§18992 Undergraduate Stem Education

Summary

The Director must give competitive grants to four-year colleges, nonprofit groups, or teams of them to fund research and projects that do four things: get colleges and businesses to work together for hands-on learning and better job alignment; study who is in the STEM workforce and what helps it grow and stay strong; increase the size, diversity, skills, and flexibility of the STEM workforce; and help spread proven teaching and training methods. The Director must also fund work at community colleges to improve learning and student success for those entering jobs or transferring to 4‑year schools. That work can include scaling successful programs, improving teaching, creating new curricula, offering hands-on training and internships, using technology to expand access, re-skilling workers, building clear career and transfer paths, and finding and recruiting talent from underrepresented groups. The Director should encourage partnerships with industry and labor. The Director must also fund career and technical STEM education at postsecondary and vocational schools, with priority for programs that recruit and train veterans and service members transitioning to civilian jobs. "Career and technical education" is defined in 20 U.S.C. 2302. The Director must run a 4-year pilot to build at least five Centers that develop and expand course-based undergraduate research experiences. Grants must be used to create, test, and share models; work across many school types (including HBCUs, Tribal Colleges, minority-serving institutions, and community colleges); address faculty and student barriers; provide faculty training and support; and study effects on the STEM workforce. Centers should partner with different colleges, the private sector, and others. Within 180 days after the pilot ends, the Director must report to Congress on whether the pilot increased the number, diversity, and job-readiness of STEM graduates and, if effective, propose making the program permanent.