, roadblocks, or seemingly intractable issues) and allow the celebration of completed tasks. Through frequent check-ins, we can solve problems collaboratively, adjust, and make changes as needed. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Training Activities The US National Park Service trained 4 students through an 8-hr CPR for adults & children/First Aid/AED Certification, swimmer rescue & snorkel training for coral reef surveys, GIS basics using esri.com, line transect survey methodology, and use of underwater photography & CoralNet software to identify & count corals & algae. Studying and monitoring coral reefs are essential to the safety and substantial food resources for our islands, especially with climate change. The USDA Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station provided Forest Inventory Analysis training (tree diameter, canopy height, species ID, ground cover, and understory composition) to 4 students. One of the students gained far more than just the inventory analysis techniques: he said, "I feel like I did acquire at least a base line of native and invasive plant species that can definitely be worked more on through time." Guam NSF EPSCoR provided a 4-wk course "Life History Methods Workshop: Jungle Histology 3 & Fish Ageing" on fish age estimation and reproductive patterns. Attended by 1 NMC student who felt that this experience "has really solidified what I want to do in the future." Internships Academic majors for students in the program are broad, including Natural Resource Management, Tropical Agriculture Production, Human Nutrition & Food Sciences, Biology, Mathematics, and Communications & Media. However, students are interested in connecting their studies to food, agriculture, and the environment in real-world settings. The internship opportunities, in the workplace/research lab, varied from coral-reef monitoring, to assessment & eradication of invasive vines, assisting in spay/neuter clinics, evaluating the efficacy of varieties of mangos & bananas, web development & coding, teaching an AI to identify corals, horticulture at the UOG Triton Farm, needs assessment & curriculum building for 4-H, and to data analytics on Marianas cancer prevalence and outcomes. These included positions at home institutions, federal agencies, local agencies, and non-profit organizations. Most internships (22 of 34 students) were at UOG or NMC. A Biology Bio-Medical major, after working on coral reef management stated, "I was solely focused on the medical aspect of my degree. I felt like I had tunnel vision with my degree. I forgot to realize that my biology degree covers a very broad range. With the exposure given through my internship, I realized how much more there is to my degree than just medical opportunities." She is now considering working in an environmental field, such as environmental health. Non-formal opportunities focused on skills and training for FANH fields. One student noted that "this internship has effectively honed my ability to communicate adeptly, employ critical thinking, and tackle complex challenges. This project was an eye-opener, spurring personal growth and illuminating my future professional aspirations. It solidified my career direction and shed light on areas for personal development." Professional Development Conferences Agricultural Outlook Forum (Washington, DC 14-16 Feb 24). Two students majoring in Agriculture and Life Sciences from UOG participated. The Forum provided students the opportunity to see the breadth of career paths at USDA. Top USDA administrators shared their career paths and discussed ways that students could obtain experience through the USDA. Students toured the National Agriculture Research Station & the National Food Laboratory in Beltsville, MD. One of the students is now determined to seek an internship at the National Food Laboratory after graduation. Center for Island Sustainability Conference (Guam, 10-13 Apr 24). Four NextGen students from NMC's Natural Resource Management program presented posters. Among them: a poster on the "Saipan distribution of invasive yellow crazy ants, Anoplolepis gracilipes." This project is particularly important, because these ants have particularly large colonies. They have reduced forest species diversity and have negatively impacted people and pets in urban areas. Students had several opportunities: conference speakers shared indigenous practices connected to island sustainability; researchers discussed their projects in the Western Pacific--works ranging from studying the effectiveness of agroforestry systems in Chuuk, to the quality of hot pepper plants on Guam, the application of coco-peat as natural mulch for crops, and to the application of cannabis hemp as a cover crop in agroforestry. The conference's emphasis on sustainable values, cultural expression, and networking was highly impactful. The students also toured the Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands and learned about their research on invasive species on Guam. UOG STEM Conference (28-29 Mar 24). This undergraduate-student-led event showcased student research, encouraged dialogue about local issues between students, faculty, and researchers, and explored student STEM opportunities. The event also encouraged high-school students to consider careers in STEM. This was an opportunity for our students to recruit other students and highlight what they have learned and how the program has positively impacted them. Mariana Islands Conservation Conference (Saipan, 26 Feb-1 Mar 24) This Marianas-specific conference celebrates conservation research and efforts in marine and terrestrial fields. We used the opportunity to recruit NMC students and presented the NextGen program at the NMC research symposium. Workshop An inception workshop was held at UOG from 11-15 Sept 23, with 15 representatives from UOG, NMC, GCC, UF, USU, and UH-Manoa. The "on-the-ground" assessment and strategic planning with project partners from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, revealed challenges shared by the 3 Marianas institutions, low or decreasing student enrollment, mental health concerns, student retention, changing student demands, student access to higher education, student employability, articulation policies, difficulty attracting and retaining instructors, small numbers of instructors and budget constraints, among others. The overarching goal of the workshop was how to integrate the students' cultural and racial identities such that the transition to academics becomes more meaningful, while also providing the knowledge and skills for graduates to use to enrich their cultures and social identities. Students are reaping the benefits. As one student stated "I think that the projects I was a part of greatly helped the wellbeing of the residents and environment of Guåhan, because what we worked on and towards was the preservation of native plant species that had ties to Chamorro culture. It introduced me to the idea of preservation of culture through the protection, care, and the spreading of awareness to native plants of Guåhan." Symposia The Fall 23 COMPASS Semi-Annual Student Symposium (30 Nov 23) had 7 of the 17 interns share their internship experiences and 30 students attended. The Spring 24 COMPASS Semi-Annual Student Symposium (3 May 24) had 18 of the 25 interns presenting their internship experiences, and about 30 people attended. Invited speaker Dr. Timothy Clark presented his journey to finding his passion as a marine ecologist for the War in the Pacific US National Historical Park. These events serve several purposes: 1) they provide an opportunity for students to prepare scientific talks and present them publicly, 2) they highlight what the students learned and gained from the experiences, 3) they serve as recruitment events, and 4) they help students to see that career development is a life-long process of exploration and learning. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?To students The results from the internships and research experiences have been disseminated through our semi-annual student symposia. These symposia provide students an opportunity to improve their presentation skills, as well as let other students see the interesting, fun, and career-building activities that have been completed by COMPASS students. The 1st symposium was on 30 Nov 23 & the 2nd was on 3 May 24. The event was advertised to students at UOG, GCC, and NMC by email and bulletin board postings. In addition, we have used several tabling opportunities to engage with students on the UOG and NMC campuses, & with the public at several community events. Today's students also seem to respond with greater frequency to bulletin boards, social media posts, & our website (https://www.uog.edu/schools-and-colleges/college-of-natural-and-applied-science/compass/index). The website includes information about the project, news articles on the NextGen COMPASS project (including student interns), an ever-growing list of learning opportunities, the beginnings of descriptions of/skills required for several classes of jobs with the USDA & how to contact the project team. However, the most successful way of reaching students so far, has been through informal conversations among students and with their faculty. To agencies and other potential employers We have asked the mentors at UOG & GCC, as well as the agencies, businesses, and organizations where students have completed internships and research experiences to attend our semi-annual student symposia. In addition, the Project Director as a member of the Governor of Guam's Workforce Development Collaborative, has taken every opportunity to informally discuss the NextGen project with other agency heads and suggest to them that we can support student interns at their agencies. Five news articles were developed, posted on the UOG website, and 2 were picked up by the Marianas news agencies. Given our small communities, informal person-to-person discussions (even in line at the grocery store) have been the most productive in increasing awareness of the project as well as recruiting more mentors and internship sites. Recently, the USDA sent out a questionnaire to their agencies, asking about internship possibilities. To the public, including families, and future students "Tabling" activities are a very important part of outreach in the Marianas. Parents often choose careers for their sons and daughter but are unaware of the multitude of opportunities. Students in middle and high school are often directed toward careers that are perceived to be highly paid professional jobs. At several "tabling" events, parents and their children expressed surprise at all the professional positions available to college and university graduates in the FANR sciences. Several of our interns also provided presentations, workshops, and activities for middle and high school students, especially through 4H activities. This outreach not only teaches the STEM material, but it also helps students to envision themselves in a career or career pathway like the university students presenting to them. This has been especially effective in some of our schools where the family income is low, the students are primarily from islands other than Guam and Saipan and the interns are from the same communities and share the same language(s). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?From Project Partners Establish the University of Guam (UOG) as a partner institution for the National Student Exchange Program at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa (UH), Utah State University (USU), and the University of Florida (UF) UF intends to finalize the development of online course sections for WIS 4523 (Human Dimensions in Natural Resource Conservation), WIS 4934 (Topics in Wildlife Ecology & Conservation), and WIS 4945 (Wildlife Techniques), such that these will be open for enrollment to UOG, Guam Community College (GCC) and Northern Mariana College (NMC) students starting Fall 24 USU intends to develop online courses for delivery to Mariana Island students, particularly in animal science and/or dietetics. This will also include the development of courses that can be delivered by USU graduate students through NextGen project-supported graduate teaching assistantships A UF professor to teach 1-3 in-person wildlife biology courses at UOG during Summer 25 A UH professor to travel to Guam to evaluate and onboard facilities that will serve as supervised internship locations for accredited dietetics training programs USU to finalize the white paper proposal for action: "Enhancing Experiential Learning in the Marianas Islands Through Collaborative Partnerships" and submit it for peer review & publication From UOG Project Management Goal 1 Complete the bid process and choose a single software company to provide integration of course sharing across UOG, NMC, and GCC. This activity from the 1st year has had to be broken into several steps to convince administrators of its efficacy among the partnering institutions. Continue to work on the development and enhancement of course offerings and shared programs in Wildlife Biology, Natural Resource Management & Environmental Tech. This will still require the approval of new courses and shared programs through each institution's approval chain (potentially up to the Presidents and Board of Regents) as well as accrediting bodies (WSCUC and ACCJC) for UOG, NMC, and GCC. Promote online and/or shared courses on websites, social media & other communication platforms Plan for and assist visiting faculty from UF and UHM Goal 2 Refine guidelines and mechanics for National Student Exchange opportunities, including tuition agreements, airfare, room & board, stipends, etc. Refine evaluation criteria for National Student Exchange opportunities Continue to increase the local sites for internship and research opportunities Continue to provide local high-impact learning opportunities (internships and research experiences) for students, especially during the Fall 24 and Spring 25 semesters Research potential sites for internship and research opportunities outside the Marianas Islands for Summer 25, including USDA sites and partnering universities Assist students with applications for internship and research opportunities outside the Marianas Islands for Summer 25 Continue to promote potential internships & research opportunities on websites, social media & other communication platforms Continue "intrusive advising" and mentoring of NextGen students, focusing on their academic & career goals and aspirations with individualized pathways Continue to monitor & evaluate the success (and problems) arising from internships & research experiences both locally & away from the Marianas Islands Continue to host (and grow) the semi-annual student symposia Continue to collect data and details necessary for monitoring grant success and evaluation Goal 3 Develop guidelines and mechanics for scholarships. This activity from the 1st year was not completed, because we have had few students who could make use of a scholarship and there was no reason to limit access to these funds. We expect scholarships to grow exponentially, as students take advantage of opportunities away from the Marianas Islands. Increase promotion of scholarship funding, especially for opportunities away from the Marianas Islands Continue to provide scholarships to students needing financial support Continue to monitor & evaluate the success (and problems) arising from scholarship opportunities both locally & away from the Marianas Islands Goal 4 Continue to develop local outreach opportunities for students and increase their visibility on the website, bulletin boards, and social media Recruit a student intern to work with the team to assist in the planning, preparation, and distribution/completion of NextGen COMPASS communication, community involvement, and outreach activities Plan, prepare, coordinate, and present 1 activity each semester for NextGen COMPASS students involving either the public or K-12 students Record and evaluate the outreach activities and how many were served
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
This project tackles 4 interconnected issues. 1) The higher education institutions in the Marianas (Northern Marianas College: NMC, Guam Community College: GCC, and the University of Guam: UOG) are very small, leading to limited course offerings. This limitation can prevent students from qualifying for federal jobs. 2) Students are often unaware of potential career paths, while employers struggle to attract qualified local graduates, who bring energy, skills, and knowledge to the workplace. 3) Completing a BS degree often requires moving far away (Los Angeles is 17 time zones and over 6000 miles away from Guam), where the culture is different, tuition is higher, and room & board are additional costs. For less affluent and minority students, these barriers can be hard to overcome without assistance. 4) Outreach efforts to our communities and K-12 students can break this cycle. Each goal addresses 1 of these issues. Goal 1 Potential courses for sharing identified We compiled a comprehensive list of all online courses in the FANH sciences from each partner institution (~150 courses), with links to course descriptions/syllabi. The list was used to create a faculty survey, which identified the most beneficial courses. These will be prioritized for course sharing among all 5 institutions, providing depth and breadth in coursework not available at our small institutions. Specific gaps in programs to be addressed 1st, include, Wildlife Field Techniques, Management of Vertebrate Invasions (to be developed with UF), poultry production (to be developed with USU), and several dietetics courses (to be developed with UH). Curriculum development Wildlife Biology: UOG offers no wildlife-related or conservation biology courses and only 2 zoology courses. Federal jobs for wildlife biologists, require 12 credit hours (cr.) of zoology, 3 cr. of conservation biology, and 9 cr. of wildlife science. UF is revising 5 wildlife biology courses to be offered as Hyflex courses (online for NMC & UOG and in-person for UF students). The courses available in Fall 24, will be: WIS 2920 Wildlife Colloquium (1 cr.) WIS 3401 Wildlife Ecology and Management (3 cr.) WIS 3404 Natural Resource Ecology (3 cr.) WIS 4523 Human Dimensions in Natural Resource Conservation (2 cr.) WIS 4554 Conservation Biology (3 cr.) With 2-3 of these courses, students majoring in Biology at UOG will be qualified as Wildlife Biologists through USDA's OPM standards. They will be competitive for jobs through USDA/APHIS Wildlife Services. Natural Resource Management (NRM): NMC has an AA degree in NRM but needs more advanced curricula. Some UF upper-level online courses may be used for an advanced certificate, allowing students to live and work on their home island. A second option is planned for a 2 + 2 NRM degree: a 2-yr AA from NMC plus 2 years at UH-Manoa to complete a BS. Ultimately, graduates will be employed at many local and federal agencies in the islands dealing with our fragile natural resources. New Environmental Tech (ET) Program: Students start with a free "bootcamp" at GCC, then enter the 1-yr ET Aide certificate program. Students who complete a 2nd year earn an ET AS degree. If a student completes 2 additional years at UOG, they will earn a BS in Biology (ET Officer). Graduates at each level can be hired immediately by the Guam Department of Public Health and Social Services, and several other local and federal government agencies. Limited tuition reduction established & approved To begin sharing courses between the UF Wildlife Ecology & Conservation program and UOG & NMC, a "self-funded" status has been established by UF, such that UOG and NMC students' tuition is reduced and then paid by NextGen scholarships. This removes a major barrier for Marianas students. Goal 2 Guidelines for Applications & Agreements Guidelines for paid internships were developed and implemented. Project specific forms were developed: COMPASS Application, Internship Application, Internship Agreement, and Student Internship Opportunity Form and streamlined forms to meet the Research Corporation of the University of Guam requirements. This paperwork not only provides necessary data but allows us to place students in internships that best suit their needs and goals. Evaluation criteria Students are encouraged to Internships/research experiences Thirty-eight students were provided paid internship/research experiences or fund support. Of these, 4 students completed sponsored training in forest inventory analysis, 1 student participated in a life-history methods workshop, and 7 students were able to participate in conferences, most presenting the results of their research. All most all our 38 interns this year believed that their internship experience helped them to gain academic knowledge, learn practical skills, build their capacity to do research. Most also found that the internships had significant personal impact, particularly in terms of defining their career pathway. One student noted that "this special project has profoundly shown me what I truly want to do for the rest of my life. The project highlighted both my strengths and areas that require improvement which helped me understand how much more work I need to do to become a competent veterinarian." Mentoring One-on-one mentoring occurs during the onboarding process, at the beginning of each semester, and informally when students pick up their checks. Many of our students also mentored others--one student wrote "I enjoyed working with the people [in 4-H communities] because they make me realize how important it is to involve the younger generations in 4-H." Number of students served Number of males/females/non-binary 13/24/1 Number of Asians/other Pacific islanders/2 or more races 10/15/7 Number of 1st-time freshmen/1st-generation students 9/10 Number in 2-yr college/4-yr university program 7/31 Number with Pell scholarships 4 Goal 3 Scholarships Priority is given to 1) students who began FANH studies, but had to interrupt their studies due to financial, health, or other hardship, 2) students who earned an AS degree at any Micronesian institution and desire to continue to a BS in FANH, and 3) students who currently work in a FANH field but lack the education to advance. Travel scholarships (all expenses paid) were provided so 2 students could attend the Agricultural Outlook Forum, 5 students could present their research at the 2024 Center for Island Sustainability Conference, and 1 student to participate in the 4-wk Life History Methods Workshop. A typical student response was that this "helped me network with people in my field and educated me on how this kind of career realistically is in Guam." Goal 4 NFE activities for students Six non-formal "tabling" events were attended by students. These outreach sessions introduced students to opportunities available in the NextGen COMPASS program and provided students the chance to share their NextGen experience. Over 250 people met with us. Ultimately, these events allow current students to recruit the next generation of students to meet the demand for skilled professionals.
Publications
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