Exploring Perceived Student Experiences at a Hispanic Serving Institution

Dianne Grayce Hendricks

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Conference: 2024 ASEE PSW Conference
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Publication Date: April 18, 2024
Start Date: April 18, 2024
End Date: April 20, 2024
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--46040
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/46040

Paper Authors

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Dianne Grayce Hendricks University of California, Santa Cruz

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Dr. Dianne Hendricks is an Associate Teaching Professor in the Biomolecular Engineering Department at the University of California at Santa Cruz. She teaches molecular biology labs and technical communication courses. Prior to UC Santa Cruz, Dianne was an Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of Human Centered Design and Engineering (HCDE), the Director of the Engineering Communication Program, and an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Washington.

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Abstract

In this work-in-progress poster or presentation, we ask whether students perceive differences in experiences for Hispanic students at a large research university that is also a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), and whether these perceived differences depend on the student’s own identity.

We sent a survey to 150 BME undergraduates, and 26 students responded (Hispanic n=7, non-Hispanic n=19). We will expand the survey to all engineering majors, and possibly other institutions.

We asked about strengths, challenges, and support for Hispanic students. Overall, both Hispanic and non-Hispanic respondents noted that Hispanic students are hardworking, persistent, skilled at overcoming obstacles, collaborative; are more likely to be the first in their families to attend college; and comprise a disproportionately high percentage of transfer students.

One Hispanic student responded: “Hispanic undergraduates bring much more than diversity, much of us come from very modest families that emphasize work ethic. We are extremely good at getting things done and jumping through obstacles to get them done, and are very receptive to collaborating with other students.”

Regarding challenges for Hispanic students, 50% of Hispanic but only 20% of non-Hispanic respondents identified financial need as a major challenge for Hispanic students. Both Hispanic and non-Hispanic students noted that lack of representation is a major challenge. One non-Hispanic students responded that “overcoming stereotypes” is a major challenge.

Regarding support and resources for Hispanic students, students noted that support is needed for first-generation and transfer students. Several students stated that faculty could show support for Hispanic students through research opportunities. One Hispanic student responded that faculty can support Hispanic students by “becoming more open minded to allowing students to work in labs even if it’s unpaid. It definitely will show some type of support.”

Many students noted that diversity-focused research programs are valuable resources for Hispanic students. However, one Hispanic student noted that “…allowing diverse students to get research experience is not enough. It makes it competitive not only within our community but we also have to compete with students who have their pathway set up due to their background.”

We presented several statements about engineering identity and interactions (student-student and student-faculty) on a Likert scale. The survey asked the students to rate the following statements on a Likert scale of 1-3 (where 1=Rarely or Never, 2=Sometimes, and 3=Usually or Always):

1. I feel comfortable working with engineering students 2. Engineering students approach me with questions about class 3. Engineering students want to study or collaborate with me 4. I feel like I belong in my major 5. My engineering instructors appreciate my contributions to class 6. I feel comfortable interacting with my engineering instructors 7. I feel connected to the field of engineering

In short, we found no significant statistical differences between Hispanic and non-Hispanic students on the Likert scores for six of the seven questions. However, we found a significant statistical difference in students’ feeling of connection to the field of engineering, with Hispanic students answering "Always or Usually" less often (17%) than non-Hispanic students (60%).

To prevent the well-documented gender bias in engineering from confounding our results, we asked participants to identify their gender pronouns (she/her/hers, he/him/his, or they/them/theirs). Only one Hispanic student identified as she/her/hers, while all other Hispanic students identified as he/him/his pronouns. Thus, we could not look at gender differences in Hispanic vs. non-Hispanic women, or in Hispanic male vs. female students.

In conclusion, we aim to study the experiences of Hispanic students at our HSI and whether any perceived differences depend on the student’s own identity. We would appreciate the opportunity to get feedback and identify potential collaborators at the conference.

Citation
Format

Hendricks, D. G. (2024, April), Exploring Perceived Student Experiences at a Hispanic Serving Institution Paper presented at 2024 ASEE PSW Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada. 10.18260/1-2--46040

TY - CPAPER
AB - In this work-in-progress poster or presentation, we ask whether students perceive differences in experiences for Hispanic students at a large research university that is also a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), and whether these perceived differences depend on the student’s own identity.

We sent a survey to 150 BME undergraduates, and 26 students responded (Hispanic n=7, non-Hispanic n=19). We will expand the survey to all engineering majors, and possibly other institutions.

We asked about strengths, challenges, and support for Hispanic students. Overall, both Hispanic and non-Hispanic respondents noted that Hispanic students are hardworking, persistent, skilled at overcoming obstacles, collaborative; are more likely to be the first in their families to attend college; and comprise a disproportionately high percentage of transfer students.

One Hispanic student responded: “Hispanic undergraduates bring much more than diversity, much of us come from very modest families that emphasize work ethic. We are extremely good at getting things done and jumping through obstacles to get them done, and are very receptive to collaborating with other students.”

Regarding challenges for Hispanic students, 50% of Hispanic but only 20% of non-Hispanic respondents identified financial need as a major challenge for Hispanic students. Both Hispanic and non-Hispanic students noted that lack of representation is a major challenge. One non-Hispanic students responded that “overcoming stereotypes” is a major challenge.

Regarding support and resources for Hispanic students, students noted that support is needed for first-generation and transfer students. Several students stated that faculty could show support for Hispanic students through research opportunities. One Hispanic student responded that faculty can support Hispanic students by “becoming more open minded to allowing students to work in labs even if it’s unpaid. It definitely will show some type of support.”

Many students noted that diversity-focused research programs are valuable resources for Hispanic students. However, one Hispanic student noted that “…allowing diverse students to get research experience is not enough. It makes it competitive not only within our community but we also have to compete with students who have their pathway set up due to their background.”

We presented several statements about engineering identity and interactions (student-student and student-faculty) on a Likert scale. The survey asked the students to rate the following statements on a Likert scale of 1-3 (where 1=Rarely or Never, 2=Sometimes, and 3=Usually or Always):

1. I feel comfortable working with engineering students
2. Engineering students approach me with questions about class
3. Engineering students want to study or collaborate with me
4. I feel like I belong in my major
5. My engineering instructors appreciate my contributions to class
6. I feel comfortable interacting with my engineering instructors
7. I feel connected to the field of engineering

In short, we found no significant statistical differences between Hispanic and non-Hispanic students on the Likert scores for six of the seven questions. However, we found a significant statistical difference in students’ feeling of connection to the field of engineering, with Hispanic students answering &quot;Always or Usually&quot; less often (17%) than non-Hispanic students (60%).

To prevent the well-documented gender bias in engineering from confounding our results, we asked participants to identify their gender pronouns (she/her/hers, he/him/his, or they/them/theirs). Only one Hispanic student identified as she/her/hers, while all other Hispanic students identified as he/him/his pronouns. Thus, we could not look at gender differences in Hispanic vs. non-Hispanic women, or in Hispanic male vs. female students.

In conclusion, we aim to study the experiences of Hispanic students at our HSI and whether any perceived differences depend on the student’s own identity. We would appreciate the opportunity to get feedback and identify potential collaborators at the conference.

AU - Dianne Grayce Hendricks
CY - Las Vegas, Nevada
DA - 2024/04/18
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Exploring Perceived Student Experiences at a Hispanic Serving Institution
UR - https://peer.asee.org/46040
DO - 10.18260/1-2--46040
ER -