Phase 3 Proposal: Sustainability

of Best Practices for Minority 

STEM Student Retention and Success

The Model Institutions for Excellence (MIE) Project at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) proposes to continue work on best practices for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) student retention and success. Furthermore, we propose a sustainability plan to be implemented within the next three years that guarantees the long-term funding of such best practices for the benefit of a historically underserved Hispanic-majority student body.

Institution's Profile

Located in the world's largest binational metropolitan area, UTEP is creating a new model of excellence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) higher education. UTEP is committed to proving that academic and research excellence can be achieved at urban and minority serving institutions in a context of equity and access.

Building on its foundation as the largest Mexican-American majority university and the second largest Hispanic majority university in the nation, UTEP has worked aggressively to build excellence in a variety of forms. In the past eight years, the College of Engineering (CoE) and the College of Science (CoS) have increased their undergraduate student enrollment and entering student retention, reformed their undergraduate curricula, expanded their infrastructure for student academic support, and enhanced faculty development activities.

In addition, the CoE and CoS have greatly expanded their research capability. Groups that support research include the Border Biomedical Research Center, Center for Environmental Resource Management, Center for Highway Materials Research, Center for Structural Integrity of Aerospace Systems, Institute of Manufacturing and Materials Management, Materials Research Institute, and the Pan-American Center for Earth and Environmental Studies. The faculty, staff, and students that constitute these research groups have turned UTEP into the most successful academic institution in Texas in leveraging the state's investment to secure federal funds. For each dollar in state research funding it receives, UTEP has generated more than $7 in federal research funding.

Furthermore, the CoE and CoS have expanded doctoral program offerings to include geological sciences, computer engineering, material science and engineering, environmental science and engineering, biological sciences, and civil engineering. Due in great part to these successes, UTEP has earned its reclassification as a doctoral/research intensive university in the Carnegie classification.

What began as a mining and metallurgy college in 1914 is now nationally recognized for creating excellent academic opportunities for first-generation student populations and for innovative approaches to higher education. In 2000, The Engineering Work Force Commission reported that UTEP had the top minority first-year engineering enrollment in the continental US. In 2001, UTEP was first in awarding engineering bachelor degrees to Hispanics in the continental US. In addition, UTEP was identified in 2000 as the top STEM Ph.D. producer for all Hispanics, Hispanic men, and Mexican Americans between 1983 and 1997. This track record serves as a solid testimony that UTEP is committed to increase and diversify the STEM workforce in our nation.

Student Profile

UTEP draws 90% of its students from West Texas, Southern New Mexico and Northern Mexico. Not surprisingly the student body closely mirrors the demographics of the region. Fall 2002 enrollment was the largest ever at 17,232 students. Of these, 71.1% were Hispanic American, 12.7% European American (Non-Hispanic), and 2.4% African American. Mexican Nationals accounted for 10.9% of the student population. The average age of UTEP undergraduates was 23 years. Fall 2002 enrollment for the CoE was 2,521 undergraduates. Enrollment for the CoS was 1,164 undergraduates. Total undergraduate STEM enrollment was 3,685.

Our institution is located in one of the four poorest cities in the nation with a medium household income of $31,051. Over 80% of UTEP students have financial responsibilities and must support themselves through college. UTEP students receive more than $49 million in need-based financial aid with an additional $5.4 million in scholarships.

Our students benefit from an inclusive, open admission policy, which has led to an acceptance rate of over 90 percent. As would be expected, the mean Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) score of UTEP students is slightly lower than the national average. In 2001, the mean combined SAT score of the newly admitted student population at UTEP was 928 (464 verbal, 464 math) compared to the national average SAT score of 1020. Students enrolled in the Colleges of Engineering and Science achieved slightly higher scores than the institution's average.

Social, economic, and academic indicators show that student alienation from the UTEP community has been historically high among undergraduates. Consequently, only one in four earns a degree after six years. Over the last decade, the combined six-year graduation rate in STEM has been as low as 18%. The original goals of MIE at UTEP outlined in the mid 1990's were meant to address the systemic changes that had to occur to substantially affect this historically poor performance.

A Strong Commitment to Quality and Inclusive Education

Since Fall 1995, the UTEP MIE Project has been working on changing the student attrition pattern in STEM disciplines by fostering a learner-centered environment that leads to a better education. By Fall 1996, the CoE and CoS were piloting strategies for improved retention and academic performance with the goal of increasing the graduation rate of STEM majors. Today, the MIE Project has evolved into culture-shifting activities that support best practices focused on student success. These MIE components are as follows:

The Academic Center for Engineers and Scientists (ACES)

ACES represents a major infrastructure investment that addresses the need for quality services by a growing commuter STEM student population. Ms. Rosie Martinez¹, ACES Assistant Director, manages the day-to-day operation of the center with the assistance of two graduate and 18 undergraduate students. The center consists of five facilities distributed across campus with space for individual and group study, tutoring and peer mentoring, seminar style wireless computer classes, seminars, and workshops. The engineering site serves industrial, mechanical, civil, metallurgical, and electrical engineering majors and has a seating capacity of 80. The site in physical sciences serves chemistry and physics majors, with a seating capacity of 125. The biology site serves majors in environmental science, microbiology and biology and seats 115. The mathematics site serves its majors and other students enrolled in developmental through junior level mathematics courses. The site has a seating capacity of 106. The computer science site serves its majors and other students enrolled in freshman computer science courses and seats 20. Combined, the total seating capacity of all ACES sites is 426 for a population that approaches 3700 STEM commuter students.

The impact ACES has had on the students who use its services has been evaluated through surveys and focus groups. Students have expressed the importance that they place on having somewhere to accomplish many of their tasks (See Table 1). They have also indicated that they use the center for various other reasons including:

• access to electronic equipment, such as laptop computers,
• networking with other students in their major,
• a quiet space to be able to study with other students, and
• much needed tutoring services.

Students emphasize that they would not have access to all of these resources if ACES did not exist.

In addition, ACES has had a positive impact on the students who are employed by the center². Through training, team building, and professional guidance, undergraduate staff members become young professionals with valuable and practical work experience. By constantly being in a learner-centered environment, students who work at ACES have more opportunities to network with faculty, staff and students than they would in an off-campus job. Of the 101 students that have been employed by ACES, 47.5% have graduated and 43.6% are still enrolled. Only 8.9% have stopped out.

The Center for Effective Teaching and Learning (CETaL)

CETaL is the driving force behind faculty development across campus. The initial objective of the center was to organize workshop on cooperative learning for STEM faculty. However, since 1998, the center has significantly expanded its scope of services to faculty, lecturers, teaching assistants, and undergraduate peer leaders. Examples of these services are:

• "Nuts-n-bolts" of active learning workshops
• Teaching assessment workshops
• Teaching assistant certification program
• Faculty mentoring program for women
• New faculty retreat on teaching and learning
• Training and orientation for UNIV 1301 instructors and peer leaders
• One-on-one teaching portfolio consultations
• Annual teaching and learning conference

CETaL has successfully increased the number of individuals participating in activities related to the enhancement of teaching and learning. For instance, this year, 841 different individuals participated in CETaL-sponsored sessions, a 24% increase from last year. The total instances of participation grew to 2,382, an increase of 46% over 2001-02, suggesting that CETaL is reaching more instructors and that those instructors participate more frequently.

Assessment data from CETaL's improvement and impact survey show a definitive, positive impact on faculty who participate in CETaL activities. A large majority of those surveyed cited CETaL as a source of change and improvement in their teaching. A majority of those also pointed to observable changes in student learning and behavior attributable to the changes in teaching.

The success of the center has compelled the UTEP administration to endorse CETaL activities and to formalize the use of teaching portfolios as part of faculty development. Since Fall 2000, all professors under consideration for promotion and tenure are required to prepare and submit a teaching portfolio, which includes a philosophical statement, student evaluations, a course assessment plan, and evidence of excellence in teaching.

The center operates with the leadership of two co-Directors³, Dr. William Roberson and Dr. Christine Reimers, a coordinator, and an administrative assistant. A group of faculty appointed by the Deans of all UTEP colleges constitutes the Board of CETaL fellows, which is responsible for overseeing the quality of the services offered by the center and promoting its activities among colleagues.

The Circles of Learning for Entering Students (CircLES)

CircLES is MIE's pivotal activity that accelerates the integration of new students into STEM and the University's community. Since Fall 1998, CircLES has been the academic home for entering students wishing to major in a STEM discipline. The CircLES Director, who is assisted by three advising coordinators and 11 undergraduate students, heads this multi-prone program. CircLES offers summer orientation sessions that include a high-school math review and placement examination, course clustering, and proactive advising during the entire academic year. Between 300 and 400 first-time full-time students see a benefit from this synergistic program every Fall semester. An additional 600 to 700 students benefit from advising and scheduling services until they are ready to transition to their respective majors. The net impact has been quite significant:

• A third of the students who attend CircLES Orientation place into mathematics at a higher level than they originally placed prior to the math review.
• First year retention of first-time full-time clustered students is up to 80% from 68% (comparison group).
• Second year retention of first-time clustered students is also up to 68% from 55% (comparison group).
• First year mean GPA of first-time full-time clustered students is up to 2.8/4.0 from 2.2/4.0 (comparison group).

Overall, STEM entering students are safely assimilating the culture of the university, while improving their academic performance and reducing their time to graduation.

Curriculum, Course, and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI) Program

Since Summer 1996, the MIE Project has funded a curriculum reform effort with the goal of (1) improving the quality of instruction and learning experiences and (2) increasing the passing rate in courses and laboratories that are considered critical for the success of STEM students. The list of courses that have been impacted is substantial (see Appendix A). Most courses have been modified to incorporate active learning strategies. Some courses and laboratories have undergone complete content revisions. A number of courses and laboratories require concurrent enrollment to form learning communities at the freshman and junior levels. Several courses have instructional teams formed by a professor and a peer instructor. Other courses have been reorganized so that instructional materials can be delivered in the form of workshops. Gateway courses that are worthy of mention for the significant increase in passing rates recently achieved⁴ include:

In terms of infrastructure, eight laboratory facilities⁵ have been completely remodeled and equipped with new instrumentation and computers. Four classrooms (with a total seating capacity of 128) have been remodeled and equipped with new computers and multimedia equipment to promote active learning.

Lastly, a new degree in Environmental Science is now offered with four major areas of specialization: chemistry, biology, hydrology, and geology. The program was originally designed to attract students who might otherwise not have considered tracks in traditional science disciplines. Since its inception in Fall 2001, Environmental Science has become the fastest growing program within the College of Science. Currently, the number of enrolled Environmental Science majors is 28, making it the third most popular science program. The program is also intended as a fast track to graduate school: in Spring 2003, one student completed all degree requirements, graduated with honors, and is now attending graduate school at UTEP.

Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program

Since 1995, a total of 299 students have received MIE support to perform undergraduate research under the supervision of a professor (mentor). Each student is assigned to work up to 18 hours per week in a research laboratory and provide tutoring services at least two hours per week at ACES during the regular academic year. In addition, the student is required to participate in monthly meetings and workshops, and attend individual meetings with Mrs. Lourdes Contreras, REU Coordinator, who monitors time-on-task and discusses career paths and graduate school options with the student. In return, the student receives at least $375 per month in the form of a stipend and, whenever possible, a matching contribution by the mentor. The student is guaranteed financial support until graduation time, provided that the student earns at least 24 credits per year, meets a 3.0/4.0 GPA requirement, makes progress on research assignments, and applies to at least three NSF REU summer programs.

The REU program has been extremely successful in retaining STEM undergraduate students and placing them in graduate school at UTEP. Of the 299 (100%) REU participants, 101 (33.8%) undergraduates are currently enrolled at UTEP, 94 (31.4%) earned a baccalaureate degree, and 87 (29.1%) graduated and enrolled in graduate school at UTEP. Only 17 (5.7%) have stopped out. Furthermore, of the 87 REU participants who enrolled in graduate school at UTEP, 30 (34.5%) are pursuing a master degree and 31 (35.6%) have already earned a master degree. Currently, 5 students are pursuing a doctoral degree at UTEP.

Sustainability Plan

In June of 2003, the State of Texas Legislature deregulated tuition and fees for public institutions of Higher Learning. This unprecedented decision has allowed us to assess the cost of successful academic activities and to plan a strategy for rolling these costs into the institutional budget. For instance, starting in the Fall of 2004, the costs associated with ACES, CircLES, and CCLI will be recovered through course, laboratory, and major fees, making these MIE activities self-sustaining.

In addition, we have seen that the long term investment made by MIE in student enrichment experiences has positively affected the perception of the STEM faculty regarding the value of undergraduate students in research activities. This change will accelerate the pipeline into graduate school at departmental levels.

Finally, UTEP is investing $44 million on an infrastructure project that includes the construction of a new academic services building, a new biosciences facility, an engineering annex, and the remodeling of the engineering building⁶. The academic services will house the University College, which is modeled after the CircLES program to better serve all incoming UTEP freshmen. The biosciences facility will house new research laboratories, two seminar rooms, an auditorium, and a computer facility. The engineering annex will house the college's outreach office, all administrative units and their faculty, and a large conference room for college events. Construction of the annex will allow the current engineering building to be remodeled for more research laboratories and classrooms that will benefit a growing engineering student population.

The specific plan for sustainability of MIE components is described next.

Academic Center for Engineers and Scientists

ACES will continue to operate at its current level with an approximate annual budget of $250,000. Starting in Fall 2004, UTEP will fund the center via user fees. The Office of Academic Affairs will fund some of the equipment needs that may emerge using permanent university funds. Computer grants will be procured from Hewlett Packard, which has a long-standing tradition of endorsing MIE activities and supporting STEM laboratories.

Center for Effective Teaching and Learning

CETaL has become a familiar acronym on campus. Faculty from all disciplines seek the services of the center, in particular when it comes to advice on how to prepare teaching portfolios for promotion and tenure and how to develop junior STEM faculty teaching skills. The UTEP Office of Academic Affairs funds the co-Directorship of CETaL and is committed to fully fund the center by Fall 2005, which corresponds to the start of the 2005-2007 State of Texas budget biennium.

Circles of Learning for Entering Students

The formal planning for the institutionalization of CircLES began in September of 2002. At the request of the President, Dr. Diana Natalicio, the Provost convened a series of meetings with the Dean of the University College, the Dean of Science, Dean of Engineering, CircLES Director and MIE Director with the intention of implementing a seamless transition for the CircLES Program. As a result of these ongoing discussions, we anticipate that CircLES, which has a cost of $270,000 per year, will be supported by the University College no later than Fall 2004. The University College is partially funded by entering student orientation fees, advising fees, the tuition associated with UNIV 1301 and UNIV 2350, a grant from a private foundation, and a grant from the US Department of Education.

Curriculum, Course, Laboratory Improvement

Recently UTEP signed a cooperative agreement with NSF to implement a Mathematics and Science Partnership Program in the City of El Paso under the direction of Dr. Susana Navarro. One of the goals of this program is to ensure the K-16 alignment of mathematics and science curriculum to guarantee that students graduating from area high schools are prepared to enroll at UTEP and be successful in STEM courses. Science and Mathematics faculty will participate in this effort and thus continue to build on MIE efforts and accomplishments to increase student retention and improve academic performance, particularly in lower division courses in need of reform. Approximately, $6.5 million will be dedicated to this effort over the next five years.

In class peer-led activities have been proven to increase passing rates by as much as 30 percentile points. The cost associated with hiring peer leaders for gateway courses in Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics is approximately $50,000 per year. The CoS will implement course fees in the Fall of 2004 to sustain this effort.

REU Program

We have established that 36% of the REU participants who earned a BS from UTEP have gone on to earn a master degree at our institution. This impressive result has had an impact in persuading UTEP faculty that undergraduate involvement in research is a valuable and productive enterprise. As students and faculty have become more aware of these benefits, we have created a culture in which students and faculty seek each other's services.

We are now in a position to shift the responsibility of a healthy undergraduate research effort to STEM departments. As we are committed to continue funding REU students who were supported in the academic year 2002-2003, this coming year will serve as a period of transition. The Deans of Science and Engineering have identified and encouraged faculty from each of the STEM academic departments to write proposals aiming at implementing undergraduate research programs with a departmental focus. Already, Dr. Kristina Garza (Biology) and Dr. Kate Miller (Geology) have secured grants from NSF to further support STEM undergraduate research opportunities for Hispanics. Dr. Ramon Lopez (Physics) has secured an NSF Center for Integrated Space Weather Modeling grant (through Boston University) to involve undergraduates in space physics research. Dr. Keith Pannell (Chemistry) has secured funding from NIH for a Minority Access to Research Careers grant. Dr. Scott Starks (Electrical and Computer Engineering) has secured funding from NASA to operate the Pan American Center for Environmental Studies. Dr. Renato Aguilera (Biology) has submitted an NIH Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement grant to the National Institutes of Health. Additional proposals are being planned by Science, Mathematics and Engineering faculty to diversify the field of opportunities for undergraduate research.

To maintain a strong graduate preparation track, we propose to synergize with the University of Texas System Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (AMP), which is spearheaded by UTEP. This program, headed by Dr. Pablo Arenaz, has the goal of guiding STEM students into graduate programs by offering them opportunities for summer research experiences at UT institutions other than their home school. The AMP summer research experience includes proactive mentoring and graduate school preparation workshops. Starting in 2004, REU students will be prime candidates to participate in the AMP summer research experience. REU students who decide to attend summer school at UTEP will be required to participate in these workshops. The AMP program will also hold an undergraduate research conference to showcase students' research work⁷. A cadre of REU students will be invited to participate in this event.

Assessment Plan

Since 1997, Dr. Connie Kubo Della-Piana has performed the formative assessment and evaluation of the MIE Project. Dr. Della-Piana, in collaboration with Mrs. Ann Darnell and Ms. Lilly Romo, will continue to do evaluation research and analysis on the project. In the 2003-2006 phase, emphasis will be placed on continuing the longitudinal tracking of student cohorts, including:

• Orientation and mathematics placement analysis;
• Retention, average GPA, and graduation rate analyses of six first-time full-time STEM student cohorts (F1997-F2002);
• Under-represented minority retention and graduation analysis (F1995-F2006)
• Overall STEM graduation rate analysis (F1995-F2006);
• Retention, graduation rate, and graduate school enrollment analyses of REU student cohort;
• Retention, graduation rate, and graduate school enrollment analyses of women in science and engineering cohort;
• Success rate analysis of STEM gateway courses;
• Implementation of active (inquiry-based, cooperative, team based, etc.) learning strategy analyses.

Past evaluation efforts have included both qualitative and quantitative studies (see attachment for samples of assessment instruments utilized in the project). Future efforts will continue the longitudinal study of student progress. Targeted research studies will be conducted to validate quantitative findings.

Also, Mrs. Darnell will assist Dr. Jason Kim of Systemic Research Inc. with his evaluative study of the six MIE Institutions⁸. UTEP and Systemic Research will host an MIE Assessment Workshop in Fall 2004 to discuss the most recent trends of key indicators as reported in the MIE Fact Book⁹.

Dissemination

For the past six years, we have reported findings at the Annual American Society of Engineering Education Meetings, Frontiers in Education Conferences, First Year Experience Conferences, and Learning Communities Open Houses of the National Learning Communities Project. We will continue this effort through these venues and publish in refereed journals such as the Journal of Engineering Education, Journal of College Student Retention, and Journal of Excellence in College Teaching.

We will also continue to inform the UTEP community of major project developments through the MIE Connections quarterly newsletter, and UTEP MIE websites:

• www.utep.edu/mie
• www.utep.edu/aces
• www.utep.edu/cetal
• www.utep.edu/circles
• www.utep.edu/esprog
• www.utep.edu/mie/reu
• www.utep.edu/mie/wise

Furthermore, we propose to hold the UTEP Learning Communities Open House and the Annual UTEP Sun Conference on Teaching and Learning in March of 2004. The first event will be planned in collaboration with the National Learning Communities Project of the Washington Center for Improving the Quality of Undergraduate Education. The Open House will serve to showcase both the CircLES Program and the University College and offer a chance for faculty and administrators to meet one another and share mutual experiences and aspirations for learning communities across the Southwest. The Sun Conference will be planned in collaboration with the UTEP Office of Academic Affairs. Faculty, instructional staff, instructional developers, and administrators from institutions across the Southwest will be invited to share their innovative teaching practices, and to explore transformative college and university teaching methods, with a particular emphasis on those that apply to STEM education. We plan to assess and promote the success of this event to secure sponsorship from IBM and Hewlett-Packard for subsequent conferences in 2005 and 2006¹⁰.

Lastly, we propose to host a Project Kaleidoscope (PKAL) CCLI Workshop in Fall 2004. The workshop will bring over 100 administrators and academics from at least 20 different institutions across the nation to discuss best practices for science teaching. Workshop participants will have a unique opportunity to focus on teaching strategies for student bodies with rapidly changing demographics. The hosts of the workshop will be Dr. Brady and Dr. Flores. Partial funding for this event is being procured by Dr. Jeanne Narum, PKAL Director¹¹.

Advisory Board

Since 1996, the MIE Advisory Board has met at least once a year to provide constructive critiques on the status of the MIE Project. The Board, which has membership approved by NSF, always has direct access to UTEP's top administrators to ensure that timely MIE project decisions are made to meet commitments to NSF. In anticipation of the third phase of the project, the Advisory Board urged the PI and co-PIs to develop a plan that preserves the integrity of MIE activities while anticipating a scenario of NSF and State of Texas budget reductions. The Board will continue to meet during the next three academic years to verify progress made in the institutionalization of MIE activities and to notify NSF of such advances. Mr. Edward Ahnert, President of the ExxonMobil Foundation, will continue to serve as Chair of the Board.

Results

In 2000, The Engineering Work Force Commission reported that UTEP had the top minority first-year engineering enrollment in the continental US. This speaks highly of the outreach and recruiting efforts that the CoE has undertaken in recent years. Clearly, our goal is not only to increase enrollment in STEM disciplines but also to retain students and to see that they earn their degrees. Table 3 shows UTEP's track record in terms of retention rates. Table 4 shows specifically the retention for underrepresented minorities (URM) at UTEP. The data indicate that overall retention and URM retention have increased significantly for years 1 through 4. Given that the trends are consistent, six-year graduation rates should see a notable increase. Table 5 shows that the number of STEM degrees awarded increased by 14.9% since 1996-1997. It is worth mentioning that not all students who have graduated up to now have been impacted by the broad spectrum of MIE activities. The first class to receive the full benefit of MIE interventions, as illustrated in Figure 1, will be the entering class of Fall 1998, which will begin to graduate in Spring 2004¹². Given the current trends in enrollment and retention, we estimate that the six-year graduation rate in STEM disciplines may increase from 20% to an unprecedented 35% - 40%.

Abbreviations: AsA = Asian American; AfA = African American; HA = Hispanic American; NA = Native American; W = White (Non-Hispanic); Intl = International.

Intellectual Merit

NSF's MIE Program is an ongoing experiment to create national models for higher education that will promote participation and achievement of underrepresented minorities in STEM, consistently and effectively. At UTEP, MIE was envisioned as an eleven-year effort to develop, implement and test an influential theory¹⁷ that views the college experience as an organic system that affects student persistence and attrition. The theory is based on a longitudinal model of individual departure that can be analyzed in terms of a student's pre-entry attributes, intentions, goals and commitments, institutional experiences, and integration to academic and campus social life.

MIE activities developed at UTEP reflect the main components of this longitudinal model. CircLES directly addresses the needs of freshmen, the majority of whom are considered to be at high risk due to their family background, skills and abilities, and prior schooling. ACES is an on-campus resource that promotes student academic performance, peer group interactions, and extracurricular activities. CETaL is an on-campus resource that promotes faculty/instructional staff interactions, scholarly teaching, and educational research. REU promotes faculty-student interaction and academic integration though laboratory and field research. The CCLI program promotes the implementation of teaching and learning strategies that improve academic performance and formal peer group interactions.

The MIE success indicators that are being tracked include student and faculty demographics, student persistence and graduation rates, faculty/student resource usage and demand, and adoption of learning/teaching strategies. From the onset, the timetable for the MIE project included three phases: model development and implementation (5 years), testing (3 years), and sustainability (3 years). The major anticipated outcome of this experiment is an institutional model for STEM education that can be disseminated nationwide and adapted at institutions with similar student demographics.

Broader Impact

For the last eight years, MIE has been a driving force in undergraduate STEM education at UTEP. Consequently, our institution has become a national leader in minority education, preparing a new diverse generation of qualified engineers and scientists. Recent statistics support this case: In 2000, one in 20 Hispanic women who earned a baccalaureate degree in Engineering graduated from UTEP. That same year, one in 31 Hispanics who earned a baccalaureate degree in Engineering did so at UTEP¹⁸. We anticipate that these statistics will only improve in the next few years as MIE activities and programs become fully institutionalized.

Several institutions along the US-Mexican Border have expressed a genuine interest in implementing MIE strategies on their campuses: New Mexico State University (Las Cruces, NM), UT Pan American (Edinburg, TX), Texas A&M International University (Laredo, TX), Western New Mexico University (Silver City, NM), Texas A&M Corpus Christi (Corpus Christi, TX). In addition, Jackson State University (Jackson, MS) and Salish Kootenai College (Pablo, MT) have shown interest in implementing MIE strategies specifically designed for entering engineering student success. Table 6 summarizes the areas of interest by each school. With such a broad and diverse participation, we are in a unique position to form and lead an open consortium of minority serving institutions. We will invite all consortium schools to participate in the dissemination activities we have outlined above. In addition, we intend to approach NSF regarding funding for a dissemination phase of best practices that can be adapted to the needs of the consortium schools.

Key Personnel

Dr. Benjamin C. Flores was appointed Project Director in Spring 1999 and Principal Investigator for the second phase of the UTEP MIE Project in Fall 2000. Dr. Flores is Associate Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering. His educational research interests are in the area of institutional models for student success; his technical research interests are in radar signal processing and wideband signal design. He was voted the outstanding professor of the year by the EE graduating class of Spring 2002.

Dr. Thomas Brady, Dean of the College of Science, has served on the MIE Steering Committee since Fall 1997. He has been heavily involved in the assessment and policy development of the project as well in the strategic planning of curricular development activities supported by MIE. He has taught UNIV 1301 on several occasions for the CircLEs program. Dr. Brady is co-PI in UTEP's Partnership for Excellence in Teacher Education Program and the Partnership for Teacher Quality and Quantity in El Paso.

Dr. Roberto Osegueda, Interim Dean of the College of Engineering, has served on the MIE Steering Committee since Spring 2002. He has served on a number of MIE curriculum committees and was instrumental in the implementation of UTEP's Basic Engineering Program, which streamlined the first two years of engineering curricula in four academic programs. Dr. Osegueda is the Director of the UTEP FAST Center.

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Footnotes

1. Ms. Martinez earned a BS in Civil Engineering from UTEP in 1996. She worked for 2 years at Boeing in Seattle before joining the MIE staff.
2. Employment requirements include good communications skills, a minimum GPA of 2.5/4.0 scale, and a full course load per semester. Students work up to 19 hours per week.
3. CETaL's co-directorship is fully funded by the Office of Academic Affairs.
4. Fall 2002 data.
5. Two laboratories in General Chemistry, one in Physics, one in Biology, one in Civil Engineering, and three in Electrical and Computer Engineering.
6. The groundbreaking ceremony for these projects took place June 17, 2003.
7. Since 1999, the MIE Project has funded the UTEP Annual Research Expo. This event has become the main vehicle for dissemination of STEM research on campus with a participation that normally exceeds 100 undergraduate and graduate students (including those funded by REU).
8. The institutions are Bowie State University (Maryland), Spelman College (Georgia), Oglala Lakota College (South Dakota), UTEP (Texas), Universidad Metropolitana (Puerto Rico), and Xavier University (Louisiana). 
9. System Research Inc. has a site dedicated to MIE: http://www.systemic.com/mie/.
10. Mr. Wayne Johnson, Hewlett-Packard Executive Director of University Relations and Mr. Bruce Aumack, IBM, have tentatively committed to co-sponsor this event. Both gentlemen are members of the UTEP MIE Advisory Board. 
11. Information on PKAL can be found at www.pkal.org. 
12. On average, a UTEP student earns her degree in six years.
13. Year 3, 4 and 5 columns may include degrees awarded: 8.3% of the Fall 97 cohort had graduated by the end of year 5. 5.2% of Fall 98 cohort had graduated by the end of year 4.
14. Non-clustered comparison cohort.
15. Year 3, 4 and 5 columns may include degrees awarded: 6.1% of the URM Fall 97 cohort had graduated by the end of year 5. 5.5% of Fall 98 cohort had graduated by the end of year 4.
16. Non-clustered comparison cohort.
17. See Vincent Tinto's "Leaving College."
18. Based on NSF data. The statistics exclude Hispanics who earned a BS in Engineering in Puerto Rico.