Program Description
The purpose of the Hispanic-Serving Institutions - Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (HSI STEM) and Articulation Programs is to increase the number of Hispanic and other low-income students attaining degrees in the fields of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics and to develop model transfer and articulation agreements between two-year and four-year institutions in such fields.
Types of Projects
Funds may be used for:
- Improving academic quality of STEM programs through curriculum revision and development, or faculty development;
- Developing research opportunities for students in STEM fields;
- Providing or improving student services including counseling, tutoring, mentoring or establishing learning communities;
- Encouraging secondary students to pursue STEM degrees and careers through outreach activities; and
- Improving STEM facilities and equipment needed for science instruction and computer laboratories
Funding
FY 2021 - FY 2025
Projected five-year funding: $471,500,000
Projected annual funding: $94,300,000
Total number of awards: 100
Average annual award: $943,000
FY 2016 - FY 2020
Total five-year funding: $456,488,131
Average annual funding: $91,297,626
Total number of awards: 91
Average annual award: $1,003,271,618
Legislation
- Title III, Part F, Section 371 of the Higher Education Act, as amended (20 U.S.C. 1067q (b)(2)(B))
Regulations
- 34 CFR Part 606
- The Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99 apply to both programs.
Annual Performance Report
Grantees are required to submit three types of performance reports:
- Interim Performance Report (Due after the first six months of the grant)
- Annual Performance Report (APR)
- Endowment Fund Report (Only applies to grantees with an endowment activity)
Reports are completed electronically through the HEPIS reporting portal. The system can be accessed annually during the open reporting period (opening varies for each type of report). The site also contains recorded technical assistance webinars as well as reporting instructions/users manuals.
To gain access to the APR project directors need the institution's Unit ID, PR Award ID, and a unique password provided by the Institutional Service. Passwords are e-mailed to the grantee project director designated on the grant award notification document 30 days before the collection period begins. Project directors of Title III and Title V grants are responsible for completing and managing the content of their respective annual report.
Note: If you are a project director and have responsibility for completing the annual report for your institution, please be sure you are designated on the official grant award notification and your e-mail and telephone number are listed correctly in the G5 database.
Eligibility
Institutions must be designated as an eligible institution of higher education in order to apply for the Title V program and must meet the program-specific requirements to be defined as an HSI.
To be designated as an eligible institution of higher education, an institution must apply for and receive designation through an application process. Please refer to the most recent Application for Designation as an Eligible Institution.
A Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) is defined as an institution of higher education that:
- is an eligible institution; and
- has an enrollment of undergraduate full-time equivalent students that is at least 25 percent Hispanic students at the end of the award year immediately preceding the date of application.
For your information, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) publishes IPEDS data on institutions that serve large populations of Hispanic students. The list published by NCES is based on a wide range of data, including full-time enrollment figures, the number of degrees conferred, and the type of institutions, i.e., for-profit or non-profit, public or private, and four-year or two-year institutions of higher education. Some of the institutions on this list may qualify as Hispanic-Serving Institutions, provided that the institutions meet the eligibility requirements described above.
Applicant Information
There are two application processes for this program: one for eligibility and one for grant funding.
The most recent competition for this program occurred in FY 2021. View the FY 2021 Notice Inviting Applications for the HSI - STEM Program (84.031C) and the FY 2021 HSI STEM and Articulation Program Application Booklet.
Resources
- Updated FY 2021 HSI-STEM Pre-Application Webinar Presentation Slides
- FY 2021 HSI STEM and Articulation Program FAQs
- View the Logic Model Part 1 (Encore): Theory and Fundamentals Webinar from March 23, 2023
- View the Quarterly Form: Financial Literacy Education for Student Success Webinar from February 28, 2023
- View the HSI Division APR TA Webinar from February 1, 2023
- View the FY 2023 HSI Division Financial Management Webinar from January 31, 2023
Evidence Requirement Resources
To help HSI-STEM and Articulation applicants understand how to meet the supporting studies for the competitive preference priorities in this competition, specifically Moderate Evidence of Effectiveness, we have provided summaries of several studies of postsecondary interventions that meet the standard. These studies, as well as other studies that meet the moderate evidence standard, are available through the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Reviewed Studies Database. Please note that these studies are presented for illustrative purposes only.
Moreover, the Department of Education is aware that other studies of postsecondary interventions that may meet the moderate evidence standard have not yet been reviewed by the WWC. We encourage applicants to cite studies they think will meet the requirements of moderate evidence but that have not been reviewed by the WWC. All supporting studies that are cited for the competition in response to either of the two competitive preference priorities will be reviewed to determine if they meet the requirements of moderate evidence or evidence of promise, including relevance to the proposed project. In checking for relevance of the cited study, applicants should consider the following:
- Does the study examine the effectiveness of the process, product, strategy, activity, intervention, or practice being proposed;
- Is the outcome that the study found to have statistically significant favorable impact on a relevant outcome proposed in the project proposed by the applicant; and
- Does the study include a sample that overlaps with the populations or settings proposed to receive the process, product, strategy, activity, intervention, or practice in the application being proposed?
Project Evaluation Resources
Applicants are asked in the Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) to produce an evaluation plan. One of the evaluation selection factors asks applicants to describe the extent to which the plan meets the IES What Works Clearinghouse evaluation design standards with reservations. Applicants that plan to work with an evaluator in designing their evaluation plans must comply with all procurement rules, including those related to conflicts of interest. Qualified evaluators may be found in a number of places, including identifying authors through the What Works Clearinghouse database, or:
- Consulting a list of evaluators as published by the Arnold Foundation;
- Working with research experts located at the applying institution; or
- Consulting a list of evaluators as published by the American Evaluation Association.
Organizations
- Alliance of Hispanic Serving Institution Educators (AHSIE)
- American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHE)
- Excelencia in Education
- Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU)
Other Federal HSI Funding Sources:
- National Endowment for the Humanities
- Faculty Research: Programs for HBCUs, HSIs and TCCUs
Key Staff
HSI Division Director: Dr. Stacey A. Slijepcevic
202-453-6150, Stacey.Slijepcevic@ed.gov
- Kurrinn Abrams, 202-987-1920, Kurrinn.Abrams2@ed.gov
- Robin Dabney, 202-453-7908, Robin.Dabney@ed.gov
- Margarita Melendez, 202-260-3548, Margarita.Melendez@ed.gov
- Jymece Seward, 202-453-6138, Jymece.Seward@ed.gov
Program Description
The purpose of the Hispanic-Serving Institutions - Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (HSI STEM) and Articulation Programs is to increase the number of Hispanic and other low-income students attaining degrees in the fields of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics and to develop model transfer and articulation agreements between two-year and four-year institutions in such fields.
Types of Projects
Funds may be used for:
- Improving academic quality of STEM programs through curriculum revision and development, or faculty development;
- Developing research opportunities for students in STEM fields;
- Providing or improving student services including counseling, tutoring, mentoring or establishing learning communities;
- Encouraging secondary students to pursue STEM degrees and careers through outreach activities; and
- Improving STEM facilities and equipment needed for science instruction and computer laboratories
Funding
FY 2021 - FY 2025
Projected five-year funding: $471,500,000
Projected annual funding: $94,300,000
Total number of awards: 100
Average annual award: $943,000
FY 2016 - FY 2020
Total five-year funding: $456,488,131
Average annual funding: $91,297,626
Total number of awards: 91
Average annual award: $1,003,271,618
Legislation
- Title III, Part F, Section 371 of the Higher Education Act, as amended (20 U.S.C. 1067q (b)(2)(B))
Regulations
- 34 CFR Part 606
- The Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99 apply to both programs.
Annual Performance Report
Grantees are required to submit three types of performance reports:
- Interim Performance Report (Due after the first six months of the grant)
- Annual Performance Report (APR)
- Endowment Fund Report (Only applies to grantees with an endowment activity)
Reports are completed electronically through the HEPIS reporting portal. The system can be accessed annually during the open reporting period (opening varies for each type of report). The site also contains recorded technical assistance webinars as well as reporting instructions/users manuals.
To gain access to the APR project directors need the institution's Unit ID, PR Award ID, and a unique password provided by the Institutional Service. Passwords are e-mailed to the grantee project director designated on the grant award notification document 30 days before the collection period begins. Project directors of Title III and Title V grants are responsible for completing and managing the content of their respective annual report.
Note: If you are a project director and have responsibility for completing the annual report for your institution, please be sure you are designated on the official grant award notification and your e-mail and telephone number are listed correctly in the G5 database.
Eligibility
Institutions must be designated as an eligible institution of higher education in order to apply for the Title V program and must meet the program-specific requirements to be defined as an HSI.
To be designated as an eligible institution of higher education, an institution must apply for and receive designation through an application process. Please refer to the most recent Application for Designation as an Eligible Institution.
A Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) is defined as an institution of higher education that:
- is an eligible institution; and
- has an enrollment of undergraduate full-time equivalent students that is at least 25 percent Hispanic students at the end of the award year immediately preceding the date of application.
For your information, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) publishes IPEDS data on institutions that serve large populations of Hispanic students. The list published by NCES is based on a wide range of data, including full-time enrollment figures, the number of degrees conferred, and the type of institutions, i.e., for-profit or non-profit, public or private, and four-year or two-year institutions of higher education. Some of the institutions on this list may qualify as Hispanic-Serving Institutions, provided that the institutions meet the eligibility requirements described above.
Applicant Information
There are two application processes for this program: one for eligibility and one for grant funding.
The most recent competition for this program occurred in FY 2021. View the FY 2021 Notice Inviting Applications for the HSI - STEM Program (84.031C) and the FY 2021 HSI STEM and Articulation Program Application Booklet.
Resources
- Updated FY 2021 HSI-STEM Pre-Application Webinar Presentation Slides
- FY 2021 HSI STEM and Articulation Program FAQs
- View the Logic Model Part 1 (Encore): Theory and Fundamentals Webinar from March 23, 2023
- View the Quarterly Form: Financial Literacy Education for Student Success Webinar from February 28, 2023
- View the HSI Division APR TA Webinar from February 1, 2023
- View the FY 2023 HSI Division Financial Management Webinar from January 31, 2023
Evidence Requirement Resources
To help HSI-STEM and Articulation applicants understand how to meet the supporting studies for the competitive preference priorities in this competition, specifically Moderate Evidence of Effectiveness, we have provided summaries of several studies of postsecondary interventions that meet the standard. These studies, as well as other studies that meet the moderate evidence standard, are available through the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Reviewed Studies Database. Please note that these studies are presented for illustrative purposes only.
Moreover, the Department of Education is aware that other studies of postsecondary interventions that may meet the moderate evidence standard have not yet been reviewed by the WWC. We encourage applicants to cite studies they think will meet the requirements of moderate evidence but that have not been reviewed by the WWC. All supporting studies that are cited for the competition in response to either of the two competitive preference priorities will be reviewed to determine if they meet the requirements of moderate evidence or evidence of promise, including relevance to the proposed project. In checking for relevance of the cited study, applicants should consider the following:
- Does the study examine the effectiveness of the process, product, strategy, activity, intervention, or practice being proposed;
- Is the outcome that the study found to have statistically significant favorable impact on a relevant outcome proposed in the project proposed by the applicant; and
- Does the study include a sample that overlaps with the populations or settings proposed to receive the process, product, strategy, activity, intervention, or practice in the application being proposed?
Project Evaluation Resources
Applicants are asked in the Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) to produce an evaluation plan. One of the evaluation selection factors asks applicants to describe the extent to which the plan meets the IES What Works Clearinghouse evaluation design standards with reservations. Applicants that plan to work with an evaluator in designing their evaluation plans must comply with all procurement rules, including those related to conflicts of interest. Qualified evaluators may be found in a number of places, including identifying authors through the What Works Clearinghouse database, or:
- Consulting a list of evaluators as published by the Arnold Foundation;
- Working with research experts located at the applying institution; or
- Consulting a list of evaluators as published by the American Evaluation Association.
Organizations
- Alliance of Hispanic Serving Institution Educators (AHSIE)
- American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHE)
- Excelencia in Education
- Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU)
Other Federal HSI Funding Sources:
- National Endowment for the Humanities
- Faculty Research: Programs for HBCUs, HSIs and TCCUs
Key Staff
HSI Division Director: Dr. Stacey A. Slijepcevic
202-453-6150, Stacey.Slijepcevic@ed.gov
- Kurrinn Abrams, 202-987-1920, Kurrinn.Abrams2@ed.gov
- Robin Dabney, 202-453-7908, Robin.Dabney@ed.gov
- Margarita Melendez, 202-260-3548, Margarita.Melendez@ed.gov
- Jymece Seward, 202-453-6138, Jymece.Seward@ed.gov