groups at various stages of their studies and to en-
courage them to enter academic careers; and 
(8) other activities consistent with subsection 
(a), as determined by the Director of the National 
Science Foundation. 
(d) SELECTION PROCESS.— 
(1) APPLICATION.—An institution of higher 
education (or consortia thereof) seeking funding 
under this section shall submit an application to the 
Director of the National Science Foundation at such 
time, in such manner, and containing such informa-
tion and assurances as such Director may require. 
The application shall include, at a minimum, a de-
scription of— 
(A) the reform effort that is being pro-
posed for implementation by the institution of 
higher education; 
(B) any available evidence of specific dif-
ficulties in the recruitment, retention, and ad-
vancement of faculty members from underrep-
resented minority groups in STEM academic 
careers within the institution of higher edu-
cation submitting an application, and how the 
proposed reform effort would address such 
issues; 
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(C) how the institution of higher education 
submitting an application plans to sustain the 
proposed reform effort beyond the duration of 
the grant; and 
(D) how the success and effectiveness of 
the proposed reform effort will be evaluated and 
assessed in order to contribute to the national 
knowledge base about models for catalyzing in-
stitutional change. 
(2) REVIEW
OF
APPLICATIONS.—In selecting 
grant recipients under this section, the Director of 
the National Science Foundation shall consider, at a 
minimum— 
(A) the likelihood of success in under-
taking the proposed reform effort at the institu-
tion of higher education submitting the applica-
tion, including the extent to which the adminis-
trators of the institution are committed to mak-
ing the proposed reform effort a priority; 
(B) the degree to which the proposed re-
form effort will contribute to change in institu-
tional culture and policy such that greater value 
is placed on the recruitment, retention, and ad-
vancement of faculty members from underrep-
resented minority groups; 
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(C) the likelihood that the institution of 
higher education will sustain or expand the pro-
posed reform effort beyond the period of the 
grant; and 
(D) the degree to which evaluation and as-
sessment plans are included in the design of the 
proposed reform effort. 
(3) GRANT
DISTRIBUTION.—The Director of 
the National Science Foundation shall ensure, to the 
extent practicable, that grants awarded under this 
section are made to a variety of types of institutions 
of higher education. 
(e) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the 
National Science Foundation $10,000,000 in each of fiscal 
years 2016 through 2020 to carry out this section. 
SEC. 11. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION SUPPORT FOR 
BROADENING 
PARTICIPATION 
IN 
UNDER-
GRADUATE STEM EDUCATION. 
(a) GRANTS.—The Director of the National Science 
Foundation shall award grants to institutions of higher 
education (or consortia thereof) to implement or expand 
research-based reforms in undergraduate STEM edu-
cation for the purpose of recruiting and retaining students 
from minority groups who are underrepresented in STEM 
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fields, with a priority focus on natural science and engi-
neering fields. 
(b) MERIT REVIEW; COMPETITION.—Grants shall be 
awarded under this section on a merit-reviewed, competi-
tive basis. 
(c) USE OF FUNDS.—Activities supported by grants 
under this section may include— 
(1) implementation or expansion of innovative, 
research-based approaches to broaden participation 
of underrepresented minority groups in STEM 
fields; 
(2) implementation or expansion of bridge, co-
hort, tutoring, or mentoring programs designed to 
enhance the recruitment and retention of students 
from underrepresented minority groups in STEM 
fields; 
(3) implementation or expansion of outreach 
programs linking institutions of higher education 
and K–12 school systems in order to heighten 
awareness among pre-college students from under-
represented minority groups of opportunities in col-
lege-level STEM fields and STEM careers; 
(4) implementation or expansion of faculty de-
velopment programs focused on improving retention 
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of undergraduate STEM students from underrep-
resented minority groups; 
(5) implementation or expansion of mechanisms 
designed to recognize and reward faculty members 
who demonstrate a commitment to increasing the 
participation of students from underrepresented mi-
nority groups in STEM fields; 
(6) expansion of successful reforms aimed at in-
creasing the number of STEM students from under-
represented minority groups beyond a single course 
or group of courses to achieve reform within an en-
tire academic unit, or expansion of successful reform 
efforts beyond a single academic unit to other 
STEM academic units within an institution of high-
er education; 
(7) expansion of opportunities for students from 
underrepresented minority groups to conduct STEM 
research in industry, at Federal labs, and at inter-
national research institutions or research sites; 
(8) provision of stipends for students from 
underrepresented minority groups participating in 
research; 
(9) development of research collaborations be-
tween research-intensive universities and primarily 
undergraduate minority-serving institutions; 
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(10) support for graduate students and post-
doctoral fellows from underrepresented minority 
groups to participate in instructional or assessment 
activities at primarily undergraduate institutions, in-
cluding primarily undergraduate minority-serving in-
stitutions and two-year institutions of higher edu-
cation; and 
(11) other activities consistent with subsection 
(a), as determined by the Director of the National 
Science Foundation. 
(d) SELECTION PROCESS.— 
(1) APPLICATION.—An institution of higher 
education (or consortia thereof) seeking a grant 
under this section shall submit an application to the 
Director of the National Science Foundation at such 
time, in such manner, and containing such informa-
tion and assurances as such Director may require. 
The application shall include, at a minimum— 
(A) a description of the proposed reform 
effort; 
(B) a description of the research findings 
that will serve as the basis for the proposed re-
form effort or, in the case of applications that 
propose an expansion of a previously imple-
mented reform, a description of the previously 
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implemented reform effort, including data about 
the 
recruitment, 
retention, 
and 
academic 
achievement of students from underrepresented 
minority groups; 
(C) evidence of an institutional commit-
ment to, and support for, the proposed reform 
effort, including a long-term commitment to im-
plement successful strategies from the current 
reform beyond the academic unit or units in-
cluded in the grant proposal; 
(D) a description of existing or planned in-
stitutional policies and practices regarding fac-
ulty hiring, promotion, tenure, and teaching as-
signment that reward faculty contributions to 
improving the education of students from 
underrepresented minority groups in STEM; 
and 
(E) how the success and effectiveness of 
the proposed reform effort will be evaluated and 
assessed in order to contribute to the national 
knowledge base about models for catalyzing in-
stitutional change. 
(2) REVIEW
OF
APPLICATIONS.—In selecting 
grant recipients under this section, the Director of 
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the National Science Foundation shall consider, at a 
minimum— 
(A) the likelihood of success of the pro-
posed reform effort at the institution submit-
ting the application, including the extent to 
which the faculty, staff, and administrators of 
the institution are committed to making the 
proposed institutional reform a priority of the 
participating academic unit or units; 
(B) the degree to which the proposed re-
form effort will contribute to change in institu-
tional culture and policy such that greater value 
is placed on faculty engagement in the retention 
of students from underrepresented minority 
groups; 
(C) the likelihood that the institution will 
sustain or expand the proposed reform effort 
beyond the period of the grant; and 
(D) the degree to which evaluation and as-
sessment plans are included in the design of the 
proposed reform effort. 
(3) PRIORITY.—For applications that include 
an expansion of existing reforms beyond a single 
academic unit, the Director of the National Science 
Foundation shall give priority to applications for 
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which a senior institutional administrator, such as a 
dean or other administrator of equal or higher rank, 
serves as the principal investigator. 
(4) GRANT
DISTRIBUTION.—The Director of 
the National Science Foundation shall ensure, to the 
extent practicable, that grants awarded under this 
section are made to a variety of types of institutions 
of higher education, including two-year and minor-
ity-serving institutions of higher education. 
(e) EDUCATION RESEARCH.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—All grants made under this 
section shall include an education research compo-
nent that will support the design and implementa-
tion of a system for data collection and evaluation 
of proposed reform efforts in order to build the 
knowledge base on promising models for increasing 
recruitment and retention of students from under-
represented minority groups in STEM education at 
the undergraduate level across a diverse set of insti-
tutions. 
(2) DISSEMINATION.—The Director of the Na-
tional Science Foundation shall coordinate with rel-
evant Federal agencies in disseminating the results 
of the research under this subsection to ensure that 
best practices in broadening participation in STEM 
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education at the undergraduate level are made read-
ily available to all institutions of higher education, 
other Federal agencies that support STEM pro-
grams, non-Federal funders of STEM education, 
and the general public. 
(f) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the 
National Science Foundation $15,000,000 in each of fiscal 
years 2016 through 2020 to carry out this section. 
SEC. 12. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 
the Director of the Office of Science and Technology 
Policy (‘‘OSTP’’). 
(2) FEDERAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Fed-
eral laboratory’’ has the meaning given such term in 
section 4 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Inno-
vation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3703). 
(3) FEDERAL
SCIENCE
AGENCY.—The term 
‘‘Federal science agency’’ means any Federal agency 
with at least $100,000,000 in research and develop-
ment expenditures in fiscal year 2014. 
(4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 
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meaning given such term in section 101(a) of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 
(5) STEM.—The term ‘‘STEM’’ means the 
academic and professional disciplines of science, 
technology, engineering, and mathematics. 
Æ 
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