HSI Implementation and Evaluation Project: Co-Curricular Strategies to Support Academically Challenged Diverse Undergraduate STEM Majors

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With support from the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI Program), this Track 2: IEP project aims to offer a coordinated combination of evidence-based strategic co-curricular interventions to support diverse STEM majors who are struggling early in their academic pathways. Because many diverse students are underprepared both academically and motivationally for degree success, the project will target diverse Computer Science, Engineering, Biology, and Marine Biology majors who are placed on (or who through early identification are deemed to be at risk of being placed on) academic probation. An intersectional team of STEM faculty, industry, and near-peer coaches/mentors/role models will work collectively to provide timely and continuous asset-based coaching/mentoring, specialized STEM tutoring, and research and industry-based experiential learning activities. Coaches/mentors will be trained to serve as allies to facilitate a positive academic mindset, providing guidance (and referrals as needed) to high-quality wrap-around resources to address students’ individual academic and personal needs. The project will contribute important findings to the body of knowledge in STEM higher education regarding the relationship between academic success outcomes (especially among underrepresented students at HSIs) and coordinated support programs and services. The approach will benefit society by increasing underrepresented student graduation leading to increased employment diversity in high demand STEM occupational fields. The project goal will be to better understand issues in the retention and degree attainment of STEM undergraduates (especially those who are underrepresented) to pursue careers in promising STEM fields and contribute to the American innovation economy. The outcome will be a model of sound educational practices that generate promising evidence in increasing success measures that indicate the broadening participation of students who are historically underrepresented in STEM. The research hypothesis will be: An intensive summer program that focuses on providing meaningful, holistic support and developing individual relationships with and between students, can reduce/minimize feelings of frustration and a lack of self-confidence among academically challenged underrepresented students in the STEM academic environment, and help those students achieve their potential as demonstrated by retention and graduation rates. The Early-Stage (Exploratory) Research plan will contribute to core knowledge in education, examining correlations between project interventions and participant retention and graduation rates; the research methodology will involve identifying evidence of the potential of summer program activities to improve retention and graduation. The case study will contribute to the advancement of knowledge in high impact programs and services specific to underrepresented/ intersectional STEM students, demonstrating effective, practical ways to bring a new perspective to addressing cultural responsiveness. Dissemination of best practices and case study results will be achieved through presentations, publications, and establishment of a new website for use by other educators, researchers, and policymakers. The body of knowledge shared will advance opportunity equity, increasing US intellectual capital for underrepresented students to succeed in greater numbers. The HSI Program aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education and build capacity at HSIs. Projects supported by the HSI Program will also 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.