Image credits: NASA, Tallahassee Community College
The NASA Community College Network: Bringing the Excitement of NASA Science to the Nation’s Community Colleges.
The SETI Institute’s NASA Community College Network (NCCN) is a major initiative to bring NASA Subject Matter Experts (SME), research findings, and science resources into the nation’s community college system. NCCN is a constituent team of the Science Activation program, part of NASA's Science Mission Directive (SMD).
Guided by needs assessments of both community college instructors (CCIs) and SMEs to engage in outreach, NCCN will consist of three key engagement deliverables:
- To broker direct partnerships between NASA science subject matter experts and community college instructors teaching astronomy, space science and related courses.
- To provide a set of high-quality, curated, audience-appropriate NASA resources created with or by NASA scientists to support their outreach and engagement and implemented by the community college instructor.
- To provide professional development and training for both groups:
- Community college instructors: to support or extend their knowledge of NASA science or research topics and help them communicate new or more engaging concepts to their students
- NASA subject matter experts: to help them engage effectively with the instructors and students at community colleges. For scientists new to outreach, NCCN will help them understand community college audiences and how best to work with them.
NCCN is a five-year program that commenced on January 1, 2021. Heading into its fourth year, the program brings together over 130 community colleges across 35 states, together with over almost 100 subject matter experts from major universities, observatories and NASA centers. To register interest or to request to become a part of NCCN, go to nccn.seti.org or click here.
For more general inquiries, email nccn@seti.org
NCCN is funded by NASA SMD Cooperative Agreement 80NSSC21M0009.