NSF Invests to Improve Undergraduate STEM Education at Hispanic-Serving Institutions

As the nation celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month, the U.S. National Science Foundation's Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program has awarded 48 grants to Hispanic-serving institutions in Fiscal Year 2022 to support various projects.

The goals of NSF's HSI program are to enhance the quality of undergraduate science, technology, engineering and mathematics education and to increase the recruitment, retention and graduation rates of students pursuing an associate or bachelor's degree in STEM. Achieving these goals, given the diverse nature and context of the HSIs, requires additional strategies that support building capacity through innovative approaches. Intended outcomes of the HSI program include broadening participation of students who are historically underrepresented in STEM and expanding students' pathways to continued STEM education and integration into the STEM workforce.

The NSF HSI Program has three tracks:

• The Planning or Pilot Projects track funds projects up to $500,000 for up to 2 years. This track provides a funding opportunity for institutions that are new to NSF or are primarily undergraduate institutions, including community colleges.
• The Implementation and Evaluation Projects track funds projects up to $1 million for up to 3-5 years. This track supports the implementation of evidence-based unit-, department-, or multi-department level activities that will enhance the quality of undergraduate STEM education.
• The Institutional Transformation Projects track funds projects up to $3 million for up to 5 years. This track supports institution-wide structural or systemic changes to enhance undergraduate STEM education at the proposing HSI.

The HSI program also supports proposals for conferences addressing critical challenges in undergraduate STEM education and broadening STEM participation.

The FY 2022 awards and recipient institutions are listed below.

TRACK 1: Planning or Pilot Projects

• HSI Pilot Project: Fostering Hispanic Achievement in Computer Science and Engineering With Affinity Research Group Model (Project Achieve) – University of Bridgeport.
• HSI Pilot Project: Developing an Inquiry-Based Research Module to Promote Academic Success in a Diverse Undergraduate STEM Student Population – Houston Baptist University.
• Supporting Student Science Identity and Success through Field Experiences and Course Exploration – San Diego Community College.
• Collaborative Undergraduate Research Experiences in the Mathematical Sciences for Community College Students - Los Angeles Pierce College.
• Interventions to Improve Academic Performance of Biology Majors at Bloomfield College – Bloomfield College.
• HSI Pilot Project: Building Bridges into Math and STEM at San Diego State University-Imperial Valley - San Diego State University Imperial Valley.
• HSI Pilot Project: Including Others in the Teaching and Practice of STEM Disciplines – John Jay College.
• HSI Pilot Project: Improving Undergraduate Biology Courses to Enhance Student Achievement and Interest in Biology and Related Coursework and Careers – Menlo College.
• Promoting Student Persistence, Learning, and Understanding Through an Expanded MESA Program – Bakersfield College.
• HSI Pilot Project: Enhancing Undergraduate Engineering Education Using an Integrated Additive Manufacturing Approach- Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico.
• HSI Pilot Project: Improving Online STEM Education for Undergraduate Students at HSIs – California State University, San Bernadino.
• HSI Pilot Project: STEM Undergraduate, Retention, Graduation, and Engagement (SURGE) - Fairleigh Dickinson University.
• HSI Pilot Project: The 13th Credit Pilot Project – Bronx Community College.
• HSI Pilot Project: Experiential Learning STEM Opportunity for Latinos (ELSOL) - Doña Ana Community College.
• HSI Planning Project: Shifting Perspectives About Why Women of Color Are Underrepresented in Biology: The Role of Intersectional Identities – San Francisco State University.
• HSI Pilot Project: San Antonio College's Campeones de STEM – San Antonio College.
• Engaging Community Colleges Students through a Residential, Pre-transfer Summer Research Program- Sonoma State University.

Track 2: Implementation and Evaluation Projects

• HSI Implementation and Evaluation Project: Strengthening Teaching and Advancing Research Partnerships to Reinforce the STEM Workforce - University of Puerto Rico Aguadilla.
• HSI Implementation and Evaluation Project: Building STEM Identity to Improve Persistence, Graduation and Progression Into STEM Careers for Diverse Students – Metropolitan State University of Denver.
• Cultivating Access to Manifest INtentional Outcomes in STEM (CAMINOS) - New Mexico Highlands University.
• Transitions and Research Across Interfaces (TRAINS) – University of Southern California.
• HSI Implementation and Evaluation Project: Self-sustaining Peer Mentor Support System for Computer Science Students – San Francisco State University.
• Implementation and Evaluation of Curricular Undergraduate Research Experiences in the Life Sciences – University of California, Santa Cruz.
• HSI Implementation and Evaluation Project: Paradigm for Sustainability and Resilience Engineering: A Transdisciplinary, Learner-Centered, and Diversity-Focused Approach - University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez.
• HSI Implementation and Evaluation Project: First year approaches to enhance science identity and STEM persistence – Saint Mary’s College of California.
• Bridging Institutions to Decrease Gaps in Engineering Education - Cal Poly Pomona.
• HSI Implementation and Evaluation Project: Building Paths to Civil Engineering Student Success  – University of Arizona.
• HSI Implementation and Evaluation Project: Co-Curricular Strategies to Support Academically Challenged Diverse Undergraduate STEM Majors - NOVA Southeastern University.
• Increasing Participation and Persistence in STEM by Incorporating Field-Based Experiences in an Urban Environment – California State University, Los Angeles.
• Supporting Persistence by Increasing the Relevance of Algebra to Learning: A Competency-based Curriculum for College Algebra – Our Lady of the Lake University.
• HSI Implementation and Evaluation Project: Enhancing Student Success in Engineering Curriculum through Active e-Learning and High Impact Teaching Practices – University of Central Florida.
• HSI Implementation and Evaluation Project: Improving Professional Preparedness in STEM – California State University, Dominguez Hills.
• Improving STEM Student Fundamental Math Skills with Tailored Activity-Based Instruction- University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
• Developing a High-Quality Academic Environment for Broadening Participation of Hispanic Students in Computing – University of North Texas.
• HSI Implementation and Evaluation Project: Building a Problem-Solving Community of Scholars in STEM – University of Houston.
• HSI Implementation and Evaluation Project: The Freshman Year Innovator Experience (FYIE) - Bridging the URM Gap in STEM – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
• Collaborative Research: HSI Implementation and Evaluation Project: Transfer Students' Success in Quantum Information Science and Engineering - University of Arizona.
• Collaborative Research: HSI Implementation and Evaluation Project: Transfer Students' Success in Quantum Information Science and Engineering - Pima Community College.

Track 3: Institutional Transformation Projects

• HSI Institutional Transformation Project: Retention and Achievement for Introductory STEM English Learners (RAISE) - California State University, San Bernadino.
• HSI Institutional Transformation Project: STEM Undergraduate Education through a Hispanic Student Success Framework – The University of Texas at San Antonio.
• HSI Institutional Transformation Project Voces (Voices for Organizing Change in Educational Systems)- Florida International University.
• HSI Institutional Transformation Project: Center for Equitable Environmental Sciences- University of California, Santa Barbara.
• HSI Institutional Transformation Project: Creating Opportunities for Minoritized Students to Participate in Faculty Mentored Research – University of California, Northridge.

Conference Grants

• The State of Equitable STEM Pedagogy at California Community Colleges – Santa Monica College.
• Building an HSI Grantee Community of Inclusive Excellence – Saint Edward's College.
• Promoting Servingness across CUNY HSIs – New York City College of Technology.
• HSI Intersectionality Community of Practice for Student Success (HSI-ICPSS) – University of New Mexico.