The Program

CRESCENT will expand on the partnerships with academic institutions, and local STEM government and industry in the local region to enhance the capacity for STEM research and education.  The new opportunities will promote more participation by the Hispanic demographic and improve student recruitment, retention, and success post-graduation. Long-term impacts of CRESCENT include the following: increased diversity in STEM workforce, diversified professoriate, and graduate role models that may encourage and sustain interest in STEM in their underserved communities. The proposed CRESCENT programs and its evaluation and monitoring will generate research results on effectiveness of strategies and activities to increase retention, graduation, and successful placement of Hispanic first-generation students. The generated results from this implementation project will be disseminated through publications in undergraduate education-focused journals and by attending national conferences.The CRESCENT Program is built on the longstanding collaboration of Heritage University with K-12 schools, community colleges and research-intensive institutions in rural south-central Washington State for increased under-represented minority participation in STEM fields, targeting in particular Hispanic and Native American students in the Yakima Valley. The CRESCENT program activities include innovative strategies for professional development of STEM faculty through the ESCALA program, STEM curriculum enhancement through institutional partnerships, offering experiential learning to students through hands-on research experiences and community outreach, and development of intensive culturally-responsive student support services to increase the number and diversity of students pursuing higher education in STEM disciplines. CRESCENT program activities will empower faculty with innovative and sustained pedagogical strategies for teaching URM students and prepare the next-generation of global citizens with a breadth of knowledge and essential life skills to succeed in the rapidly changing milieu of the 21st Century.

Our Community

Latinx are the fastest growing and youngest group in the United States, projected to comprise 30% of the US Population by 2040 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2008).

In 2010, Latinx accounted for 16% of the US population yet only earned 8% of all certificates and degrees awarded in STEM fields between 2009 and 2010 (White House Report, 2015). The Institute for Higher Education Policy (2010) warned “the demand for skilled workers in STEM fields will be difficult to impossible to meet if the nation’s future mathematicians, scientists, engineers, information technologists, computer programmers, and health care workers do not reflect population diversity.” This demand in STEM workforce in Washington State is growing at a higher rate than the nation and in the Yakima Valley the agriculture sector supports a myriad of STEM workforce opportunities and the demand is increasing.

In Yakima County in South-Central Washington State, the Hispanic student enrollment is 78% in K-12 schools, 60% in Yakima Valley College (community college), and 67% at Heritage University (4-year HSI). While the large majority of students in Yakima School District (YSD) are Hispanic, the teachers in the YSD are overwhelmingly White (77%). University STEM programs have equally low representation of Hispanic faculty, accounting for only 3% and 2.5% of Biology and Chemistry faculty respectively (Li and Koedel, 2017). In addition, HSIs not only serve the majority of the nation’s Hispanic students (63%; HACU, 2018), they enroll a higher share of American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) students than Tribal Colleges and Universities (14% compared to 11%; Hurtado & Alvarado, 2015). HU, located on the Yakama Nation, has 10% AIAN student enrollment. 

We are at a critical junction for developing academic and cultural services in partnership with the graduate institutions to meet student needs here in the Pacific Northwest in response to rapidly changing demographics, changing the academic environment whereby students can leverage their cultural backgrounds into academic success. Current STEM teachers and faculty must engage in culturally-responsive pedagogies to better serve a rapidly diversifying student body. 

Hispanic students face the second highest degree of STEM attrition of 23.1% (leaving without a degree or certificate) as well as high attrition from switching to non-STEM majors (26.4%) when compared to Black, White, and other races (USDOE, 2014). Research findings suggest some introductory science and mathematics courses may serve as ‘gatekeeper courses’ to discourage students’ interest in a STEM degree as a result of highly competitive classroom environments or an absence of engaging pedagogy that promotes active participation (Baird et al., 2016; Musu-Gillette et al., 2017; Gainen, 1995; Seymour & Hewitt, 1997). These fundamental STEM courses are often required as part of the foundations of many of the STEM degrees. The instructors of these classes are often perceived as ‘gatekeepers’ (Gainen, 1995; Gasiewski et al., 2012; McDowell, 2018; Avent et al., 2018). Reasons for success or attrition in the core courses required in STEM fields may depend on various student characteristics (i.e. low-income, first-generation), and pre-college, college, and environmental factors (i.e. social environment, available support services, mentors) (Crisp et al 2009; Peralta et al 2013). There is less agreement as to whether engagement/interactions with faculty may be beneficial or harmful to minority students’ interest in STEM (Crisp & Nora, 2012). While some studies have found a positive relationship between faculty engagement and STEM outcomes among minority students (Cole & Espinoza, 2008; Grandy, 1998), more recent findings have found faculty interactions to be negatively associated with persistence in STEM (Chang, Sharkness, Newman & Hurtado, 2010; Garcia & Hurtado, 2011). 

Hispanic students have among the lowest retention and graduation rates in STEM amongst the student population at mainstream U.S. colleges and universities. 

Critical Need for Culturally Responsive Pedagogy: Although HSIs play a significant role in the positive trend of Hispanic enrollment and success in undergraduate education, as demonstrated by the STEM courses failure rate data in Table 4, simply being an HSI is not enough to close the completion gap—improving graduation rates—in comparison to non-HSIs (HACU, 2015). For instance, a study conducted on the academic outcomes of Latinx in select HSIs found that while Latinx students have access to these institutions, these colleges were not producing equitable opportunities or outcomes for their Latinx students (Contreras, et. Al., 2008). That is, the Latinx students within the HSIs examined had lower graduation rates in math, science, and engineering majors at 2- and 4-year institutions compared with their peers in these majors (Contreras and Contreras, 2015). Faculty plays a key role in student experiences and success in higher education through the courses they teach, informal and formal mentoring, and their research agendas (Hurtado and Ponjuan, 2005; Turner, Gonzalez, & Wood, 2008 as cited in Contreras and Contreras, 2015).  Ethnicity, culture, gender, and other environmental factors are important to consider for understanding undergraduate student success rates in STEM. Implementation of programs that incorporate culturally-responsive pedagogy at HSIs are known to beneficially impact attitudes and retention of Hispanic demographics in STEM (Saenz et al., 2015; Biswas et al., 2015; Estrada et al., 2017).

Program Objectives

Expand a sustainable collaborative network with regional high schools to increase the pool of underrepresented minority STEM-prepared first-time freshman undergraduate students.

• Expand College in the High School STEM Courses

• Organize High School Outreach Presentations and Activities

Increase the number of underrepresented minority students indicating interest in STEM disciplines

• Foster student interest through intergenerational mentorship

• Build collaboration with regional community colleges for transfer students

Improve the performance and retention of underrepresented minority STEM students

• Increase access to innovative tutoring services and implement Science Bridge Program

• Organize dedicated STEM faculty and staff professional development in culturally responsive education (ESCALA)

Increase the number of underrepresented minority STEM students who pursue graduate studies in STEM disciplines after completion of their undergraduate degrees.

• Expand upper division course offerings through regional partnerships

• Provide Undergraduate Research Training Fellowships and connect undergraduate students to graduate student and faculty mentors 

The CRESCENT Program is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF-HSI Program Award Number 1928570).