Innovative institutional change

Improving STEM enrollment, completion, and transfer rates at a HSI Texas community college

Abstract

Addressing higher education organizational policy, programs, and practices that improve access into STEM degree programs requires innovation, commitment, and collaboration. We relied on Lewin’s change theory to study how a STEM Honors program in a Hispanic-serving community college implemented innovative inclusion-focused and high-impact initiatives and practices to expand and increase STEM enrollment, persistence, transfer, and completion rates to regional universities. Our findings suggest that when community college STEM-related programs effectively collaborate with regional institutions, these efforts improve students’ sense of belonging in STEM programs, improve the likelihood of successful transfer and completion rates, and increase participation in the STEM workforce.