A research team at the University of New Mexico (UNM) has received a $2.7 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study how to make STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) courses more accessible for undergraduates. The five-year project, titled “Scaling and Sustaining Effective Practices to Drive Institutional Transformation,” began on October 1 and will continue through September 30, 2030.
Pamela Cheek, vice provost for student success at UNM, is leading the project as principal investigator. The team also includes Shuang Luan, associate dean for academic affairs and community engagement in the School of Engineering, and Peter Fawcett, associate dean for natural sciences and mathematics in the College of Arts and Sciences.
The initiative aims to address a common problem: many students enter college excited about STEM majors but become discouraged by prerequisite courses before they can take classes related to their main interests. This discouragement can lead some students to change majors or leave college.
“We want to turn what are known as ‘gatekeeping’ courses into a gateway,” said Cheek.
The research will focus on redesigning STEM curriculum to help students engage with their degree programs while completing prerequisites. Cheek explained, “How can we get students involved in their degree programs as they complete pre-requisites? Drawing on past research, this is what this team will be looking at.”
The team plans to strengthen degree pathways with “curricular safety nets” that improve completion rates. Data from UNM shows that fewer than half of students who start a STEM major graduate with a bachelor’s degree in that field within four years. The project will also encourage evidence-based teaching methods and bring university resources like peer tutoring and wellness programs directly into classrooms.
“This is about taking some of the burden off of faculty, providing them with resources, and recognizing their achievement,” Cheek said.
The grant builds on previous successful projects at UNM that focused on STEM curriculum, including those led by Vanessa Svihla and Eva Chi (the NSF-funded FACETS project), Tim Schroeder (Expanding Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences), and Cheek and Sushilla Knottenbelt (the Student Experience Project).
Cheek noted the importance of connecting coursework to students’ interests: “If you can identify how a subject connects to an issue that you care about and you feel that your university is designed to help you learn, you can start acquiring building-block skills.”
The project also draws on national recommendations such as the Boyer 2030 Commission Report from the Association for Undergraduate Education at Research Universities. The report highlights the need for excellent and accessible undergraduate education at public universities and stresses that collaborative efforts are needed to achieve equitable STEM education.
Although the NSF-funded work focuses on STEM, Cheek said the findings could help improve undergraduate teaching across other disciplines at UNM.
