inhibit Hispanics from degree attainment. Recent survey data shows that Hispanic parents place high value on going to college; however, a large number of their children tend to drop out of school. This paradox may be due in large measure to poor socioeconomic conditions, the challenge of mastering the English language with little support, and the lack of role models. To make a difference, it is essential to have more Hispanic faculty in computing programs who can serve as exemplars and models at the community college and four-year institutions, to provide opportunities for development and growth, and to inform families about financial support structures for attending college.

The Role of hispanic-
Serving institutions
With these issues in mind, we cannot
ignore the role of Hispanic-serving
institutions (HSIs) in educating His-
panics who become future leaders
in the work force. Indeed, any effort
to increase the number of Hispanics
who attain STEM degrees will depend
on the institutional capacity of com-
munity colleges and HSIs to educate
and graduate Hispanics, in particular
those who graduate in STEM fields.
This claim is supported by a March
2010 report by Dowd et al. 2 from the
Center for Urban Education that indi-
cates a greater share of Hispanic stu-
dents enrolled at HSIs earn degrees in
key majors, such as computer science,
mathematics, and engineering, than
do their counterparts at non-HSIs.a
The NSF Research Experiences for
Undergraduates (REU) program has
been a critical factor in providing stu-
dents with research opportunities that
a National Center for Education Statistics study
(NCES 2007-161) reports that only 10% of four-
year institutions of higher education in the
U.S. enroll the majority of Hispanic under-
graduates.

The report also states that Hispanic community college transfers who first earn associate’s degrees have lower access to STEM bachelor’s degrees at academically selective and private universities than their counterparts who do not earn an associate’s degree prior to the bachelor’s. Dowd’s data shows that Hispanics, who are community college transfers and who first earn associate’s degrees, have lower access to STEM bachelor’s degrees at academically selective and private universities than their counterparts who do not earn an associate’s degree prior to the bachelor’s. On the other hand, transfer students were more likely to graduate from HSIs and from public four-year institutions, but they were less likely to graduate from academically selective institutions or from research universities. To make a difference, it is essential to support programs and initiatives that provide educational opportunities for Hispanics in STEM fields at HSIs and that target community college students and their successful transfer to four-year colleges.

f Y2008 R&D Expenditures for hispanic-serving institutions without a medical school.*

Ranking institution
R&D Expenditure
(Dollars in thousands)

Percent hispanic Enrollment**

32 Nm State u. main campus 138,427 44.08 73 u. TX El Paso 48,906 74. 94 93 CuNY The City C. 34,452 31. 15 95 u. TX San Antonio 33, 106 43. 57 113 u. Pr rio Piedras Campus 22,662 99. 94 118 u. Pr mayaguez Campus 20,763 100 129 u. CA, merced 16,802 26.08 133 CA State u. long Beach 14,971 25. 44

* NSF/division of Science resources Statistics, Academic Research and Development Expenditures: FY 2008.4

** IPEdS Spring 2007 survey.

motivate and prepare them for graduate studies. An SRI International evaluation of NSF support for undergraduate research opportunities found that students who participated in undergraduate research were twice as likely as those who did not do research to have pre-college expectations of obtaining a Ph.D. 6 In addition, participation in undergraduate research had strong positive effects on the students’ understanding of the research process, confidence in their research-related abilities, and awareness of academic and career options in STEM. In regard to improving research opportunities, a common suggestion that arose from the study was the need for more effective faculty guidance and the key role of developing interpersonal, organizational, and research skills.

The Computing Alliance of HSIs, a consortium of 10 HSIs focused on the recruitment, retention, and advancement of Hispanics in Computing, has played an important role in involving students, in particular Hispanics, in research throughout the academic year using the Affinity Research Group (ARG) model and working with the students to apply for REU opportunities. ARG is focused on training faculty mentors on the ARG philosophy and how to structure in research groups the deliberate and intentional development of technical, team, and professional skills and knowledge required for research and collaborative work.

Arguments against having doctoral programs at minority-serving institutions (MSIs), such as those made by Richard Tapia in the March 2010 Communications Broadening Participation column, 7 often center on the low probability of individuals who do not graduate from top research institutions becoming a faculty members at those institutions and the supposed “lack of rigor” of MSI graduate programs, which make them less able to compete with the caliber of programs at top research institutions. Data reported in NSF 06-318 certainly supports the former argument, 1 although fewer than half of Hispanic faculty members who earned doctorates at top research institutions were employed at these institutions. The reasons are varied as are the reasons for graduates of top research institutions who choose to teach at