HSI Conference: Dissecting the STEM Education Ecosystem in Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs):Regional Insights from Southern California

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California State University Fullerton will conduct a three-day regional conference focused on the STEM education ecosystem at Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) to identify the most critical challenges and opportunities in STEM undergraduate education and actionable solutions that may be relevant to the mission of the National Science Foundation. The conference is framed and guided by a theoretical model that integrates social cognitive career theory and prior literature on factors related to minority students' academic choices and outcomes. The conference will host 80 participants from eight critical stakeholder groups to discuss six themes: (1) Preparing pre-college students - gaps in and opportunities for entering STEM majors, (2) Transforming the first-year college experience - innovative educational technology and inclusive pedagogies for student learning and retention in STEM, (3) Smoothing transitions from two- to four-year HSIs - opportunities and challenges for institutional partnerships, (4) Building coalitions among stakeholders in undergraduate research experience - opportunities and challenges for student persistence, (5) Removing academic barriers - gaps and opportunities for academic remediation, and (6) Sustaining ecosystems at HSI campuses - social and cultural inclusiveness for student success. The conference will use the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) methodology to guide the panel discussions of the six conference themes, each representing an aspect in the STEM education process in the ecosystem. Using this approach, participants will develop a shared vision for change and innovation by focusing on HSIs' greatest assets, capabilities, capacities, and resources to create new possibilities for student success. The expected deliverable is a comprehensive report that will serve as an evidence-based synthesis to support the establishment of a center for undergraduate STEM education at HSIs. The event is intended also to result in coalitions of partners to continue discussions about improving STEM undergraduate education at HSIs.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.