Context at a Glance:

• Institution Description: Florida International University is a public R1* research university in Miami, Florida. It serves approximately 41,586 undergraduate students and 8,421 graduate students.

• LA Program Started in Spring 2008.

  • 1 department - Physics

  • 1 course - Physics 1 lecture and lab (Modeling Instruction)

  • 2 Instructors

  • 8 LAs

• Current LA Program (as of Spring 2018)

  • 10 departments - Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Psychology, Physics, Earth science, Philosophy, Construction Management, and Engineering

  • 73 Instructors

  • 322 LAs

LA Program Description

• How was the program started?

  • The LA Program was started as part of reform in the introductory physics classes that focused on the laboratory component of these classes. The first LAs were part of the Modeling instruction reform.

• How is the program administered ?

  • The LA Program is housed in the STEM Transformation Institute and support implementation of the LAs in the departments.

• How is the program funded?

  • In the beginning, the program was funded by PhysTEC and other grants. Since Fall 2015, LA funding is co-shared between the Provost Office and the departments through the Provost LA Initiative.

• Future plans for expansion?

  • As derived by the strategic goals of FIU, the LA Program is to expand to more departments including non-STEM ones.

• More about the program can be found at http://laprogram.fiu.edu.

(* R1 is Carnegie Classification for a Research 1 Doctoral University, the highest research activity.)