HSI Conference: URBANO-INCREASING ACCESS AND SUCCESS IN URBAN STEM PROGRAMS

Cuny City College, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Dear Colleague Letter NSF 17-092: Improving Undergraduate STEM Education in Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) calls for projects to support conferences that will identify the most critical challenges and opportunities regarding undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education at HSIs, and potential actionable solutions that fall within NSF's mission, policies, and practices. In keeping with this call, the principal investigators of this project will study issues in STEM education at urban HSIs, focusing on the needs and circumstances of urban Hispanic students, who may face a different set of issues compared to students at suburban or rural institutions. These challenges include: limited opportunities for experiential learning, particularly research experiences; and relatively weak academic preparation at the secondary school level. Moreover, these urban Hispanic students are disproportionately represented in groups with lower socioeconomic status. Such circumstances may require commuting long distances to school and holding jobs outside of campus, both of which can impact student success and prospects for degree attainment. The conference will address questions unique to urban institutions, with an emphasis on the use of technology and experiential learning approaches to assist retention and success in STEM education. A conference report, including recommendations for designing an HSI program at NSF, will be produced and shared widely with the higher education enterprise. The City College of New York will convene students, faculty, and administrators from institutions in the greater New York/New Jersey area, along with representatives from industry and government for this two-day conference. In addition, there will be participants from leading urban-based HSIs drawn from other regions around the country. The conference will be organized around three key questions: What issues contribute to the Hispanic student STEM Gap that are particular to urban, as opposed to rural or suburban colleges? What are the aspects of technology and experiential learning that can be brought to bear on addressing this Gap? What types of interventions in these solution sets appear to address the Gap and the needs and challenges posed by industry, academia, and students in an urban college setting? Seeking answers to these questions will also open the door to exploring issues that are relevant to Hispanic students across the nation, and more broadly, to other groups of underrepresented students who face significant challenges in pursuing their higher education goals. The conference will emphasize opportunities for participants to engage with each other actively. Session themes include: 1) Academia: the Gap into Preparation, 2) Industry: the Gap into Employment, and 3) Students: the Gap into Performance. Additional themes include Using Social Media to Build Community and Experiential Learning in MakerSpaces. A poster session will also be conducted to maximize opportunities for networking among the conference attendees.