UTEP: a Model for Excellence
The national Model Institutions for Excellence program was a twelve-year effort by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that aimed at substantially increasing the quality and quantity of under-represented minorities who earn science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) baccalaureate degrees and go on to pursue graduate degrees in these fields. UTEP was one of six minority-serving institutions selected nationwide to create new models for STEM education.
MIE activities have had the combined impact of improving the first-year experience, enhancing the instruction across the STEM curricula, promoting research and graduate school, and encouraging and developing good study habits. Since the inception of MIE activities in 1995, STEM student retention and the number of STEM degrees awarded to minorities each year has increased. In academic year 07-08 UTEP set an unprecedented record by awarding 431 STEM degrees to latino students, many of whom are first-generation college students.