Creating a Climate for Success? Does Racial Composition Matter for Undergraduate Latina/o STEM Retention?

• In Event: 16.058 - Roundtable Session 6
  In Roundtable Session: 16.058-12 - Thriving and Surviving in STEM: Improving Outcomes for Underrepresented Populations in the Sciences

Abstract

The underrepresentation of racial and ethnic minority groups in the math and sciences and workforce demands has triggered numerous educational reforms targeted at science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. Changing demographics towards a majority minority intensifies the need to address educational inequities, especially for Latina/o students who are currently the fastest growing minority group across the United States and at four-year colleges and universities. Referencing campus climate, this study examines the institutional factors that promote or inhibit Latina/o STEM students’ success at a set of large, public, research-intensive universities located in the Mid-East, Great Lakes, and Plains regions. This study is informed by six years of semester-by-semester student-level data from eight universities merged with institutional characteristics gathered through IPEDS.

Author

• Blanca E. Rincon, University of Connecticut - Storrs