Establishing a Journey of Inclusion, Identity and Intersectionality through Guided Pathways to Enhance Latinx Success in Engineering and Computer Science

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This project will bring together the University of North Texas (UNT) and North Central Texas College (NCTC) to decrease the time to graduation for transfer students in engineering and computer science (ECS) and better meet the needs of Latinx students. The project leadership takes an asset-based approach to promote racial and gender equity and inclusion for students in Latinx communities in engineering. Major project components include guided pathways designed for co-enrollment at both NCTC and UNT, experiential learning opportunities paired with research experiences, and a faculty and staff fellows program. In addition, the project features co-hosted events for NCTC and UNT administrators, students, faculty and staff to increase the recruitment, engagement and support of Latinx students. The multi-level project design supports the participating institutions' embrace of the strengths, experiences, and perspectives of Latinx students as part of an effort to create a broad, cohesive community. Funded by the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI Program), the project will disseminate a collection of best practices arising from their collaborative effort that can serve as a model for partnerships between community colleges and universities designed to increase representation of the Latinx community in the engineering and computer science workforce.The multiple project components are designed to embody the spirit of "servingness," whereby an HSI grows from being merely "Hispanic enrolling" to more deeply embrace its designation as "Hispanic serving." The project will explore aspects of Inclusion, Identity, and Intersectionality (the three I’s) and how they combine to support three major goals. First is to broaden the recruitment and transfer opportunities for Latinx students to study ECS majors. Second is to build a shared institutional identity among faculty, student allies, and advocates at an HSI. Third is to promote persistence among Latinx students with intersecting identities by developing their engineering identity. Three research questions will guide the project efforts. 1) How do Latinx students navigate the engineering fields at an HSI and how do their opportunities and experiences at an HSI relate to their outcomes? 2) How do faculty and staff incorporate Latinx students’ collective cultural wealth into their curricular and co-curricular programs? 3) How do the community college experiences of Latinx students inform their pathways through engineering and computer science programs at an HSI? Through the project, UNT and NCTC will offer new programs to incorporate an asset-based approach to promote the success of Latinx students. The HSI Program aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education, broaden participation in STEM, and build capacity at HSIs. Achieving these aims, given the diverse nature and context of the HSIs, requires innovative approaches that incentivize institutional and community transformation and promote fundamental research (i) on engaged student learning, (ii) about what it takes to diversify and increase participation in STEM effectively, and (iii) that improves our understanding of how to build institutional capacity at HSIs. Projects supported by the HSI Program will also draw from these approaches to generate new knowledge on how to achieve these aims.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.