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Hispanic-Serving Institutions: Enriching Learning, Programs, and Student Experiences (HSI:ELPSE)

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NSF 24-551

Important information about NSF’s implementation of the revised 2 CFR

NSF Financial Assistance awards (grants and cooperative agreements) made on or after October 1, 2024, will be subject to the applicable set of award conditions, dated October 1, 2024, available on the NSF website. These terms and conditions are consistent with the revised guidance specified in the OMB Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance published in the Federal Register on April 22, 2024.

Important information for proposers

All proposals must be submitted in accordance with the requirements specified in this funding opportunity and in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) that is in effect for the relevant due date to which the proposal is being submitted. It is the responsibility of the proposer to ensure that the proposal meets these requirements. Submitting a proposal prior to a specified deadline does not negate this requirement.

Supports projects that enhance undergraduate STEM education at Hispanic-serving Institutions in all disciplines supported by NSF and improves access to computing and lab resources necessary to enhance undergraduate students' educational experiences.

Supports projects that enhance undergraduate STEM education at Hispanic-serving Institutions in all disciplines supported by NSF and improves access to computing and lab resources necessary to enhance undergraduate students' educational experiences.

Synopsis

Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) are aimportant component of the nation’s higher education ecosystem and play a critical role in realizing the National Science Board’s vision for a more diverse and capable science and engineering workforce1,2. Aligned with this vision and the NSF Strategic Plan3, the goals of the NSF HSI Program are to: 

  1. Enhance the quality of undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education at HSIs. 

  1. Increase the recruitment, retention, and graduation rates of students pursuing associate’s or baccalaureate degrees in STEM at HSIs. 

Meeting these goals requireinstitutions to understand and embrace their students’ strengths, challenges, and lived experiences.  While this can happen in many ways and across many parts of an institution, the Hispanic Serving Institutions: Enriching Learning, Programs, and Student Experiences (HSI:ELPSE) solicitation is specifically focused on studying and improving the student experience in the following settings:   

  • STEM courses, particularly for students pursuing STEM degrees;  

  • Certificate, minor, and/or degree programs;  

  • Academic departments or divisions; and  

  • Schools and colleges that represent a part of the entire institution (e.g., a School of Engineering or a College of Natural Sciences).   

Institutions are encouraged to consider how their mission and designation as an HSI could reimagine and/or strengthen courses, degree programs, departments, or divisions. The HSI:ELPSE solicitation welcomes projects that look to implement, test and refine promising practices and/or conduct research related to broadening participation or improving recruitment, retention, graduation and other positive outcomes for undergraduates in STEM. 

The HSI:ELPSE solicitation supportprojects that are purposefully designed to meet students where they are, accounting for both their assets and the challenges they may face. Identities and experiences are not determined solely by membership in a single monolithic population of students (e.g., Hispanic, first-generation, commuter, etc.). Consequently, institutions are expected to use institutional data to identify equity gaps, identify areas of need, and unpack the factors that shape students’ individual realities and shared experiences.  Perspectives gained from these data should be central to the design of the project.  

 This solicitation includes the following tracks: 

  • Implementation and Evaluation Projects (IEP): Levels 1 and 2  

  • Educational Instrumentation (EI) 

Please see below for specific information about each track. Generally, proposals to the IEP track will center on one or more of the following: courses; curricular improvements; pedagogy; support structures inside and outside of the classroom; degree programs; and student pathways. 

The HSI:ELPSE solicitation will also consider proposals designed to increase access to computing resources and/or laboratory instrumentation needed to provide high-quality undergraduate STEM education at the following types of institutions: (1) HSIs in EPSCoR jurisdictions; and (2) HSI Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs) in all other (non-EPSCoR) jurisdictions. Please see the discussion of the Educational Instrumentation Track below for specific details. 

 

Program contacts

Name Email Phone Organization
Michael J. Ferrara
mferrara@nsf.gov (703) 292-2635 EDU/DUE
Sonja Montas-Hunter
smontash@nsf.gov (703) 292-7404 EDU/EES
James Alvarez
jalvarez@nsf.gov (703) 292-2323
Sonal S. Dekhane
sdekhane@nsf.gov (703) 405-8977
Elsa Gonzalez
elgonzal@nsf.gov (703) 292-4690
Julio G. Soto
jgsoto@nsf.gov (703) 292-2973

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