Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (NSF 22-545)

Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (NSF 22-545) is sponsored by U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). This discretionary grant opportunity is designed to strengthen the quality of undergraduate STEM education at eligible HSIs while also increasing recruitment, retention, and graduation of students pursuing associate's and bachelor's degrees in STEM.

NSF 22-545: Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI Program) | NSF - U.S. National Science Foundation Archived funding opportunity This solicitation is archived.

Important information for proposers and award recipients All proposals must be submitted in accordance with the requirements specified in the funding opportunity and in the Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) and its supplements . All NSF grants and cooperative agreements are subject to the applicable set of NSF award terms and conditions . NSF has updated its research security policies for NSF funded projects.

NSF 22-545: Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI Program) Posted: December 27, 2021 Download the solicitation (PDF, 1. 5mb) National Science Foundation Directorate for Education and Human Resources Division of Human Resource Development Division of Undergraduate Education Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p. m.

submitter's local time): Track 1: Planning or Pilot Projects (PPP), Track 2: Implementation and Evaluation Projects (IEP), and Track 3: Institutional Transformation Projects (ITP) full proposal deadline. Last Wednesday in August, Annually Thereafter Track 1: Planning or Pilot Projects (PPP) and Track 3: Institutional Transformation Projects (ITP) full proposal deadline.

Second Wednesday in February, Annually Thereafter Track 1: Planning or Pilot Projects (PPP), Track 2: Implementation and Evaluation Projects (IEP) full proposal deadline. Important Information And Revision Notes This revision contains new submission due dates for Tracks 1, 2, and 3, and clarifying language stating the expectation that reviewers will review all the required documents. All other program information remains the same.

Innovating and migrating proposal preparation and submission capabilities from FastLane to Research. gov is part of the ongoing NSF information technology modernization efforts, as described in Important Notice No. 147 . In support of these efforts, research proposals submitted in response to this program solicitation must be prepared and submitted via Research.

gov or via Grants. gov, and may not be prepared or submitted via FastLane. Any proposal submitted in response to this solicitation should be submitted in accordance with the revised NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) ( NSF 22-1 ), which is effective for proposals submitted, or due, on or after October 4, 2021.

Summary Of Program Requirements Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI Program) The goals of the HSI program are to enhance the quality of undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and to increase the recruitment, retention, and graduation rates of students pursuing associate's or baccalaureate degrees in STEM.

Achieving these, given the diverse nature and context of the HSIs, requires additional strategies that support building capacity at HSIs through innovative approaches: to incentivize institutional and community transformation; and to promote fundamental research (i) on engaged student learning, (ii) about what it takes to diversify and increase participation in STEM effectively, and (iii) that improves our understanding of how to build institutional capacity at HSIs.

Intended outcomes of the HSI Program include broadening participation of students that are historically underrepresented in STEM and expanding students’ pathways to continued STEM education and integration into the STEM workforce. The HSI program is aligned with the National Science Board's vision for, and the NSF's commitment to, a more diverse and capable science and engineering workforce.

1 , 2 HSIs are heterogeneous and unique in many respects. 3 Some HSIs have well-established undergraduate STEM programs while others are just beginning to create STEM programs. Whether 2-year or 4-year, public or private, the HSIs serve a wide range of students with a diverse set of educational backgrounds.

The need for tailored initiatives, policies, and practices (mindful of socio-cultural awareness) should meet the students' needs and institutions' expectations while advancing undergraduate students at HSIs toward higher levels of academic achievement in STEM.

This is the motivation behind three HSI program tracks: Track 1: Planning or Pilot Projects (PPP); Track 2: Implementation and Evaluation Projects (IEP ); and Track 3: Institutional Transformation Projects (ITP). Track 3, ITP, is motivated by work on organizational identities for HSIs that suggest that organizational culture and identity play a key role in the success of an HSI in promoting student success in STEM.

4 The HSI program accepts proposals in the following tracks: Track 1: The Planning or Pilot Projects (PPP) track provides a funding opportunity for institutions that are new to NSF 5 or are Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs 6 ), including community colleges. The PPP has been designed to link with the other two tracks.

The PPP track seeks to enhance undergraduate STEM education and build capacity at less-resourced institutions and to increase these institutions' ability to compete for NSF funding from other programs. Planning projects in this track undertake the activities necessary to develop a future HSI program Track 2 or Track 3 proposal submission.

Pilot projects in this track may be carried out to achieve a short-term, well-defined goal to enhance the availability of high-quality undergraduate STEM education at the HSI and gather preliminary data for future HSI program Track 2 or Track 3 proposals.

Importantly, Pilot projects may also develop fundamental STEM education research capacity on student learning at HSIs, discovering effective means for diversifying and increasing participation in STEM. All PPP projects must include project evaluation and dissemination components.

Track 2: The Implementation and Evaluation Projects (IEP) track supports the implementation of evidence-based unit-, department-, or multi-department-level activities that will enhance the quality of undergraduate STEM education. All HSI institution types are encouraged to apply, especially PUIs (including community colleges).

These projects may design and implement a new educational practice or practices, and/or adapt/replicate evidence-based practices that are already known to be effective. IEP may conduct research that promotes one or more of the HSI program goals, including research on indicators of effective and successful undergraduate STEM education at HSIs.

These projects must include both project evaluation and dissemination components, as well as an education research component. The IEP strategies are expected to be institutionalized and sustainable. Track 3: The Institutional Transformation Projects (ITP) track supports institution-wide structural or systemic changes to enhance undergraduate STEM education at the proposing HSI.

The ITP must be grounded in STEM education research and broadening participation research and be designed to make institutional infrastructure and policy changes to support long-term institutional changes that encourage and support faculty in implementing evidence-based practices that enhance student outcomes in STEM at the proposing HSI.

Under the ITP track, research (including foundational research) that improves our understanding of how to build HSI institutional capacity in STEM is encouraged. Such research should result in a strategic understanding about how the multiple components of the HSI program goals work synchronously to advance STEM education. All institution types are encouraged to apply, especially PUIs (including community colleges).

Proposed activities can include adaptation of evidence-based strategies and/or the design and implementation of innovative strategies. The ITP must include both project evaluation and dissemination components, as well as an education research component. The ITP proposed structural or systemic changes are expected to be institutionalized and sustained by the HSI.

All tracks may support faculty research that is inter-, multi-, or trans-disciplinary, discipline-specific research, STEM education research, discipline-based STEM education research, or broadening participation research. Research may be based at their home institution, an NSF-funded research center, another institution of higher education, and/or a national laboratory.

Fundamental research is particularly encouraged on engaged student learning at HSIs, and on effectively diversifying and increasing participation in STEM at HSIs. Research-related funds may be requested for undergraduate student research, supplies, equipment required to carry out the research, and faculty research development activities.

Proposed faculty research should support the overarching goals of the HSI program which seek to improve and enhance undergraduate STEM education, including undergraduate student research experiences. Proposed research should also explain how it will catalyze new faculty research activity in addition to supporting on-going faculty research activities.

Each faculty member receiving funds to conduct research must include a four-page Faculty Research Plan in which one to two pages are used to describe the faculty member's track record in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), mentoring, and advancing diverse students in STEM. All projects must generate new knowledge through project evaluation activities and articulate a plan for dissemination of findings.

Track 2 (IEP) and Track 3 (ITP) proposals must additionally generate new knowledge about how to improve access to and/or the quality of STEM education through a well-constructed STEM education research plan that is aligned with the project’s goals.

Additionally, proposals must provide institutional data with a narrative explaining the institution's need for the project and its ability to enhance the quality of undergraduate STEM education. 1 Vision 2030 , National Science Board, https://www. nsf.

gov/publications/pub_summ. jsp? ods_key=nsb202015 3 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

2019. Minority Serving Institutions: America's Underutilized Resource for Strengthening the STEM Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

https://doi. org/10. 17226/25257 .

4 García, Gina A. 2017. "Defined by outcomes or culture?

Constructing an organizational identity for Hispanic-serving institutions." American Educational Research Journal , 54(1): 111S-134S. 5 The definition and guide to New to NSF can be found on Chapter II of proposal preparation instructions https://www.

nsf. gov/pubs/policydocs/pappg18_1/pappg_2. jsp .

6 PUIs are “accredited colleges and universities (including two-year community colleges) that award Associate’s degrees, Bachelor’s degrees, and/or Master’s degrees in NSF-supported fields, but have awarded 20 or fewer Ph. D. / D.

Sci. degrees in all NSF-supported fields during the combined previous two academic years. ” PUI definition obtained from https://www.

nsf. gov/funding/pgm_summ. jsp?

pims_id=5518 . Cognizant Program Officer(s): Please note that the following information is current at the time of publishing. See program website for any updates to the points of contact.

For general inquiries, contact: NSF-EHR-HSI@nsf. gov For general inquiries contact, email: NSF-EHR-HSI@nsf.

gov Applicable Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s): --- Education and Human Resources Anticipated Type of Award: Standard Grant or Continuing Grant Estimated Number of Awards: 30 to 60 The program estimates making 20 - 40 Planning or Pilot Project awards, $200,000 – single institution Plus $100,000 incentive to partner with one or more community colleges For two-year-long projects Up to 15 Implementation and Evaluation Project awards, and $500,000 – single institution Plus $200,000 incentive to partner with one or more community colleges For three- to five-year-long projects 3 - 7 Institutional Transformation Project award per fiscal year.

For five-year-long projects Anticipated Funding Amount: $22,500,000 The number of new awards is subject to the availability of funds. In FY 2022, the HSI program expects to fund new awards totaling $22,500,000.

Who May Submit Proposals: Proposals may only be submitted by the following: To be eligible for HSI funding in Track 1: Planning or Pilot Projects (PPP), Track 2 Implementation and Evaluation Projects (IEP), and Track 3 Institutional Transformation Projects (ITP), an institution must achieve each of the following criteria on or before the proposal deadline date: a) Be an accredited institution of higher education.

b) Offer undergraduate STEM educational programs that result in certificates or degrees. Exception note: An institution submitting a PPP Track proposal does not currently need to offer STEM certificates or degrees, but may submit a proposal to develop such programs or enhance the STEM courses provided as part of other degree programs.

c) Satisfy the definition of an HSI as specified in section 502 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1101a). The HSI Certification Form is required with submission of the proposal.

(See section V of the solicitation.) Institutions should review the legislation before certifying their eligibility for this program at https://www. govinfo.

gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2011-title20/html/USCODE-2011-title20-chap28-subchapV-partA-sec1101a. htm . PPP track proposals will only be accepted from institutions new to NSF or Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs) including community colleges.

For PUI certification, a representative of the institution submitting as a PUI proposal must sign a Certification of PUI Eligibility (see Section V below for the required template) to be included in the Supplementary Documentation section of the proposal. There are no restrictions or limits.

Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: Planning or Pilot Projects (PPP) track: An eligible institution cannot have more than two active PPP awards. A new PPP proposal can be submitted by an institution with two active PPP awards if at least one of the awards has had its final report submitted before the submission deadline for HSI proposals.

Institutions with an active HSI Track 1: Building Capacity award under the previous solicitations 18-524 and 19-540 are not eligible to submit PPP proposals or receive a PPP award until the prior HSI award’s final report is submitted. Implementation and Evaluation Projects (IEP) track: An eligible institution cannot have more than two active IEP awards.

A new IEP proposal can be submitted by an institution with two active IEP awards if at least one of the awards has had its final report submitted prior to the HSI proposal submission deadline. A collaborative award counts as an HSI IEP award for all institutions.

For institutions with a current Track 1: Building Capacity award under the previous solicitations 18-524 and 19-540, each award is considered an IEP award for the purpose of calculating active awards for this track. Institutional Transformation Projects (ITP) track: One submission per institution is allowed. Previous ITP awardees are not eligible to submit a proposal in the ITP track.

Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or co-PI: An individual may be listed as PI on only one proposal and Co-PI on at most two proposals per submission period. Proposal Preparation and Submission Instructions A. Proposal Preparation Instructions Letters of Intent: Not required Preliminary Proposal Submission: Not required Full Proposals submitted via Research.

gov: NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) guidelines apply. The complete text of the PAPPG is available electronically on the NSF website at: https://www. nsf.

gov/publications/pub_summ. jsp? ods_key=pappg .

Full Proposals submitted via Grants. gov: NSF Grants. gov Application Guide: A Guide for the Preparation and Submission of NSF Applications via Grants.

gov guidelines apply (Note: The NSF Grants. gov Application Guide is available on the Grants. gov website and on the NSF website at: https://www.

nsf. gov/publications/pub_summ. jsp?

ods_key=grantsgovguide ). Cost Sharing Requirements: Inclusion of voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited. Indirect Cost (F&A) Limitations: Other Budgetary Limitations: Other budgetary limitations apply.

Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information. Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p. m.

submitter's local time): Track 1: Planning or Pilot Projects (PPP), Track 2: Implementation and Evaluation Projects (IEP), and Track 3: Institutional Transformation Projects (ITP) full proposal deadline. Last Wednesday in August, Annually Thereafter Track 1: Planning or Pilot Projects (PPP) and Track 3: Institutional Transformation Projects (ITP) full proposal deadline.

Second Wednesday in February, Annually Thereafter Track 1: Planning or Pilot Projects (PPP), Track 2: Implementation and Evaluation Projects (IEP) full proposal deadline. Proposal Review Information Criteria National Science Board approved criteria. Additional merit review criteria apply.

Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information. Award Administration Information Additional award conditions apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information.

Additional reporting requirements apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information. The goals of the HSI program are to enhance the quality of undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and to increase the recruitment, retention, and graduation rates of students pursuing associate's or baccalaureate degrees in STEM.

Achieving these, given the diverse nature and context of the HSIs, requires additional strategies that support building capacity at HSIs through innovative approaches: to incentivize institutional and community transformation; and to promote fundamental research (i) on engaged student learning at HSIs, (ii) about what it takes to diversify and increase participation in STEM effectively, and (iii) that improves our understanding of how to build institutional capacity at HSIs.

Intended outcomes of the HSI Program include broadening participation of students that are historically underrepresented in STEM and expanding students pathways to continued STEM education and integration into the STEM workforce [1] , [2] , [3] , [4] .

Building organizational capacity, as encouraged by the explanatory statement of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 Public Law 115-31, is concerned with the creation and implementation of flexible systems that support both new and old ideas.

Building capacity should involve developing structures that foster students' and/or faculty growth while meeting the students where they are in their college careers academically, financially, and socially [5] , [6] .

Institutional structures may also include socio-cultural supports and collaborative processes that promote effective learning environments and inclusiveness as well as mechanisms to support personal development and professional learning for students [7] . The HSI program is designed to support the wide range of institutional types of HSIs, as well as prepare for the participation of emerging HSIs in the future.

HSIs are a diverse collection of institutions with varying organizational structures and with multiple student characteristics (e.g., low-income, first generation, underrepresented minority, and returning students) that impact the learning landscape and the approaches for enhancing undergraduate STEM education [5] .

Given our nation's STEM workforce needs and the shifts in demographics, with Hispanics/Latinos projected to comprise 25 percent of the U.S. population by 2045, increasing undergraduate STEM degree attainment at HSIs is essential to sustain the economic and social well-being of the U.S. [8] , [9] .

To help meet the need for increased undergraduate STEM degree attainment, proposers are encouraged to use an intersectional perspective in designing proposals across all tracks in the HSI program. An intersectional lens takes into consideration the interconnectedness of overlapping social identities, and can help shape a project's design and conceptualization of inclusivity to better serve students [10] .

More than 50% of Hispanic/ Latino/a undergraduate students attend HSIs, and an intersectional approach to meeting them where they are could significantly impact the diversity of undergraduate STEM degrees awarded and STEM professionals in the U.S. [5] . Before beginning the HSI program, NSF sought community input through a Dear Colleague Letter [11] calling for conference grants in order to convene stakeholders.

NSF also conducted virtual listening sessions to invite commentary from members of the HSI community ( https://nsf. gov/ehr/HSIProgramPlan. jsp ).

In addition, NSF established a subcommittee of its standing Federal Advisory Committee for Education and Human Resources that drafted a report to NSF identifying five key components for an HSI program: (1) Faculty development, (2) Curriculum redesign, (3) Undergraduate research, (4) Transitions, and (5) Metrics for success [12] .

These five components guide the priorities of the HSI program and its types of projects, including support for research in capacity building and institutional transformation. Rigorous research should generate critical knowledge about how these five key components work together to improve the quality of undergraduate STEM education at HSIs.

Project teams are encouraged to establish mutually beneficial collaborations with other HSIs, especially HSI community colleges, and other institutions of higher education. In addition, project teams are encouraged to explore collaborations with the NSF INCLUDES National Network [13] .

NSF INCLUDES (Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science) is a comprehensive national initiative designed to enhance U.S. leadership in STEM discoveries and innovations by focusing on broadening participation in STEM fields at scale.

Finally, to contribute to a highly skilled and diverse workforce, proposers are encouraged to consider projects that will educate students in high demand topical areas, such as data science, and industries of the future (artificial intelligence, next generation wireless, advanced manufacturing, quantum information science, and biotechnology) [14] , [15] . The Higher Education Act of 1965 (P. L.

89-329) [As Amended Through Public Law 11531, Enacted May 5, 2017]; https://uscode. house. gov/statutes/pl/115/31.

pdf . U.S. Code, Title 42, Chapter 16, Section 1862o12: Hispanic-serving institutions undergraduate program. https://uscode.

house. gov/view. xhtml?

req=(title:42%20section:1862o-12%20edition:prelim) . U.S. Code, Title 42, Chapter 16, Section 1862p4: Undergraduate broadening participation program. https://uscode.

house. gov/view. xhtml?

req=(title:42%20section:1862p-4%20edition:prelim) . Explanatory statement of Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 Public Law 115-31, https://www. congress.

gov/congressional-record/2017/5/3/house-section/article/H3327-1 . National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019.

Minority Serving Institutions: Americas Underutilized Resource for Strengthening the STEM Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.

org/10. 17226/25257 . Mitchell, Coral, and Larry Sackney.

Profound improvement: Building capacity for a learning community . Taylor & Francis, 2011. García, Gina A.

2017. "Defined by outcomes or culture? Constructing an organizational identity for Hispanic-serving institutions."

American Educational Research Journal , 54(1): 111S-134S. Crisp, G. and Nora, A.

, 2012. Overview of Hispanics in science, mathematics, engineering and technology (STEM): K-16 representation, preparation and participation. 2017 National Population Projections, www.

census. gov/library/visualizations/2018/comm/hispanic-projected-pop. html .

Núñez, A. M. , 2014.

Advancing an intersectionality framework in higher education: Power and Latino postsecondary opportunity. In Higher education: Handbook of theory and research (pp. 33-92).

Springer, Dordrecht. NSF Dear Colleague Letter: Improving Undergraduate STEM Education in Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), NSF-17092. https://www.

nsf. gov/publications/pub_summ. jsp?

ods_key=nsf17092 . National Science Foundation Report to the Education and Human Resources Advisory Committee on Building Capacity at Hispanic Serving Institutions, Sep 29, 2017. https://www.

nsf. gov/ehr/Materials/HSISubcommitteeReport. pdf .

NSF INCLUDES Initiative, https://www. nsf. gov/news/special_reports/big_ideas/includes.

jsp . NSFs 10 Big Ideas. https://www.

nsf. gov/news/special_reports/big_ideas/ . Vision 2030, National Science Board .

https://nsf-gov-resources. nsf. gov/nsb/publications/2020/nsb202015.

pdf? VersionId=TySo_d0KJ7zHCGTsauweSjp9b_Ngel6. .

Project activities and interventions supported by the HSI program are expected to be evidence-based and generate new knowledge in line with the HSI program goals specified in the Synopsis and Introduction sections.

The HSI program recognizes that putting existing research-based practices into place may be the most important solution for improving undergraduate STEM 1 education and broadening participation in STEM at the proposing HSI(s). Consequently, conceptual replication 2 or adaptation studies are encouraged.

Such replication/adaptation efforts will help propagate and evaluate the effectiveness of evidence-based STEM broadening participation interventions, and teaching and learning approaches in new environments.

The HSI program is also interested in the successful advancement of undergraduates at HSIs through critical transitions, including the transfer of students from two-year to four-year institutions and the transition from secondary education to undergraduate education of students enrolled in a STEM undergraduate degree-seeking program.

All tracks may request funds to support STEM faculty research aligned with the proposed project, including support of undergraduate research. For example, a proposal to revamp the physics curriculum to include research experiences in the critical transition from lower to upper division courses could request funds to support faculty members whose research would be part of the proposed project.

This may include inter-, multi-, or trans-disciplinary research, discipline-specific research, STEM education research, discipline-based STEM education research, or broadening participation research at their home institution, an NSF-funded research center, another institution of higher education, and/or a national laboratory.

Fundamental research on engaged student learning at HSIs and on what it takes to diversify and increase participation in STEM at HSIs is particularly encouraged. While research-related funds may be requested for supplies, equipment required to carry out the research, and faculty research development activities, the proposal should clearly explain how these funds will enhance the quality of undergraduate STEM education at the HSI.

It should also explain how it will catalyze new faculty research activity in addition to supporting on-going faculty research activities. Each faculty member receiving funds to conduct research must include a four-page Faculty Research Plan in which one to two pages are used to describe the faculty member’s track record in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), mentoring, and advancing students in STEM.

Discussions of mentoring and advancing students in STEM may include, but are not limited to, success with undergraduates in research. The HSI program accepts proposals for three types (tracks) of projects.

Track 1: Planning or Pilot Projects (PPP) provide two years of support to Principal Investigators at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs), including community colleges or institutions new to NSF, for either a planning project or a pilot project as described below.

a) Planning projects are designed to undertake an undergraduate STEM education institution-wide assessment and catalyze the necessary collaborations/ partnerships in order to inform the development of an HSI proposal for the IEP or ITP track.

b) Pilot projects are designed to achieve a short-term well-defined goal to enhance the quality and availability of undergraduate STEM education degree programs and certifications and/or to address undergraduate broadening participation challenges in STEM. NSF anticipates that many Pilot project awardees will also use the results from their project to lay the foundation for a future IEP or ITP proposal.

Planning Projects : Examples of possible planning activities include, but are not limited to: completing an institutional STEM undergraduate needs assessment; conducting a literature review to identify potential evidence-based practices to implement; site visits to learn about promising practices in STEM undergraduate education; professional development for faculty on STEM education or broadening participation research skills, small projects of evidence-based interventions; data collection to support scale up of effective local strategies; and/or building cross-sector partnerships (with industry, academic institutions, non-profit organizations, government agencies, and local communities).

These examples are intended to illustrate some of the appropriate activities for Planning Projects. NSF encourages the institution to propose activities necessary to improve the quality of undergraduate STEM education. In addition, Planning Projects should address access to STEM courses and degrees based on the institution's current STEM undergraduate program capacity and long-term plans for building STEM education programs.

Planning Projects may be focused on one or more STEM disciplines, including STEM education programs. Planning Projects may focus entirely on education or broadening participation research initiation efforts.

Pilot Projects : Pilot Projects may support the implementation of evidence-based strategies to make improvements to the HSIs undergraduate STEM curriculum and co-curricular programs and/or broaden the participation of historically underrepresented groups in STEM. Pilot Projects should have a well-defined, measurable outcome aligned with one or more of the HSI program goals.

Pilot Projects can adapt previously successful approaches for a new institutional context and/or STEM discipline, and study the adaptation to inform others interested in adapting those approaches. These projects must be accomplished within a two-year timeline for the PPP track.

In addition to curricular and broadening participation foci, Pilot Projects may be focused on training students in high demand fields, including artificial intelligence, data science, quantum computing, and advanced manufacturing.

Examples of Pilot Projects might include enhancing laboratory classes to earn accreditation (or certification) for a STEM degree program; developing courses necessary for a new STEM degree program; providing faculty development to implement evidence-based teaching strategies; examining the impact of undergraduate research on student retention; and/or focusing on a critical transition such as the successful integration of transfer students into a degree program.

Pilot Projects may also focus on developing STEM education or broadening participation research expertise within the proposing institution. For example, a Pilot Project may support a preliminary study of the impact on learning outcomes of interdisciplinary laboratory approaches in a first-year course, or the effect of student bystander training in creating a more inclusive climate in introductory chemistry courses.

Track 2: Implementation and Evaluation Projects (IEP) provide three to five years of support for STEM unit-, department-, or multi-department-level projects to enhance undergraduate STEM education. The focus of the IEP should be supported by institutional data showing STEM undergraduate education areas that need improvements. IEP can include activities that strengthen the research base in STEM education, and/or broadening participation.

IEP activities can focus on making undergraduate STEM educational improvements by working with all those involved in teaching at the given level in the institution including students, part-time faculty, non-tenure-track faculty, and tenure-track and tenured STEM faculty. Institutionalization and sustainability of IEP activities are expected.

Projects may focus on any areas of interest to the institution and the HSI community, such as critical transitions, cross-sector partnerships, building capacity, gatekeeper courses, co-curricular programs, recruitment, retention and graduation, and broadening participation efforts for historically underrepresented groups in STEM.

For example, an institution might have evidence suggesting that improvements to a single STEM course could significantly increase the number of STEM majors who persist into upper division courses. If so, the proposal could focus its entire effort on improving that single course and associated interventions that enable students to succeed.

Alternatively, an institution might have evidence of performance gaps in engineering of first-generation female STEM students with high financial need in comparison with other students. Such evidence might be used to justify a proposal focused on improving hands-on components in engineering introductory courses and developing targeted mentoring and/or advising for students with high financial need.

Although the IEP focus is on improvements to STEM education at the college or department level, projects are encouraged to include mutually beneficial collaborations or partnerships.

For example, collaborations or partnerships among several institutions implementing similar interventions could enhance the student outcomes, reduce costs by sharing resources, and/or increase the available data for the required STEM education research component mentioned above. Furthermore, such collaborations may be necessary or beneficial to answer the proposed research questions.

A group of institutions might also focus on coordinating improvements to student support service units and/or to one or more introductory STEM courses at all collaborating or partnering institutions. Potential collaborators may include K-12 schools, other institutions of higher education, non-profit organizations, industry, and community-based organizations.

These collaborators are not required to submit institutional data described in the supplementary documents section although such data may be useful to fully describe the nature and proposed execution of the project. Review of proposals with collaborations will include close attention to the robustness of the collaborations, including whether they are equitable and mutually beneficial.

If an HSI has received an IEP or Track 1 Building Capacity award from a previous HSI solicitation (NSF 18-524 or NSF19-540), a new proposal for an IEP should provide complete information on the outcomes and impact of the previous HSI program project. Past awardees must not propose simply to continue activities of the previous award.

Rather, a new proposal should be based on a thorough evaluation and assessment of both the previous award and an assessment of the current state of the institution. Such projects are expected to capitalize on any previous HSI program awards, build on the progress and achievements, and identify new strategies to be implemented to enhance undergraduate STEM education excellence.

Track 3: Institutional Transformation Projects (ITP) provide five years of support for institution-wide, systemic change projects grounded in STEM education research and broadening participation research.

The ITP should be designed to make institutional infrastructure and policy changes to support long-term institutional changes that encourage and support faculty to implement evidence-based practices that enhance student outcomes in STEM at the proposing HSI. These practices may include adaptation/replication of known evidence-based strategies and/or design and implementation of new strategies.