The Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program assists universities and colleges in their efforts to significantly increase the number of students matriculating into and successfully completing high quality degree programs in science,technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines in order to diversify the STEM workforce. Particular emphasis is placed on transforming undergraduate STEM education through innovative, evidence-based recruitment and retention strategies, and relevant educational experiences in support of racial and ethnic groups historically underrepresented in STEM disciplines: African Americans, Hispanic Americans,American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Native Pacific Islanders. These strategies facilitate the production of well-prepared students highly-qualified and motivated to pursue graduate education or careers in STEM. For the United States (U.S.) to remain globally competitive, it is vital that it taps into the talent of all its citizens and provides exceptional educational preparedness in STEM areas that underpin the knowledge-based economy.
The CIMA Alliance - a partnership between St. Philip's, San Antonio, Northwest Vista, Palo Alto, and Northeast Lakeview Colleges - is uniquely poised to respond to the need for a more diverse and skilled technical workforce. That need still exists and is particularly acute in Bexar County(Texas) where minorities traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields comprise much of the region's population. The CIMA Alliance's goals are to: 1) Increase individual student retention and progression to baccalaureate degrees for underrepresented minorities (URMs); 2) Enable successful transfer of URMs from two-year programs into four-year programs; and 3)Increase access to high-quality undergraduate research experiences. These goals support the National Science Foundation's strategic goal to "cultivate a world-class,broadly inclusive science and engineering workforce, and expand the scientific literacy of all citizens." To retain more STEM majors to graduation or transfer, and to provide an intervention that addresses multiple factors that influence Hispanic student success in STEM, the project will encourage students to develop peer and faculty support networks and improve their sense of self-efficacy in STEM through involvement in student-led undergraduate research; peer mentorship; faculty mentorship; tutoring; supplemental instruction, especially in mathematics; and STEM student clubs. The project supports the goals of the LSAMP program by transforming undergraduate STEM education at all five CIMA Alliance Colleges via 1) relevant curricular and co-curricular educational experiences that are designed to meet the specific needs of URM STEM majors; and 2) professional development in innovative, evidence-based teaching, recruitment, and retention strategies for all STEM faculty and academic advisors. Convergent STEM education is emphasized to prepare students for 21st Century careers in science and technology.
Dissemination of the evaluation results will provide insight into activities/programs that establish seamless transfer pipelines into four-year institutions, and the extent to which these interventions increase the number of underrepresented community college STEM majors who complete a STEM bachelor's degree within six years.
Support for this project is provided by the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI Program), that aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education and build capacity at HSIs and the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation program.
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.
