Minority Serving Institutions America's Underutilized Resource for Strengthening the STEM Workforce (2019) / Chapter Skim
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6 A Shift in Priorities to Support the Future STEM Workforce: Recommendations for an Impactful Change
6 A Shift in Priorities to Support the Future STEM Workforce: Recommendations for an Impactful Change
Pages 173-184
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From page 173... ...
In light of the demographics of the nation, as well as the growing complexity of STEM workforce needs in the United States and across the globe, we concluded that the nation's more than 700 MSIs are poised to bolster a well-trained, diverse, and domestic STEM-capable workforce. As context, we provided an overview of the various types of MSIs, describing their commonalities and unique characteristics, as well as the diverse student bodies that they serve.
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From page 174... ...
In the recommendations below, the committee asks MSIs to take bold and innovative measures to ensure that they fully capitalize on untapped resources, and to take a critical, holistic look at their current resources and academic offerings to prioritize those that contribute most directly to students' workforce readiness in high-demand fields, as well as to their sociocultural development and preparation for active citizenship in their communities, on a national and global stage. In that spirit, we have organized our 10 recommendations under the broad areas of Leadership, Public and Private Partnerships, Financial Investments, Institutional Research Capacity, and Performance Measures.
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From page 175... ...
To best support the success of their students, particularly those in STEM fields, the leadership of MSIs, including governing boards, presidents, deans, and provosts, should develop appropriate policies, infrastructure, and practices that together create a culture of intentionality upon which evidencebased, outcomes-driven programs and strategies to support student success are created and sustained. Recommended strategies include establishing or improving • Dynamic, multilevel, mission-driven policies that affect and guide leader ship priorities -- including policies that reflect a deep understanding of the relationships between investments in STEM teaching and research and the development of the next generation of STEM workers; • Institutional responsiveness to student needs -- particularly the skills and experiences needed by students entering a rapidly evolving labor market in science, engineering, computer science, and the health professions; • Campus climates that create and support a sense of belonging for students; • Tailored academic initiatives and social support services that promote positive learning outcomes and facilitate MSI student retention and success; • Effective mentorship and sponsorship of students so they have access and support to pursue graduate education and careers in industry, government, academia, and the nonprofit sector; • Undergraduate research experiences with state-of-the art equipment and facilities under the tutelage of faculty and employers who are familiar with the types of research skills needed for graduates to thrive in the STEM workplace; and
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From page 176... ...
The knowledge and skills obtained through these trainings should address the unique challenges and opportunities for MSIs and their student populations, and provide the skills for leadership to navigate challenging fiscal climates and other internal and external pressures. Areas of professional development should include • Principles and fiduciary responsibilities of institutional governance and shared leadership; • Strategic planning and implementation to set institutional priorities that reflect the need to invest in programs that best meet the needs of students entering a rapidly evolving labor market; • Effective principles and practices of mentorship and succession planning; • Equity-minded leadership and cultural competency; • Fundraising, particularly the need to position MSIs to effectively compete for STEM-focused federal grants and contracts; • Use of data and evidence to inform and communicate institutional policy and practice, and to invest in institutional research capacity, so leaders understand their institutions' true strengths and competitive advantage, especially in STEM fields; • Strategies and practices for establishing strong, sustainable partnerships with non-MSIs and with local, regional, and national employers;
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From page 177... ...
II. Establish New and Expand Current Public- and Private-Sector Partnerships Recommendation 3: Leadership from within MSIs, non-MSIs, government agencies, tribal nations, state agencies, private and corporate foundations, and professional, higher education, and scientific associations should prioritize efforts to establish new or expand current mutually beneficial and sustainable partnerships.
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From page 178... ...
This is an opportunity for the business community, which often gives voice to diversity and inclusion, to make a tangible and real commitment to diversity, inclusion, and eco nomic prosperity by investing in MSIs. Non-MSIs and nongovernmental organizations, including nonprofit organizations, private foundations, and professional, higher education, and scientific associations, should collaborate with MSIs to accomplish the following: • Fund and organize regional workshops that connect MSI leadership and research faculty with managers and grants officers from government research agencies to better understand current and future priorities in research and development, obtain best practices in proposal writing for each agency, and gain opportunities for engagement; • Fund and organize regional consortia to provide MSIs, particularly those that are the most resource challenged, with a national platform to promote their value to the STEM workforce and national economy, and to high light their current efforts to develop the next generation of STEM talent; • Develop new and expand current initiatives to connect MSI STEM stu dents with innovative research, training, apprenticeship, and workforce opportunities; and • Create cross-sector collaborations that provide intentional and seamless STEM pathways for students who begin their education at a two-year MSI.
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From page 179... ...
Recommendation 5: While we recommend that stakeholders increase competitive funding for MSIs (see Recommendation 4) , we also recognize that many MSIs are substantially underresourced, without the appropriate institutional research staff and grant, contract, and sponsored research offices to effectively compete for high-stakes dollars, including large, multiyear, multi-million-dollar federal grants and contracts to support STEM education and build long-term research capacity.
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From page 180... ...
In the face of MSIs' limited capacity, funding organizations should • Offer "seed" or "planning" grants to MSIs that enable them to secure the resources and depth of knowledge needed to develop and/or expand their grant offices; • Offer training programs and real-time guidance and collaboration to MSI grants officers and, even more importantly, to MSI faculty researchers so that they can master the complex grants and contracts processes and understand the requirements for an effective proposal or bid; and • Reallocate existing funds to increase organizations' overall investments or issue new, innovative, noncompetitive, demonstration grants to MSIs to evaluate the outcomes of promising programs on campus, particularly those focused on advancing student success in STEM fields. To build a culture of evidence and increase the institutional research infrastructure at MSIs, targeted areas of support should • Strengthen institutional data systems that can more effectively monitor student performance, identify performance gaps and their causes, and promote data-informed solutions; • Establish models of shared leadership whereby faculty and staff can more easily access and utilize data for decision making; and • Recruit and hire designated, full-time staff trained in data analytics and institutional research practices.
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From page 181... ...
Recommendation 7: To support informed decision making and strategic financial investments in MSIs, public and private funding agencies should issue new and expand current grant opportunities for evidence-based research related to MSIs. Such agencies include but are not limited to the Department of Education, National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, tribal nations, state agencies, private and corporate foundations, and local, regional, and national businesses.
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From page 182... ...
For improvements in the short term, we recommend that Congress require all relevant federal agencies to • Identify an MSI liaison, which would become the responsible organiza tion or representative to coordinate activities, track investments, and re port qualitative and quantitative progress toward increasing participation in STEM research and development programs; • Produce an annual procurement forecast of opportunities including but not limited to grants, contracts, or subcontract opportunities, cooperative agreements, and other transactional agreements that will enable increased participation of MSIs in basic, applied, and advanced STEM research and development programs; • Report on the level of participation of MSIs as prime recipients/contrac tors or subrecipients/subcontractors, including the type of procurement mechanisms (i.e., contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, and other transactional agreements) and the current investment totals that support STEM research and development programming; • Categorize MSI investments and distinguish between type of investments (i.e., internships versus training grants versus basic/applied/advanced research actions)
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From page 183... ...
The findings from this report may also encourage other stakeholders (e.g., major federal prime contractors, industry, and nonprofit organizations) to partner with MSIs in broader STEM research and development initiatives.
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From page 184... ...
• Examine intermediary outcomes and institutional commitment to serv ing a diverse student body, such as developmental course completion, the availability of resources and opportunities that target underrepre sented students, and the proportion of students of color enrolled rela tive to an institution's surrounding community. • Reward institutions with a demonstrated ability to improve outcomes over time, instead of establishing performance thresholds that declare institutional "winners" and "losers." We also urge MSI leaders and their stakeholders, including professional associations and university-based leadership program leaders, advocates, accreditation boards, and higher education researchers, to develop and support alternative metrics of success to best capture the achievements of MSIs and students (e.g., novel initiatives or partnerships to advance institutional mission, two-year institutions' transfer rates, student advancement in competencies, student income mobility, and postgraduate success)
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