1. CSU-LSAMP: Strategies for maintaining a cohesive alliance and maximizing successful outcomes.
Lisa Hammersley, Ph.D.
Nicole Campos
CSU-LSAMP Co-PI, Lead Project Director
CSU-LSAMP Project Manager
California State University, Sacramento

2. OVERVIEW About CSU-LSAMP Maintaining a cohesive alliance: Structure
Policy and procedure
Finances
Reporting
Evaluation

3. About CSU-LSAMP A Brief Overview Initiated in 1993-1994
As of , programs on ALL 23 CSU campuses
Serve over 3,000 students/year
Campuses are very different
Program size varies widely (20 – 600 participants)
CSU-LSAMP administration varies by campus
So, what is CSU-LSAMP?
In a philosophical sense, CSU-LSAMP is a commitment of the California State University, read large, to broaden participation in STEM disciplines;
But, in a practical sense, since , it is a project jointly funded by the California State University and the National Science Foundation. (NSF); which, of course, is why I have the requisite disclaimer at the bottom of this slide, noting that the opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this presentation are those of the authors.
NSF-LSAMP projects involve an “alliance” of colleges and universities engaged in efforts to broaden participation in STEM, particularly participation of persons from underrepresented minority groups, In the case of CSU-LSAMP, the “alliance” currently includes all CSU campuses with the exception of California Maritime Academy, which will be joining in the next project period, if the project is refunded.
WITH SUCH VARIABILITY, HOW DO WE MAINTAIN CONSISTENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY, AND ENSURE INTEGRITY IN EVALUATION AND REPORTING?

4. Maintaining a Strong Alliance
A “lead institution” responsible for administration, funding, data collection, evaluation and reporting.
Collegial decision making processes
Campus Coordinators at annual meetings
A Program Oversight Committee
Programmatic structure that allows campuses flexibility to meet the needs of their students but maintains strong central goals and objectives.
Common set of objectives
Common set of required program components
Common set of policies and procedures pertaining to campus budgets, data collection, and reporting

5. CSU-LSAMP: Overall Goals
Enhance the academic and professional preparation of CSU- LSAMP participants, most of whom are students from underrepresented minorities (URM), for careers in STEM
Further improve persistence and graduation rates for CSU-LSAMP participants
Increase aggregate production of STEM degrees awarded by the CSU to URM students
Increase the number of CSU-LSAMP students who advance to STEM graduate study
Document, disseminate, and replicate undergraduate intervention models that increase access to, and success in STEM baccalaureate degree programs and facilitate admissions to STEM graduate programs.
This slide lists the major goals of CSU-LSAMP as they relate specifically to promoting the success of students from underrepresented minority groups. However, it is important to note that although we (and the NSF) assess the effectiveness of the project in terms of its impact on students from underrepresented groups, participation in CSU-LSAMP is open to students from any racial/ethnic group who face social, educational or economic barriers to STEM careers. (~13% of participants are non-URM)
Specifically, the goals are:
Increasing the number of STEM baccalaureate degrees awarded by the CSU to URM students
Improving persistence and graduation rates of URM students majoring in STEM disciplines
Increasing student participation in research and engagement in international science activities
Increasing the number of URM students who progress to STEM graduate programs.

6. Statewide Office (Sacramento State) Program Oversight Committee
Administrative Structure S
Statewide Office (Sacramento State)
Lead Project Director
Project Manager
Administrative Assistant
External Evaluator
UEI
Program Oversight Committee
23 Campus Coordinators
23 Campus Budget Offices

7. SUPPORTING THE PIPELINE
CSU-LSAMP: Structure
Campuses can chose one of three emphases. Expectations in terms of activities provided, budget, and outcomes reported depend on emphasis.
Emphasis 1: Emphasis on Academic Support Activities & Orientation
Emphasis 2: Comprehensive Program
Emphasis 3: Emphasis on Research, Grad Prep, and professionalization
CSU-LSAMP
SUPPORTING THE PIPELINE

8. CSU-LSAMP: Specific Objectives
Objective 1 – Academic Support Supporting students in “gatekeeper” courses in STEM with the goal of improving student performance and persistence in STEM
Objective 2 – First Year or Transition Programs
Supporting students as they transition into STEM disciplines (e.g. as first-time freshmen, transfer students, or newly declared majors) with the goal of improving persistence in STEM
Summer Bridge programs
Academic Excellence Workshops
Textbook loan/reimbursement programs
Other academic support activities
Orientation programs
Summer Bridge (non-STEM)
Freshman first year programs
Community college transfer student first-year programs
Other transition activities

9. CSU-LSAMP: Specific Objectives
Objective 3 – Research and International Activities
Providing opportunities for students to engage in research projects, internships and international activities, with the goal of encouraging continuation to graduate school and professional careers in STEM
Objective 4 – Professional Development activities
Providing additional professional development and graduate school preparation activities with the goal of increasing the number of students entering graduate programs and professional careers in STEM.
CSU-LSAMP supported research
Other funded research
Internships
International activities
Presentation/publication of research
Graduate school preparation activities
Facilitators/mentors/trainers
Other professional development activities

10. CSU-LSAMP: Specific Objectives
CSU-LSAMP Common Objective
On-going LSAMP student support and exposure to career and research opportunities in STEM with the goal of increasing persistence in STEM and enhancing interest in pursuing graduate study and professional careers in STEM
Optional Activities
Clubs
Seminars
Recruiters
Student cohesion activities
Peer mentoring
Material Support
Regular meetings
Required Activities
Continuous LSAMP advising/counseling
Continued contact and participation in project activities
Communications
Exposure to and support in opportunities (ERN, REUs etc.)
Attendance at conferences (not presenting)

12. Policies and Procedures
Common application form (campuses may add additional questions)
Ensures compliance with NSF and University policy
Procedures for nomination and approval of campus coordinators
Centralized financial procedures:
Budget allocations
Annual proposal submission and review
Oversight of invoices
Reporting calendar and requirements
Budget allocation
Proposals and budgets
POC review
Financial oversight
Reporting

13. CSU-LSAMP: Financial Oversight
Funding: $800,000/year NSF; $800,000/year leveraged Chancellor’s Office funds
Additional leveraging comes from the campuses themselves (salary, space, etc.). Not all campuses have resources, and not all that do are equal. We do not oversee campus-based funds.
A full-time UEI grant manager is assigned to CSU-LSAMP.
23 campuses x 2 accounts per year + 2 accounts for Statewide Office + 2 BD Awards = 50 separate accounts
Funds are allocated through sub-awards that range from $35, $140,000 per campus.
Allocations based on size of program, type of program, quality of prior reporting
$1.15M is allocated to the campuses
Of that, ~$740,000 budgeted for Participant Support Costs
An additional $80,000 in PSC is allocated directly from the Statewide Office from NSF funds

14. CSU-LSAMP: Financial Oversight
Campuses must write a proposal each year to request funding. The proposal consists of a Program Description, a detailed budget, and a thorough budget justification.
Common proposal form is used to ensure consistency
Common budget form is used that shows coordinators if they are within alliance budget parameters (i.e. % of funds allocated for PSC, salary, etc.)
Rather than typical subawards, all expenditures are funneled through the Statewide Office where invoices are examined and approved for allowable expenses.
Make sure all Participant Support Costs are indeed PSC (not travel for a non-participant to speak to students)
Ensure reasonable travel expenses, both for faculty and students
Ensure all of the expenses are listed on their budget justification
Not supporting any alcohol purchases or non-STEM coursework related material.

15. CSU-LSAMP: Reporting
CHALLENGE: WITH 23 CAMPUSES, HOW DO WE ENSURE CONSISTENCY AND INTEGRITY OF REPORTING?
Campuses required to provide two reports per year:
Interim reports for NSF annual report
Annual report is due prior to WebAMP data collection for that year. We provide campuses with a form to fill out providing interim numbers and estimates of totals for the year.
Campus reports are compiled and used to create the Annual Report in Fastlane. Also used are WebAMP report from prior year and spring evaluation report by external evaluator.
WebAMP
Trying to get all 23 campuses to report in WebAMP effectively, cohesively, and accurately can be quite a challenge!
Checks and balances – Have the coordinators use multiple sources of information for reporting (including feedback on proposal and interim report)
Set up a list of WebAMP activities for reporting, all tied to the objectives. Some encompass an array of CSU-LSAMP activities, some stand on their own.
Provide annual training, especially to new coordinators or support staff
Discussion of common issues at annual meeting

16. WebAMP Reporting: Oversight
Campuses “submit” their report by sending an to the statewide office.
Reports reviewed for consistency by external evaluator (ISR)
All enrollment, degrees, and graduate support tabs are handled directly by ISR
After review of the reports, ISR generates their own report of the participants (gender, race/ethnicity, class level, discipline, etc.)
The Lead Project Director then works on the system-wide report.
All campus reports are submitted just prior to final submission to the NSF by the Statewide Office.

17. CSU-LSAMP: Closing the Loop
All WebAMP reports are reviewed by the Program Oversight Committee
Feedback is provided to the campuses where future improvement is needed
Budget allocations are assigned for the next year based upon WebAMP numbers
Budget allocation
Proposals and budgets
POC review
Financial oversight
Reporting

18. CSU-LSAMP: Evaluation
CHALLENGE: HOW DO WE EFFECTIVELY EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF OUR PROGRAM? HOW TO SHOW IT IS OUR EFFORTS THAT ARE HELPING MEET THE CSU-LSAMP GOALS?
One advantage: All our Alliance partners are part of a single University system – this allows us to access system-wide data and look at comparison groups.
Institute for Social Research combines WebAMP data with system- wide data to assess our progress toward meeting our short and long term objectives.
Most recent report available on our website
Two ISR reports: One on WebAMP numbers for a single year. One is more of a longitudinal report. Includes data from entire CSU- LSAMP history.

19. Evaluation: Progress Toward Goals

20. Evaluation: Evaluating Our Impact
We exceeded our long-term goal of a 10% increase in the number of STEM baccalaureate degrees awarded to URM students by the CSU system in the first year of this phase of funding. In fact, increasing by 10% per year.
Important to show that this is more than just CSU system-wide growth:

21. Dissemination

22. For More Information Visit our website: www.csus.edu/csu-lsamp
Contact Information:
Nicole Campos
Dr. Lisa Hammersley
Project Manager
Co-PI, Lead Project Director,
CSU-LSAMP
Professor of Geology
(916)
Sacramento State
(916)

23. Questions?