A Proposed Survey-based, Student-centered Framework for Evaluation of Undergraduate Research Awareness in Minority-serving Institutions

The purpose of this work in progress study is to present a survey-based framework to evaluate the awareness of and participation in undergraduate research experiences (URE) by students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors in Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs). MSIs, which include historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) and Hispanic serving institutions (HSI), recruit and admit underserved, low income, minority students in various disciplines, including STEM. While MSIs attempt to bridge educational gaps seen in these students with pre-college resources, first year mentoring, and tutoring sessions, awareness and participation in URE is not prevalent at a MSI. Participation in such activities, however, has been linked to improved career prospects and an increase in the number of students seeking graduate degrees. Past studies [1],[2],[9] have suggested that an initial interest in STEM does not necessarily continue throughout undergraduate education with a higher number of students requesting major changes and/or prolonging their graduation timeline. This paper proposes to identify current notions and perceptions surrounding undergraduate research of STEM students at a mid-sized MSI along the U.S.Mexico border. The proposed design for this study will include an online survey to identify which students are more likely to be aware of and participate in undergraduate research and which students are not. Our model will focus on remediation to increase participation in URE, retention in STEM majors, and progression towards career prospects and graduate study.