Five+ years ago, a small team of biology educators noticed a gap. CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing had become central to modern biology. Undergraduate classrooms hadn't caught up. Curricula, faculty training, lab budgets - all lagging behind the science. So they built a network to close it. The CRISPR in the Classroom Network (CiTC) is a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded Research Coordination Network (RCN) led by Donna Pattison at the University of Houston. The model: multi-day, hands-on …
Why I’ve Minimized Professional Conferences
As summer winds down—and so does conference season…well, mostly. I’ve been thinking about my hot-cold relationship with professional conferences and how it has changed over the years. I’ve attended the big gatherings in evaluation, sociology, psychology, education research, and statistics, and I’ve learned a great deal from them. They can be wonderful places to encounter new ideas, meet colleagues, and see where a field is heading. But as my career has evolved, I’ve become more …
No, Data Analysis Is Not Evaluation
Python has never attended a community meeting. Neither has R. And Excel - bless its heart - has never explained why a program succeeded. Yet somewhere along the way, we've started treating data analysis and evaluation as though they're interchangeable. They're not. Data analysis is an essential part of evaluation, but it is only one part. It's the instrument - not the orchestra. Evaluation begins long before the first dataset is cleaned or the first regression is run. It begins by asking the …
Transfer Students in STEM: Building the Bridge
The bridge from community college to a STEM degree is real. For too many students, it doesn't hold. My introductory post as Guest Editor for the AAAS S-STEM REC Year 4 Blog is now live. The theme: Cultivating Supportive Scholar Pathways. My subtopic: Pathways for Transfer Students. A few numbers worth sitting with: 🔹 Only 16% of community college students earn a bachelor's degree within six years (National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, 2023). 🔹 STEM attrition peaks in the …
BILT and the Power of Co-Leadership and Co-Ownership: Notes From The West Coast
Yesterday, the culinary and foodservice employers, faculty, and regional partners gave four hours of their morning to something that matters: a Regional BILT (Business and Industry Leadership Team) convening hosted at the beautiful Orange Coast College. The focus was understanding and (sample) scoring the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) that entry-level Food Service and Restaurant Managers will need 12 to 36 months from now. Employers voted. Faculty listened. And the results will …
Coming soon! White Paper on Responsive Evaluation Design
Coming soon! I’m excited to share that a new white paper is on the way from MN Associates, Inc.: Responsive Evaluation Design in S-STEM Projects This one feels especially timely. While our recent guidebooks have focused on practical, lifecycle-based implementation guidance, this new piece takes a different angle. Rather than another “how-to” resource, it is designed as a thought piece for the field—proposing a more responsive, mechanism-aware way to design evaluation in evolving S-STEM …
MNA’s 14th NSF S-STEM Grant Evaluation In Illinois
Excited to share that College of Lake County (IL) has received an National Science Foundation S-STEM award focused on supporting student success in engineering and computer science pathways, with a strong emphasis on retention, transfer, and long-term outcomes. MN Associates, Inc. is proud to serve as the external evaluator for this important work, marking our 14th NSF S-STEM evaluation. What makes this project especially meaningful is its focus on: Strengthening math readiness …
Celebrating a Historic GEAR UP Investment at West Chester University
🎉 Some projects stay with you the moment you hear about them — this is one of those. I am truly excited to see West Chester University receive this historic $10.26 million federal GEAR UP grant, the largest grant in the university’s history. What makes this especially meaningful to me is the long arc of the work: supporting 1,833 students from the Coatesville, Chester, and William Penn School Districts beginning in middle school and walking alongside them on the path to college completion. …
Transforming Workforce Pathways in Southern California: Using the BILT Framework
Excited to share a new partnership advancing workforce alignment and industry engagement in Southern California. MNA is proud to serve as the external evaluator for the Strong Workforce Program (SWP) TIPSS initiative led by Coast Community College District. This regional effort is tackling a challenge we hear across the country: Too many advisory meetings, not enough actionable outcomes. Through the implementation of the Business Industry Leadership Team (BILT) model, this project brings …
Guidebook for NSF S-STEM Project Evaluations Across the Project Lifecycle Is Now Out!
🎈 IT IS HERE! 🎉 The Guidebook for NSF S-STEM Project Evaluations Across the Project Lifecycle is officially published, and MNA is proud to have authored it as an evaluation technical assistance provider for the S-STEM Resource and Evaluation Center (REC), AAAS Center for STEMM Education & Workforce. This guidebook is for everyone navigating evaluation across the National Science Foundation (NSF) S-STEM award (actually any multi-year grants to be honest): evaluators, PIs, co-PIs, …