Faculty Teaching and Research Productivity and Equity in STEM: Student Grade Gaps in Lower-Division Courses (Stage 2, 12:17 PM)

• In Event: e-Lightning Ed-Talk Session 3 - Stage 2

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between equitable student success outcomes and faculty research and teaching productivity among 553 STEM faculty at a public, research-intensive, minority-serving university. Using cluster analysis and multivariate regression, we investigated how grade disparities between minoritized and non-minoritized students associate with faculty productivity metrics, demographics, and course features. Results show that faculty with moderate research productivity and heavier lower-division course loads produced smaller grade gaps for first-generation, low-income, and female students. Conversely, faculty with higher research productivity, undergraduate research involvement, and limited lower-division teaching showed larger gaps. By highlighting conditions under which equitable outcomes are more or less likely, this study informs efforts to allocate resources, design faculty development, and structure evaluation systems supporting equitable STEM education.

Authors

• Anna Kye, University of California - Irvine

• Brian Sato, University of California - Irvine

• Kameryn Denaro, University of California - Irvine