Why universities need to reform STEM education for long-term health of U.S. economy

During a fractious election season, most Democrats and Republicans could agree on one issue: A bright future for America relies heavily on scientific and technical innovation — in health care, energy, infrastructure development, communication and food production.

But a bedrock assumption — that we will continue to have the skilled workforce to propel us forward — is in doubt.

The number of foreign students applying to American graduate programs in the STEM disciplines, where they currently fill about half the Ph.D. and post-doctoral slots and often join American companies or start their own after graduating, has declined significantly in recent years.

If foreign enrollment in these graduate programs continues to fall, where will we find the next generation of engineers and scientists the country will desperately need?

As the presidents of two very different institutions — one on the southwestern U.S. border with a majority-minority enrollment, the other near the northern border in a politically progressive but ethnically homogenous state — we believe we have an answer that could serve as common ground. We must nurture the millions of students in America from underrepresented groups who either don’t go to college, avoid the STEM disciplines if they do, or drop out of these majors if they choose them.

These talented young people, whom the National Science Foundation called the “missing millions” in a recent report, deserve the fulfilling careers and financial security STEM jobs offer. Moreover, America needs them if we are to thrive in the 21st century.

The major obstacle keeping the missing millions from pursuing careers in STEM isn’t what you’d expect, according to NSF-funded research. Access to advanced mathematics and science curricula at the K-12 level, exacerbated by COVID-19, remains uneven. But when researchers controlled for access, they found that the larger issue is creating an environment of encouragement and care for these students once they arrive at our campuses.

To thrive, minorities and women in STEM need to feel like they belong. Too often, they don’t.

Several recent studies found that students from different racial and ethnic backgrounds entered college as STEM majors at about the same rate — about 20% of white, Black and Hispanic students.

But Black and Hispanic students left STEM majors at much higher rates than white students — 40% for Black students and 37% for Hispanic students versus 29% for white students.

Further, and more troubling, 20% of Hispanic and 26% of Black STEM majors left their institutions without earning a degree. Only 13% of white STEM majors dropped out.

How to reduce loss of students

The good news is that other NSF-funded projects show us what we need to do to reverse this brain drain: Make STEM courses more hands-on and focused on real world problems; bolster advising early to keep students on track; provide support for the often difficult transition to college from high school or community college for first-generation college students; and modernize the culture of STEM so it is more supportive and less needlessly competitive.

Often, these strategies take no additional resources. What they do require is concentrated effort and an across-the-board willingness to change how we do business, from teaching and advising to admissions and co-curricular activities.

Focus on greater diversity

Our two schools show how deep commitment and action can make a difference.

The University of Texas at El Paso serves a student body that is 94% minority, and half are the first in their families to go to college. With research-based retention strategies like engaged learning, on-campus employment, undergraduate research opportunities and strengths-based advising, UTEP’s retention rate is above the average for more selective universities. As the country’s demographics continue to shift, UTEP’s strengths-based advising model is one other universities could follow.

The University of Vermont has seen diversity enrollment more than double in the last 15 years, to 13.4% in a state that is 94% white, in part through a long commitment to partnerships programs with high schools in major metropolitan areas.

And recently, we created InspirEd, which pairs high school students in Washington, D.C. with top college counselors around the country. This commitment to early engagement is also one other schools could adopt.

As foreign enrollment in STEM graduate programs threatens to further erode, we must more effectively recruit and retain our missing millions. By committing to systemic change at our institutions, we’ll give legions of deserving young people, so often overlooked in the past, the opportunity to have rewarding lives and careers. And we’ll give our country the chance to make its visionary future real.

Heather Wilson is president of the University of Texas at El Paso. Suresh Garimella is president of the University of Vermont.

You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @usatodayopinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why universities need to reform STEM education to protect economy