Faculty and students in the US Southwest urban and rural HSI community colleges (HSI CCs), similarly to other HSIs CCs, face unique institutional, academic, and contractual scenarios when introducing in STEM curricula high-impact educational practices such as Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) that rarely compare to those reported by faculty in research intensive 4-year institutions, where the efficacy of CUREs has been widely demonstrated.  Scenarios include lack of research faculty, programs, resources, and facilities; minimal collaboration with industry, government, or community organizations; lack of institutional support for CURE implementation; sparse resources for grant writing; lack of reliable access to big, public or institutional research databases; and, most significantly, a non-traditional student body.  Through NSF HRD 1832543 and NSF DUE 1928400 respectively, Phoenix College (PC) and Pima Community College, among others, have implemented CUREs in CCs and assessed their impact on STEM student success parameters, identified benefits and implementation challenges, and developed strategies to overcome barriers.  To address these challenges and discuss lessons learned, to evaluate strategies for improvement, and to identify and provide effective tools to faculty and institutions that are considering the introduction of CUREs in their programs, several 2- year and 4-year HSIs convened at the CUREs in HSI Community College Conference at Phoenix College (Phoenix, AZ) on November 17-18, 2022.  135 participants representing 69 institutions attended the conference that took place in two daily, seven hour segments; of these 69  institutions, 47 were HSIs (28, 2-year HSIs; 19, 4-year HSIs).  The audience included STEM faculty and students, administrators and staff working in STEM educational strategies and programs, and representatives of industry and of national and regional STEM related organizations..  24 facilitators, speakers, conference coordinators, and 6 students attended the conference. Phoenix College (Maricopa County Community College District, MCCCD) was the lead institution and hosted the conference. The University of Arizona (UA, a designated HSI located in Tucson, AZ) and Central Arizona College (CAC, a rural HSI community college located in Coolidge, AZ) contributed their 2017 and 2020 HSI conference planning, management, data analysis, and reporting and dissemination strategies expertise  (NSF DUE 1748526 and NSF DUE 1940949, respectively).  Participants discussed their shared needs, barriers, successes, opportunities and priorities related to CURE implementation in five sequential conference sessions:  Identifying Your CURE, Designing Your CURE, Implementing Your CURE, Assessing Your CURE, and CURE Sustainability and Institutionalization

Implementing Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) in Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Community Colleges.  A Consensus Report serves as a resource and a summary of the recommendations that emerged from analyses of needs, challenges, barriers, opportunities, and strategies to improve CURE design, implementation, sustainability, and institutionalization in STEM HSI 2-year and community college courses.  Nine themes emerged from analyses of participants? input. Themes indicated that normalization of CUREs in HSIs requires educating professionals at various levels (administration, faculty, and students) about the benefits of CUREs by providing evidence of CURE impact on student success. Barriers to CURE development, implementation, and institutionalization affected the three academic bodies and were identified as focus areas, as they negatively impact the normalization of CUREs as a high impact instructional practice.  For students, CUREs have to encompass meaningful research that reflects their values and societal concerns, align with their notion of success, and provide a positive academic experience.  For faculty, CUREs have to be made into as light a lift as possible. That involves support, training, resources, undergoing a personal cultural shift focused on prioritizing high impact practices in their courses, and making their CUREs inclusive and culturally relevant/responsive.  The support necessary includes funding for professional development, materials, reassigned time for developing and evaluating their CUREs and establishing partnerships at different levels, and a general recognition that this process would require a shift in thinking about science education.  Institutions have to engage in ways to support CURE implementation and normalization by providing resources to faculty and by prioritizing high impact practices in their strategic and academic plans. Establishing partnerships with industry and community organizations is a very effective way to facilitate the development of CUREs that are culturally inclusive and relevant/responsive, as well as to gain access to resources and opportunities for faculty professional growth and student career development.

The Consensus Report can be found through this link:

https://www.phoenixcollege.edu/sites/default/files/inline-files/CUREs-HSI-2022-Consensus-Report.pdf

Last Modified: 08/29/2023
Modified by: Anna Marti-Subirana