Houston-Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation:Senior Alliance

Texas Southern University, Houston TX

Investigators

Abstract

The Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Program, within the Division of Human Resource Development (HRD), was established by Congressional mandate in 1991 to significantly increase the quality and quantity of students historically underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) who successfully complete baccalaureate degrees in STEM and who continue to graduate studies in these fields. The Houston alliance is a comprehensive partnership that includes the country's largest school districts, two community college systems, one doctoral-granting Historically Black College and University (HBCU) and two Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). As a senior-level alliance, H-LSAMP will support new efforts in student transition, student support mechanisms for non-traditional students, the inclusion of social support mechanisms to facilitate STEM retention, and the institutionalization of high-impact practices developed during earlier LSAMP funding. Over the five-year project, Houston LSAMP Senior Alliance will: (1) Graduate 4,000 minority students in STEM disciplines, 2) Provide all directly supported students with the opportunity to participate in research activities, 3) Have at least sixty percent of directly supported students attend professional or graduate school, 4) Retain at least eighty percent of minority STEM undergraduates, including transfer students, in STEM majors. Upon completion of the award period, the H-LSAMP project will have provided the opportunity for all supported students to meaningfully participate in research activities, including international research. Evaluation activities will have three major components. 1) Interviews of participants, staff, and faculty to identify in real time which intervention activities need adjustment, i.e., formative feedback, as well as assess both the measured and perceived impact of project-based activities; 2) Gathering, analyzing, and reporting specific measures that operationalize each project goal or objective; and 3) The use of multivariate models isolating and measuring how the specific intervention strategies and support mechanisms relate to success. Construction of these models will be guided by the literature on academic and social integration, engagement, and achievement, and will draw upon appropriate statistical techniques, e.g., factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The results of these analyses will contribute to the literature on broadening participation and achievement in STEM and serve as a guide for other universities and alliances who share these goals.