The Genomics Education Partnership: First Findings on Genomics Research in Community Colleges

• Published in: Scholarship and practice of undergraduate research Vol. 6; no. 3; pp. 17 - 28
• Main Authors: Croonquist, Paula, Falkenberg, Virginia, Minkovsky, Natalie, Sawa, Alexa, Skerritt, Matthew, Sustacek, Maire Kate, Diotti, Raffaella, Aragon, Anthony D, Mans, Tamara, Sherr, Goldie L, Ward, Catherine, Hall-Woods, Monica, Goodman, Anya L, Reed, Laura K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Council on Undergraduate Research 01-01-2023
• Subjects: Biology; Community Colleges; Disproportionate Representation; Ethnicity; First Generation College Students; Genetics; Low Income Students; Minority Group Students; Partnerships in Education; Program Effectiveness; Racial Differences; Student Attitudes; Student Research; Two Year College Students
• ISSN: 2476-101X
• DOI: 10.18833/spur/6/3/1

The Genomics Education Partnership (GEP), a consortium of diverse colleges and universities, provides support for integrating genomics research into undergraduate curricula. To increase research opportunities for underrepresented students, GEP is expanding to more community colleges (CC). Genomics research, requiring only a computer with Internet access, may be particularly accessible for two-year institutions with limited research capacity and significant budget constraints. To understand how GEP supports student research at CCs, the authors analyzed student knowledge and self-reported outcomes. It was found that CC student gains were comparable to non-CC student gains, with improvements in attitudes toward science and thriving in science. The early findings suggest that the GEP model of centralized support with flexible implementation of a course-related undergraduate research experience benefits CC students and may help mitigate barriers to implementing research at CCs.