1.This Act may be cited as the
Broadening Participation in STEM
Education Act
.
2.The Congress finds the following:
(1)One of the
National Science Foundation’s core missions is to achieve excellence in
U.S. science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)
education
.
(2)STEM education at
the undergraduate level is vital to developing a workforce that will allow the
United States to remain the leader in the 21st century global economy.
(3)In 2007,
underrepresented minority groups comprised 33.2 percent of the college-age
population of the United States, but only 17.7 percent of undergraduate
students earning bachelor’s degrees in STEM fields.
(4)The Higher
Education Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles,
found that, while freshmen from underrepresented minority groups express an
interest in pursuing a STEM undergraduate degree at the same rate as all other
freshmen, only 22.1 percent of Latino students, 18.4 percent of
African-American students, and 18.8 percent of Native American students
studying in STEM fields complete their degree within 5 years, compared to an
approximate 33 percent and 42 percent 5-year completion rate for White and
Asian students, respectively.
(5)Statistics are particularly alarming in
specific STEM fields. For example, even though underrepresented minorities make
up approximately 33 percent of the college-age population, according to an
analysis of National Science Foundation data performed by the National Action
Council for Minorities in Engineering, students from underrepresented minority
groups earned only 13 percent of all engineering degrees in 2009.
(6)Underrepresented minority groups currently
make up about 29 percent of the United States population. However, only about 8
percent of tenure-track science and engineering faculty members at universities
and 4-year colleges and less than 1 percent of tenure-track science and
engineering faculty members at the top 100 research universities in the United
States are from underrepresented minority groups.
(7)Students from
underrepresented minority groups at institutions of higher education who see
few others like themselves
among faculty and student populations
often do not experience the social integration that is necessary for success in
all disciplines, including STEM.
(8)The ability to
connect students and faculty members from underrepresented minority groups has
been demonstrated to be successful in increasing the achievement level of
students from underrepresented minority groups studying in STEM fields.
(9)The United States
faces a demographic challenge with regard to STEM education: by 2050, 52
percent of the college-age population of the United States will be from
underrepresented minority groups.
(10)If the percentage
of students from underrepresented minority groups earning bachelor’s degrees in
STEM fields does not significantly increase, the United States will face an
acute shortfall in the overall number of students who earn degrees in STEM
fields.
(11)With this
impending shortfall, and with the number of citizens of other countries earning
degrees in STEM fields increasing, the comparative advantage of the United
States STEM workforce will diminish, and the United States will almost
certainly lose its competitive edge in the 21st century global economy.
3.Foundation
support for broadening participation in undergraduate STEM education
(a)The
Director shall award grants to institutions of higher education (or consortia
thereof) to implement or expand research-based reforms in undergraduate STEM
education for the purpose of recruiting and retaining students from minority
groups who are underrepresented in STEM fields.
(b)Merit review;
competitionGrants shall be awarded under this section on a
merit-reviewed, competitive basis.
(c)Activities supported by grants under this section may
include—
(1)implementation or
expansion of innovative, research-based approaches to broaden participation of
underrepresented minority groups in STEM fields;
(2)implementation or
expansion of bridge, cohort, tutoring, or mentoring programs designed to
enhance the recruitment and retention of students from underrepresented
minority groups in STEM fields;
(3)implementation or
expansion of outreach programs linking institutions of higher education and
K–12 school systems in order to heighten awareness among pre-college students
from underrepresented minority groups of opportunities in college-level STEM
fields and STEM careers;
(4)implementation or
expansion of faculty development programs focused on improving retention of
undergraduate STEM students from underrepresented minority groups;
(5)implementation or
expansion of mechanisms designed to recognize and reward faculty members who
demonstrate a commitment to increasing the participation of students from
underrepresented minority groups in STEM fields;
(6)expansion of
successful reforms aimed at increasing the number of STEM students from
underrepresented minority groups beyond a single course or group of courses to
achieve reform within an entire academic unit, or expansion of successful
reform efforts beyond a single academic unit to other STEM academic units
within an institution of higher education;
(7)expansion of
opportunities for students from underrepresented minority groups to conduct
STEM research in industry, at Federal labs, and at international research
institutions or research sites;
(8)provision of
stipends for students from underrepresented minority groups participating in
research;
(9)support for
graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from underrepresented minority
groups to participate in instructional or assessment activities at primarily
undergraduate institutions, including primarily undergraduate minority-serving
institutions and two-year institutions of higher education; and
(10)other activities
consistent with subsection (a), as determined by the Director.
(d)
(1)An
institution of higher education (or consortia thereof) seeking a grant under
this section shall submit an application to the Director at such time, in such
manner, and containing such information and assurances as the Director may
require. The application shall include, at a minimum—
(A)a description of
the proposed reform effort;
(B)a description of
the research findings that will serve as the basis for the proposed reform
effort or, in the case of applications that propose an expansion of a
previously implemented reform, a description of the previously implemented
reform effort, including data about the recruitment, retention, and academic
achievement of students from underrepresented minority groups;
(C)evidence of an
institutional commitment to, and support for, the proposed reform effort,
including a long-term commitment to implement successful strategies from the
current reform beyond the academic unit or units included in the grant
proposal;
(D)a description of
existing or planned institutional policies and practices regarding faculty
hiring, promotion, tenure, and teaching assignment that reward faculty
contributions to improving the education of students from underrepresented
minority groups in STEM; and
(E)how the success
and effectiveness of the proposed reform effort will be evaluated and assessed
in order to contribute to the national knowledge base about models for
catalyzing institutional change.
(2)In selecting grant recipients under this section,
the Director shall consider, at a minimum—
(A)the likelihood of
success of the proposed reform effort at the institution submitting the
application, including the extent to which the faculty, staff, and
administrators of the institution are committed to making the proposed
institutional reform a priority of the participating academic unit or
units;
(B)the degree to
which the proposed reform effort will contribute to change in institutional
culture and policy such that greater value is placed on faculty engagement in
the retention of students from underrepresented minority groups;
(C)the likelihood
that the institution will sustain or expand the proposed reform effort beyond
the period of the grant; and
(D)the degree to
which evaluation and assessment plans are included in the design of the
proposed reform effort.
(3)For
applications that include an expansion of existing reforms beyond a single
academic unit, the Director shall give priority to applications for which a
senior institutional administrator, such as a dean or other administrator of
equal or higher rank, serves as the principal investigator.
(4)The Director shall ensure, to the extent
practicable, that grants awarded under this section are made to a variety of
types of institutions of higher education, including two-year and
minority-serving institutions of higher education.
(e)
(1)All grants made under this section shall include an
education research component that will support the design and implementation of
a system for data collection and evaluation of proposed reform efforts in order
to build the knowledge base on promising models for increasing recruitment and
retention of students from underrepresented minority groups in STEM education
at the undergraduate level across a diverse set of institutions.
(2)The
Director shall coordinate with relevant Federal agencies in disseminating the
results of the research under this subsection to ensure that best practices in
broadening participation in STEM education at the undergraduate level are made
readily available to all institutions of higher education, other Federal
agencies that support STEM programs, non-Federal funders of STEM education, and
the general public.
4.Foundation
support for increasing diversity among STEM faculty at institutions of higher
education
(a)The
Director shall award grants to institutions of higher education (or consortia
thereof) for the development of innovative reform efforts designed to increase
the recruitment, retention, and advancement of individuals from
underrepresented minority groups in academic STEM careers.
(b)Merit review;
competitionGrants shall be awarded under this section on a
merit-reviewed, competitive basis.
(c)Activities supported by grants under this section may
include—
(1)institutional
assessment activities, such as data analyses and policy review, in order to
identify and address specific issues in the recruitment, retention, and
advancement of faculty members from underrepresented minority groups;
(2)implementation of institution-wide
improvements in workload distribution, such that faculty members from
underrepresented minority groups are not disadvantaged in the amount of time
available to focus on research, publishing papers, and engaging in other
activities required to achieve tenure status and run a productive research
program;
(3)development and
implementation of training courses for administrators and search committee
members to ensure that candidates from underrepresented minority groups are not
subject to implicit biases in the search and hiring process;
(4)development and
hosting of intra- or inter-institutional workshops to propagate best practices
in recruiting, retaining, and advancing faculty members from underrepresented
minority groups;
(5)professional
development opportunities for faculty members from underrepresented minority
groups;
(6)activities aimed
at making undergraduate STEM students from underrepresented minority groups
aware of opportunities for academic careers in STEM fields;
(7)activities to
identify and engage exceptional graduate students from underrepresented
minority groups at various stages of their studies and to encourage them to
enter academic careers; and
(8)other activities
consistent with subsection (a), as determined by the Director.
(d)
(1)An
institution of higher education (or consortia thereof) seeking funding under
this subsection shall submit an application to the Director at such time, in
such manner, and containing such information and assurances as the Director may
require. The application shall include, at a minimum, a description of—
(A)the reform effort
that is being proposed for implementation by the institution of higher
education;
(B)any available
evidence of specific difficulties in the recruitment, retention, and
advancement of faculty members from underrepresented minority groups in STEM
academic careers within the institution of higher education submitting an
application, and how the proposed reform effort would address such
issues;
(C)how the
institution of higher education submitting an application plans to sustain the
proposed reform effort beyond the duration of the grant; and
(D)how the success
and effectiveness of the proposed reform effort will be evaluated and assessed
in order to contribute to the national knowledge base about models for
catalyzing institutional change.
(2)In selecting grant recipients under this section,
the Director shall consider, at a minimum—
(A)the likelihood of
success in undertaking the proposed reform effort at the institution of higher
education submitting the application, including the extent to which the
administrators of the institution are committed to making the proposed reform
effort a priority;
(B)the degree to
which the proposed reform effort will contribute to change in institutional
culture and policy such that greater value is placed on the recruitment,
retention, and advancement of faculty members from underrepresented minority
groups;
(C)the likelihood
that the institution of higher education will sustain or expand the proposed
reform effort beyond the period of the grant; and
(D)the degree to
which evaluation and assessment plans are included in the design of the
proposed reform effort.
(3)The Director shall ensure, to the extent
practicable, that grants awarded under this section are made to a variety of
types of institutions of higher education.
5.In this Act:
(1)The
term Director means the Director of the National Science
Foundation.
(2)The
term Foundation means the National Science Foundation established
under section 2 of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950 (42 U.S.C.
1861).
(3)Institution of
higher educationThe term institution of higher
education has the meaning given that term in section 101(a) of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)).
(4)The
term STEM means the academic and professional disciplines of
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.