This project aims to serve the national interest by implementing evidence-based instructional practices in undergraduate STEM courses to improve student outcomes, persistence, and retention—particularly for the Appalachian region. The project intends to increase faculty capacity to deliver engaging instruction by training science and engineering faculty in active learning strategies and other evidence-based pedagogies and assessment techniques. The significance of this project lies in its focus on high-enrollment STEM courses with elevated D/F/W rates that serve large numbers of first-generation college students, transfer students, and students from rural backgrounds. By equipping faculty with research-based instructional tools and fostering a sustainable professional learning community, the project supports student success in foundational STEM courses and contributes to building a skilled workforce that meets both regional and national needs. This Level 1 Institutional and Community Transformation project includes a structured professional development program, the use of Mobile Summer Institutes (MoSI), competitive minigrants that provide faculty with resources to implement course innovations, and the creation of Communities of Practice (CoP) to cultivate faculty collaboration, peer learning, and institutional culture change around STEM instruction. The project is expected to lead to sustained improvements in undergraduate STEM education through enhancements in teaching effe