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This grant will provide Universidad del Este the opportunity to develop and implement a bilingual minor in Food Safety for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) undergraduate students. The Food Safety minor constitutes an area of opportunity for the school in its strategic goal of creating a Bachelors of Science degree in Food Science in the future. It will build upon a new Food Safety Lab that was assembled through another grant: Equipment only for the Caribbean Food Safety Research Center (HRSA DHHS Agency # 1C76HF05760-01-00. Its objective is to develop thirty credit hours of Food Safety Courses. Each course will consist of three to four credit hours depending on the content depth and laboratory experiences included in the syllabi. Two faculty members will provide their expertise and time to meet the needs of the school in the creation of new academic programs. They will also receive intensive training in food safety research issues. These staff members will also develop a research program that involves undergraduate students. The research program will be focused on the retail food industry, such as: restaurants, hotels, cafeterias, and the cruise ship sector. Fifteen students will enroll annually into the Food Safety Minor Track. After the first year, these two faculty members will mentor ten students annually through summer undergraduate research activities. Participating students will obtain a valuable research experience, which will be acquired through the courses and summer undergraduate research experience. These students will make presentations of their research results at local, national, and international symposiums.
NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: The increase in global food supply as well as other factors such as, emerging pathogens, deficient food preparation and storage, and lack of education can have a significant impact on the incidence of food borne illness. Universities in the continental US have established effective undergraduate programs to meet the needs of these professionals; however, there are not any academic programs available in the US in both Spanish and English. This project fills this gap by providing up-to-date bilingual education that will benefit students interested in seeking job opportunities in the food and agricultural sector. As the Hispanic population increases in the US, bilingual professionals will be better prepared to cope with the food safety threats and issues encountered by these communities. The major research and educational serge will be directed to the retail sector, such as: restaurants, hotels, cafeterias, and the cruise ship sector. Approximately fifteen undergraduate students will enroll annually and benefit from obtaining a Bilingual Minor on Food Safety. Ten undergraduate students will annually initiate and follow through with research projects under the mentorship of two faculty members. This project meets the following approach: reshape curricula for a changing agricultural system; utilize scientific instrumentation for teaching; develop student experiential learning opportunities for underrepresented students; recruit and retain underrepresented students; and graduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students capable of occupying position in the food and agricultural sector.<P>
APPROACH: The first year of the project will be the Planning Stage. Its major activities will be the preparation, submission, and review of the first draft of the Food Safety Minor courses by the participating faculty member to the Academic Curricular Committee. The syllabi will be both in Spanish and English. It will be followed by eight weeks of Summer Faculty Training. This Summer Faculty Training for 2 professors will help them in the curriculum design. They will also be trained in food safety issues, research trends, and collaborative opportunities. The strategy that will be used is Train the Trainers. Two faculty members will go to one the National Food Safety Center of Excellence. These individuals will learn about the major research initiatives being conducted in Food Safety on a regional, national, and international level. They will develop and direct the Food Safety Research Program towards food safety issues and research that arise at the retail, restaurant, hotel, cafeteria, and cruise ship sector. Research activities will also be developed that involve undergraduate students. At the end of the year the first annual report will be presented. The second and third year will be the implementation stage, which consists of the submission and review of the Food Safety Minor courses and program by UNE Administrative Council and the approval of the Food Safety Minor program. Summer Faculty Training will keep going and Summer Undergraduate Research Training will start with ten students. In this summer students will start with the new curriculum. It will help them to initiate their research on the new discipline and will prepare them for thw following academic year. Student enrollment will begin in the Fall of the second year and the first Food Safety Courses will be offered. During the three years, the Assessment Design Stage will be developed and implemented with the assistance of the Vice-Chancellor for Assessment and Research and an External Evaluator. Measuring success will involve two mechanisms, a performance assessment action plan, and record keeping with three types of records: records related to grant funds, records related to Project requirements, and records related to performance. The formative evaluation is designed to allow timely interventions for project improvement. Evaluation instruments such as: surveys, satisfaction questionnaires and forms will be designed and implemented to document the outcomes of the students who will be carrying undergraduate research projects. Ongoing formative evaluation will allow for timely adjustment of strategies and schedules, reallocation of resources, and revised managerial decisions to improve the activities as they unfold. All appropriate assessment measures, including surveys, questionnaires, test results, existing course assessment, interviews, and quasi-experimental methods will be used to assess the impact of the activity as a measure of progress toward meeting activity objectives and ultimately attaining success in achieving the goals of the project. Impact of the project will be determined through survey instruments designed to measure the quality of project achievements.