NODE is working to understand these questions through our research. Utilizing a data driven approach, we are beginning with publicly available information to study what makes HSIs unique among institutions of higher learning. We are also interested in what makes HSI different from each other – recognizing that they exist and are organized in variety of ways, each dedicated to the particular communities and students they serve.

A key focus of our research is to understand the broad value and impact of the NSF HSI-Program. To accomplish this, we not only need to consider the institutions and communities in which they occur, but also the projects themselves, which represent an broad array of activities and initiatives. To this end, we are gathering information, with the help of the project investigators, to learn about all of the various project activities and the impact they have on student STEM education. The initial effort to gather information about projects will be through our Project Description Survey, which is scheduled for distribution in Spring 2025. If you are an HSI-Program awardee, you should receive the survey via email. You can also request the link to the survey by contacting us at hsi-node@utep.edu.