Inspiring Networks and Sustainability of Postsecondary Inclusivity and Racial Equity with the Computing Alliance of HSIs

The Inspiring Networks and Sustainability of Postsecondary Inclusivity and Racial Equity (INSPIRE) project will address the significant problem of sustaining equity-centered student success practices that attempt to mitigate systemic inequities within the STEM and STEM education enterprise. Studies of organizational sustainability of such practices are rare, particularly in Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) and other Minority-Serving Institutions.

Also, few such initiatives have been sustained significantly over time. The Computing Alliance of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (CAHSI), a 16-year-old consortium of 40 HSI computer science departments and other partners dedicated to improving racial equity, is one rare long-lasting initiative in this arena. Studying this consortium provides the opportunity to inform organizational change and adaptive strategies to mitigate often long-standing institutional practices that have led to inequitable participation in the computing field.

INSPIRE’s goals are to (1) strengthen understanding of equity-centered student success strategies to mitigate systemic inequities in the computing enterprise, (2) support organizational sustainability of equity-centered student success strategies in HSIs, and (3) extend a transferable model of equity-centered student success in computing to other institutions.

The project aims to achieve three primary outcomes. First, to advance research on equity-centered student success practices that mitigate institutional racism and advance racial equity in computing. Second, to create a platform to elevate and give voice to student-, staff-, faculty-, and administrator-developed practical approaches to integrate and sustain these strategies.

Finally, to develop a transferable and culturally sustaining model of organizational transformation. The project’s scope includes mixed methods quantitative and qualitative research with CAHSI computing departments. The INSPIRE team will also strive to build capacity in these computing departments to sustain organizational change toward racial equity.

The approach will include quantitative surveys, qualitative interviews, and in-depth qualitative case studies of four CAHSI departments. The case studies will involve interviews and observations to study how key stakeholders encounter challenges and opportunities to implementing and sustaining equity-centered practices. These stakeholders include faculty, administrators, staff, and students.

The project team will share data and generate feedback to build departments’ capacity to sustain equity-oriented organizational change during these activities. One expected result is an enhanced understanding of equity-centered student success strategies and the organizational conditions that hinder or enhance the adoption and sustainability of these strategies.

Another is a model of computing student success to mitigate institutional racism in computing and STEM at all institutions. The INSPIRE team will disseminate research and professional development through webinars, publications, presentations, and interactive workshops. Dissemination will focus on inclusive and equitable departmental practices, such as community-building and intersectional approaches to learning and research, that can be directly applied to raise minoritized students’ computing success.

Dissemination efforts will address audiences in multiple roles, including students, staff, faculty, and administrators.

This project is funded through the Racial Equity in STEM Education program (EHR Racial Equity). The program supports research and practice projects that investigate how considerations of racial equity factor into the improvement of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and workforce. Awarded projects seek to center the voices, knowledge, and experiences of the individuals, communities, and institutions most impacted by systemic inequities within the STEM enterprise.

This program aligns with NSF’s core value of supporting outstanding researchers and innovative thinkers from across the Nation's diversity of demographic groups, regions, and types of organizations. Funds for EHR Racial Equity are pooled from programs across EHR in recognition of the alignment of its projects with the collective research and development thrusts of the four divisions of the directorate. Institutions may include those with significant percentages of low-income undergraduate students.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.