With support from the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Program, this conference aims to identify the unique challenges that rural HSIs face in developing effective STEM programs that have robust student enrollment. It will also promote effective solutions that address these challenges. Institutions of higher education in rural areas and small towns face challenges that are uncommon to peer institutions in larger cities. These challenges include access to high speed Internet, lack of hands-on workforce training or undergraduate research, challenges in recruiting qualified faculty, difficulty in meeting enrollment minimums for new STEM programs, and problems accessing federal funding dollars. Hispanic-Serving Institutions are seeking solutions to challenges that are unique to their status as HSIs. This conference will document the intersecting needs, barriers, successes, opportunities, and priorities of existing and emerging rural HSIs. The expected outcomes include models for partnerships and collaborations among geographically dispersed partners, frameworks for industry engagement, improved understanding of effective practices in STEM teaching and learning, improved understanding of cultural relevance for students in rural communities, and best practices and approaches that improve the success of rural HSIs in obtaining external funding.
The conference aims to lay a foundation for understanding challenges and potential solutions for rural HSIs that, when addressed, will increase quality of life and economic success for the people of these communities. The conference will build on the NSF-funded University of Arizona HSI Conference: Transforming STEM Education in Hispanic Serving Institutions - Regional Insights from the Southwest (NSF 1748526). The proposed three-day Rural STEM HSI Conference will examine themes in undergraduate STEM education including: (1) K-12, Two-Year, and Four-Year Partnerships; (2) Career and Workforce Preparation; (3) Innovative STEM Teaching and Learning; (4) Student Support Strategies; (5) Culturally Responsive Education; and (6) External funding. The results will be compared to those from the previous University of Arizona HSI Conference via a qualitative study that integrates within-case and across-case analytic strategies. This comparison will augment knowledge and understanding about the specific challenges and opportunities in STEM undergraduate education at rural HSIs. The conference will generate a report to provide guidance on how to best serve the needs of STEM students at rural HSIs. The conference results will be disseminated to governmental agencies and higher education organizations via presentations at regional and national conferences. The long-term impact of this work will be to help rural HSIs position themselves as drivers to increase access to high-quality educational opportunities and develop the STEM workforce that will impact rural economic prosperity. 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.
