Bridging Faculty and Student Cultures: Culturally Responsive Support for STEM Students Transferring between Two and Four Year Hispanic Serving Institutions

10/15/2019 – 09/30/2024

The overall project goal is to implement and test a scalable, transferrable model for creating a culturally responsive, bridged Community of Practice (CoP) between 2- and 4-year HSIs to raise persistence and graduation rates of low-income, academically talented community college (CC) students pursuing and transitioning into STEM majors at 4-year institutions. The Track 3 project is a full collaboration between Pima Community College (PCC) and University of Arizona (UA), both Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) in Tucson, Arizona. Our objectives are to increase student sense of belonging by creating a welcoming environment through a bridged PCC–UA learning community and culturally responsive mentoring, improve academic achievement at UA by providing individualized support and academic and financial guidance, and increase interest in STEM careers through early career planning and relevant experiential learning opportunities.

Regina Deil-Amen; PI
Kasi Kiehlbaugh; Co-PI
Kimberly Sierra-Cajas; Co-PI
Michele Walsh; Evaluator