I 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4483 

To authorize the Director of the National Science Foundation to provide 

grants to institutions of higher education for implementing or expanding 

reforms in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in order to increase the number of students 

from underrepresented minority groups receiving degrees in these fields, 

and to recruit, retain, and advance STEM faculty members from underrepresented minority groups at institutions of higher education. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 24, 2012 

Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas (for herself, Ms. WILSON of Florida, 

Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. REYES, Mr. RUSH, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. LUJA ́N, Mr. HINOJOSA, and Ms. FUDGE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and 

Technology 

A BILL 

To authorize the Director of the National Science Foundation to provide grants to institutions of higher education 

for implementing or expanding reforms in undergraduate 

science, technology, engineering, and mathematics 

(STEM) education in order to increase the number of 

students from underrepresented minority groups receiving degrees in these fields, and to recruit, retain, and 

advance STEM faculty members from underrepresented 

minority groups at institutions of higher education. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Broadening Participa5 tion in STEM Education Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) One of the National Science Foundation’s 

9 core missions is ‘‘to achieve excellence in U.S. 

10 science, technology, engineering and mathematics 

11 (STEM) education’’. 

12 (2) STEM education at the undergraduate level 

13 is vital to developing a workforce that will allow the 

14 United States to remain the leader in the 21st cen15 tury global economy. 

16 (3) In 2007, underrepresented minority groups 

17 comprised 33.2 percent of the college-age population 

18 of the United States, but only 17.7 percent of un19 dergraduate students earning bachelor’s degrees in 

20 STEM fields. 

21 (4) The Higher Education Research Institute at 

22 the University of California, Los Angeles, found 

23 that, while freshmen from underrepresented minority 

24 groups express an interest in pursuing a STEM un25 dergraduate degree at the same rate as all other 


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1 freshmen, only 22.1 percent of Latino students, 18.4 

2 percent of African-American students, and 18.8 per3 cent of Native American students studying in STEM 

4 fields complete their degree within 5 years, com5 pared to an approximate 33 percent and 42 percent 

6 5-year completion rate for White and Asian stu7 dents, respectively. 

8 (5) Statistics are particularly alarming in spe9 cific STEM fields. For example, even though under10 represented minorities make up approximately 33 

11 percent of the college-age population, according to 

12 an analysis of National Science Foundation data 

13 performed by the National Action Council for Mi14 norities in Engineering, students from underrep15 resented minority groups earned only 13 percent of 

16 all engineering degrees in 2009. 

17 (6) Underrepresented minority groups currently 

18 make up about 29 percent of the United States pop19 ulation. However, only about 8 percent of tenure20 track science and engineering faculty members at 

21 universities and 4-year colleges and less than 1 per22 cent of tenure-track science and engineering faculty 

23 members at the top 100 research universities in the 

24 United States are from underrepresented minority 

25 groups. 


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1 (7) Students from underrepresented minority 

2 groups at institutions of higher education who see 

3 few others ‘‘like themselves’’ among faculty and stu4 dent populations often do not experience the social 

5 integration that is necessary for success in all dis6 ciplines, including STEM. 

7 (8) The ability to connect students and faculty 

8 members from underrepresented minority groups has 

9 been demonstrated to be successful in increasing the 

10 achievement level of students from underrepresented 

11 minority groups studying in STEM fields. 

12 (9) The United States faces a demographic 

13 challenge with regard to STEM education: by 2050, 

14 52 percent of the college-age population of the 

15 United States will be from underrepresented minor16 ity groups. 

17 (10) If the percentage of students from under18 represented minority groups earning bachelor’s de19 grees in STEM fields does not significantly increase, 

20 the United States will face an acute shortfall in the 

21 overall number of students who earn degrees in 

22 STEM fields. 

23 (11) With this impending shortfall, and with 

24 the number of citizens of other countries earning de25 grees in STEM fields increasing, the comparative 


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1 advantage of the United States STEM workforce 

2 will diminish, and the United States will almost cer3 tainly lose its competitive edge in the 21st century 

4 global economy. 

5 SEC. 3. FOUNDATION SUPPORT FOR BROADENING PARTICI6 PATION IN UNDERGRADUATE STEM EDU7 CATION. 

8 (a) GRANTS.—The Director shall award grants to in9 stitutions of higher education (or consortia thereof) to im10 plement or expand research-based reforms in under11 graduate STEM education for the purpose of recruiting 

12 and retaining students from minority groups who are 

13 underrepresented in STEM fields. 

14 (b) MERIT REVIEW; COMPETITION.—Grants shall be 

15 awarded under this section on a merit-reviewed, competi16 tive basis. 

17 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Activities supported by grants 

18 under this section may include— 

19 (1) implementation or expansion of innovative, 

20 research-based approaches to broaden participation 

21 of underrepresented minority groups in STEM 

22 fields; 

23 (2) implementation or expansion of bridge, co24 hort, tutoring, or mentoring programs designed to 

25 enhance the recruitment and retention of students 


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1 from underrepresented minority groups in STEM 

2 fields; 

3 (3) implementation or expansion of outreach 

4 programs linking institutions of higher education 

5 and K–12 school systems in order to heighten 

6 awareness among pre-college students from under7 represented minority groups of opportunities in col8 lege-level STEM fields and STEM careers; 

9 (4) implementation or expansion of faculty de10 velopment programs focused on improving retention 

11 of undergraduate STEM students from underrep12 resented minority groups; 

13 (5) implementation or expansion of mechanisms 

14 designed to recognize and reward faculty members 

15 who demonstrate a commitment to increasing the 

16 participation of students from underrepresented mi17 nority groups in STEM fields; 

18 (6) expansion of successful reforms aimed at in19 creasing the number of STEM students from under20 represented minority groups beyond a single course 

21 or group of courses to achieve reform within an en22 tire academic unit, or expansion of successful reform 

23 efforts beyond a single academic unit to other 

24 STEM academic units within an institution of high25 er education; 


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1 (7) expansion of opportunities for students from 

2 underrepresented minority groups to conduct STEM 

3 research in industry, at Federal labs, and at inter4 national research institutions or research sites; 

5 (8) provision of stipends for students from 

6 underrepresented minority groups participating in 

7 research; 

8 (9) support for graduate students and postdoc9 toral fellows from underrepresented minority groups 

10 to participate in instructional or assessment activi11 ties at primarily undergraduate institutions, includ12 ing primarily undergraduate minority-serving insti13 tutions and two-year institutions of higher edu14 cation; and 

15 (10) other activities consistent with subsection 

16 (a), as determined by the Director. 

17 (d) SELECTION PROCESS.— 

18 (1) APPLICATION.—An institution of higher 

19 education (or consortia thereof) seeking a grant 

20 under this section shall submit an application to the 

21 Director at such time, in such manner, and con22 taining such information and assurances as the Di23 rector may require. The application shall include, at 

24 a minimum— 


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1 (A) a description of the proposed reform 

2 effort; 

3 (B) a description of the research findings 

4 that will serve as the basis for the proposed re5 form effort or, in the case of applications that 

6 propose an expansion of a previously imple7 mented reform, a description of the previously 

8 implemented reform effort, including data about 

9 the recruitment, retention, and academic 

10 achievement of students from underrepresented 

11 minority groups; 

12 (C) evidence of an institutional commit13 ment to, and support for, the proposed reform 

14 effort, including a long-term commitment to im15 plement successful strategies from the current 

16 reform beyond the academic unit or units in17 cluded in the grant proposal; 

18 (D) a description of existing or planned in19 stitutional policies and practices regarding fac20 ulty hiring, promotion, tenure, and teaching as21 signment that reward faculty contributions to 

22 improving the education of students from 

23 underrepresented minority groups in STEM; 

24 and 


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1 (E) how the success and effectiveness of 

2 the proposed reform effort will be evaluated and 

3 assessed in order to contribute to the national 

4 knowledge base about models for catalyzing in5 stitutional change. 

6 (2) REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.—In selecting 

7 grant recipients under this section, the Director 

8 shall consider, at a minimum— 

9 (A) the likelihood of success of the pro10 posed reform effort at the institution submit11 ting the application, including the extent to 

12 which the faculty, staff, and administrators of 

13 the institution are committed to making the 

14 proposed institutional reform a priority of the 

15 participating academic unit or units; 

16 (B) the degree to which the proposed re17 form effort will contribute to change in institu18 tional culture and policy such that greater value 

19 is placed on faculty engagement in the retention 

20 of students from underrepresented minority 

21 groups; 

22 (C) the likelihood that the institution will 

23 sustain or expand the proposed reform effort 

24 beyond the period of the grant; and 


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1 (D) the degree to which evaluation and as2 sessment plans are included in the design of the 

3 proposed reform effort. 

4 (3) PRIORITY.—For applications that include 

5 an expansion of existing reforms beyond a single 

6 academic unit, the Director shall give priority to ap7 plications for which a senior institutional adminis8 trator, such as a dean or other administrator of 

9 equal or higher rank, serves as the principal investi10 gator. 

11 (4) GRANT DISTRIBUTION.—The Director shall 

12 ensure, to the extent practicable, that grants award13 ed under this section are made to a variety of types 

14 of institutions of higher education, including two15 year and minority-serving institutions of higher edu16 cation. 

17 (e) EDUCATION RESEARCH.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—All grants made under this 

19 section shall include an education research compo20 nent that will support the design and implementa21 tion of a system for data collection and evaluation 

22 of proposed reform efforts in order to build the 

23 knowledge base on promising models for increasing 

24 recruitment and retention of students from under25 represented minority groups in STEM education at 


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1 the undergraduate level across a diverse set of insti2 tutions. 

3 (2) DISSEMINATION.—The Director shall co4 ordinate with relevant Federal agencies in dissemi5 nating the results of the research under this sub6 section to ensure that best practices in broadening 

7 participation in STEM education at the under8 graduate level are made readily available to all insti9 tutions of higher education, other Federal agencies 

10 that support STEM programs, non-Federal funders 

11 of STEM education, and the general public. 

12 SEC. 4. FOUNDATION SUPPORT FOR INCREASING DIVER13 SITY AMONG STEM FACULTY AT INSTITU14 TIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION. 

15 (a) GRANTS.—The Director shall award grants to in16 stitutions of higher education (or consortia thereof) for the 

17 development of innovative reform efforts designed to in18 crease the recruitment, retention, and advancement of in19 dividuals from underrepresented minority groups in aca20 demic STEM careers. 

21 (b) MERIT REVIEW; COMPETITION.—Grants shall be 

22 awarded under this section on a merit-reviewed, competi23 tive basis. 

24 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Activities supported by grants 

25 under this section may include— 


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1 (1) institutional assessment activities, such as 

2 data analyses and policy review, in order to identify 

3 and address specific issues in the recruitment, reten4 tion, and advancement of faculty members from 

5 underrepresented minority groups; 

6 (2) implementation of institution-wide improve7 ments in workload distribution, such that faculty 

8 members from underrepresented minority groups are 

9 not disadvantaged in the amount of time available to 

10 focus on research, publishing papers, and engaging 

11 in other activities required to achieve tenure status 

12 and run a productive research program; 

13 (3) development and implementation of training 

14 courses for administrators and search committee 

15 members to ensure that candidates from underrep16 resented minority groups are not subject to implicit 

17 biases in the search and hiring process; 

18 (4) development and hosting of intra- or inter19 institutional workshops to propagate best practices 

20 in recruiting, retaining, and advancing faculty mem21 bers from underrepresented minority groups; 

22 (5) professional development opportunities for 

23 faculty members from underrepresented minority 

24 groups; 


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1 (6) activities aimed at making undergraduate 

2 STEM students from underrepresented minority 

3 groups aware of opportunities for academic careers 

4 in STEM fields; 

5 (7) activities to identify and engage exceptional 

6 graduate students from underrepresented minority 

7 groups at various stages of their studies and to en8 courage them to enter academic careers; and 

9 (8) other activities consistent with subsection 

10 (a), as determined by the Director. 

11 (d) SELECTION PROCESS.— 

12 (1) APPLICATION.—An institution of higher 

13 education (or consortia thereof) seeking funding 

14 under this subsection shall submit an application to 

15 the Director at such time, in such manner, and con16 taining such information and assurances as the Di17 rector may require. The application shall include, at 

18 a minimum, a description of— 

19 (A) the reform effort that is being pro20 posed for implementation by the institution of 

21 higher education; 

22 (B) any available evidence of specific dif23 ficulties in the recruitment, retention, and ad24 vancement of faculty members from underrep25 resented minority groups in STEM academic 


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1 careers within the institution of higher edu2 cation submitting an application, and how the 

3 proposed reform effort would address such 

4 issues; 

5 (C) how the institution of higher education 

6 submitting an application plans to sustain the 

7 proposed reform effort beyond the duration of 

8 the grant; and 

9 (D) how the success and effectiveness of 

10 the proposed reform effort will be evaluated and 

11 assessed in order to contribute to the national 

12 knowledge base about models for catalyzing in13 stitutional change. 

14 (2) REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.—In selecting 

15 grant recipients under this section, the Director 

16 shall consider, at a minimum— 

17 (A) the likelihood of success in under18 taking the proposed reform effort at the institu19 tion of higher education submitting the applica20 tion, including the extent to which the adminis21 trators of the institution are committed to mak22 ing the proposed reform effort a priority; 

23 (B) the degree to which the proposed re24 form effort will contribute to change in institu25 tional culture and policy such that greater value 


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1 is placed on the recruitment, retention, and ad2 vancement of faculty members from underrep3 resented minority groups; 

4 (C) the likelihood that the institution of 

5 higher education will sustain or expand the pro6 posed reform effort beyond the period of the 

7 grant; and 

8 (D) the degree to which evaluation and as9 sessment plans are included in the design of the 

10 proposed reform effort. 

11 (3) GRANT DISTRIBUTION.—The Director shall 

12 ensure, to the extent practicable, that grants award13 ed under this section are made to a variety of types 

14 of institutions of higher education. 

15 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this Act: 

17 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

18 the Director of the National Science Foundation. 

19 (2) FOUNDATION.—The term ‘‘Foundation’’ 

20 means the National Science Foundation established 

21 under section 2 of the National Science Foundation 

22 Act of 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1861). 

23 (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

24 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 


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1 meaning given that term in section 101(a) of the 

2 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

3 (4) STEM.—The term ‘‘STEM’’ means the 

4 academic and professional disciplines of science, 

5 technology, engineering, and mathematics. 

Æ 


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