Sec. 221. National Science Foundation support for broadening participation in undergraduate STEM education
953 words·~4 min read·
/bill/113/hr/4159/ih/section-221A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
The Director of the National Science Foundation 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, with a priority focus on natural science and engineering fields. Grants shall be awarded under this section on a merit-reviewed, competitive basis. Activities supported by grants under this section may include— implementation or expansion of innovative, research-based approaches to broaden participation of underrepresented minority groups in STEM fields; 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; 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; implementation or expansion of faculty development programs focused on improving retention of undergraduate STEM students from underrepresented minority groups; 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; 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; expansion of opportunities for students from underrepresented minority groups to conduct STEM research in industry, at Federal laboratories, and at international research institutions or research sites; provision of stipends for students from underrepresented minority groups participating in research; development of research collaborations between research-intensive universities and primarily undergraduate minority-serving institutions; 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 other activities consistent with subsection
(a), as determined by the Director of the National Science Foundation. An institution of higher education (or consortium thereof) seeking a grant under this section shall submit an application to the Director of the National Science Foundation at such time, in such manner, and containing such information and assurances as such Director may require. The application shall include, at a minimum— a description of the proposed reform effort; 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; 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; 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 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. In selecting grant recipients under this section, the Director of the National Science Foundation shall consider, at a minimum— 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; 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; the likelihood that the institution will sustain or expand the proposed reform effort beyond the period of the grant; and the degree to which evaluation and assessment plans are included in the design of the proposed reform effort. For applications that include an expansion of existing reforms beyond a single academic unit, the Director of the National Science Foundation 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. The Director of the National Science Foundation 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. 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. The Director of the National Science Foundation 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. There are authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the National Science Foundation $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2014 through 2018 to carry out this section.