NCAS-M Best Practices and Next Steps – Broadening Participation of Underserved Students in the Geosciences

The NOAA Cooperative Science Center in Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology (NCAS-M now NCAS-M II) is one of four cooperative science centers (CSCs) funded by the NOAA Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions. NCAS-M’s mission is to recruit, train, and graduate traditionally marginalized and historically excluded students in NOAA mission-aligned sciences to make strong contributions to the NOAA mission enterprise. From 2016-2022, NCAS-M education and training (E&T) components included implementing recruitment strategies and education and training programs to achieve NCAS-M’s mission and develop students’ NOAA mission-aligned skills and competencies. As a result, students participated in E&T activities such as the Experiential Training Summer Program for rising sophomores (ETSP), NOAA Experiential Research and Training Opportunity (NERTO) for graduate students, and Annual Center-wide Professional Development Workshops. Education Experts at the four CSCs also held frequent meetings to share strategies and best practices to enhance E&T program implementation. During 2016-2022 NCAS-M supported 33 PhD, 38 MS, and 94 BS students. Best practices included a multiprong approach to recruitment, the use of individual student development plans, frequent collaborations with NOAA mentors and faculty advisors, regular check-ins with students, and the pivot to an online platform during COVID-19. The presentation will discuss best practices and lessons learned during six years of NCAS-M E&T program implementation. It will also highlight how these best practices will be included in the new phase of NCAS-M II.