Hispanic Serving Institutions: Equitable Transformation in STEM Education (ETSE) | 24 578

Opportunity Information: Apply for 24 578

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) Program: Equitable Transformation in STEM Education (ETSE) is a discretionary grant opportunity (NSF 24-578; CFDA 47.076) designed to strengthen undergraduate STEM education and student success at institutions designated as Hispanic Serving Institutions. The program is framed around national workforce goals highlighted in the National Science Board Vision Report and is aligned with the NSF Strategic Plan 2022-2026. At its core, ETSE aims to help HSIs improve the quality of undergraduate STEM learning experiences while also increasing recruitment, retention, and graduation of students pursuing STEM certificates, associate degrees, and bachelor degrees. The solicitation emphasizes that meaningful improvement requires institutions to understand who their students are in real, lived terms, including their strengths, barriers, identities, and day-to-day realities, and then translate that understanding into practical, evidence-informed changes.

ETSE is structured to support both transformation work inside HSIs and the broader infrastructure that helps HSIs learn from each other. On the transformation side, the competition seeks projects that implement, study, and evaluate promising practices in undergraduate STEM education, particularly those that broaden participation and close inequities in outcomes. Proposals are expected to be grounded in institutional data, not assumptions. Applicants are encouraged to use their own data to identify equity gaps, pinpoint where students are being lost or underserved, and examine the underlying factors shaping student experiences. A key point in the solicitation is that student identities are not one-dimensional; for example, students may simultaneously be Hispanic, first-generation, working, commuting, parenting, or navigating financial or language barriers. ETSE expects projects to take that complexity seriously by unpacking how multiple factors combine to influence success in STEM.

A distinguishing expectation across ETSE projects is the active inclusion of student voice and continuous learning during the project. Rather than relying only on end-of-project outcomes, proposals should include mechanisms to gather and analyze existing student feedback and to collect quantitative and qualitative student data throughout the project lifecycle. In practice, this means building evaluation and improvement loops into the work so that interventions can be assessed and refined over time. The overall thrust is to catalyze institutional or unit-level change that is student-centered and equity-focused, meeting students where they are while recognizing the assets they bring.

The ETSE competition includes four proposal tracks. The Departmental/Division Transformation Track (DDTT), which is newly introduced, supports change at the department or division level, focusing on transforming structures, policies, curricula, or practices that shape STEM teaching and student progress within a specific academic unit. The Institutional Transformation Track (ITT) supports larger, institution-wide change efforts that require higher-level leadership and decision-making authority, targeting cross-cutting systems that influence STEM student pathways (such as advising structures, transfer supports, gateway course redesign strategies, faculty development models, or broader policies affecting recruitment and retention). The Emerging Faculty Research Track (EFRT), also newly introduced, supports research by emerging faculty connected to undergraduate STEM education and broadening participation, with additional eligibility requirements tied to the institution being a Primarily Undergraduate Institution (PUI). Finally, the HSI Program Resource Hubs track supports elements of the HSI-Net network, an infrastructure component intended to spread knowledge, build capacity across HSIs, and support the overall goals of the HSI program through shared resources and coordination.

In addition to the four main tracks, the solicitation states it will accept conference proposals and planning proposals, consistent with NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) definitions. This creates space for HSIs and partners to convene stakeholders, develop collaborative agendas, and lay groundwork for larger transformation projects.

Eligibility to submit most proposal types is limited to institutions that meet specific criteria. To be eligible for funding, an applicant must be an accredited institution of higher education, must offer undergraduate STEM educational programs leading to certificates or degrees, and must meet the federal definition of an HSI under Section 502 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1101a) as recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. The solicitation requires documentation of HSI status: a Department of Education eligibility letter must be included as a supplemental document. For the EFRT track specifically, the institution must also qualify as an eligible PUI at the time of submission, meaning it is an accredited college or university (including two-year colleges) that awards associate, bachelor, and/or master degrees in NSF-supported fields and has awarded 20 or fewer PhD/DSc degrees in all NSF-supported fields during the previous two academic years combined.

The solicitation also sets expectations for who should serve as Principal Investigator (PI) depending on the track, reflecting the kind of authority needed to carry out the proposed changes. For Institutional Transformation Track (ITT) proposals, an upper-level administrator with decision-making authority (dean or higher) must serve as PI or co-PI, signaling that institutional transformation must be backed by leadership able to enact or sustain changes. For Departmental/Division Transformation Track (DDTT) proposals, the unit head, chair, or equivalent is expected to be a PI or co-PI for the duration of the project to ensure the work is anchored in unit governance and operational reality. The solicitation indicates there are no PI restrictions for Hub and EFRT proposals.

Key administrative details included in the opportunity listing identify NSF as the funding agency, the instrument type as a grant, and the activity category as science and technology and other research and development. The original closing date listed is September 11, 2024, and the opportunity anticipates making around 17 awards. An award ceiling is not specified in the provided source data. Overall, ETSE is positioned as a multi-track pathway for HSIs to pursue data-informed, student-centered change in undergraduate STEM, while also contributing to and benefiting from a shared national support network aimed at equitable STEM outcomes.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Hispanic Serving Institutions: Equitable Transformation in STEM Education (ETSE)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.076.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-05-25.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-09-11. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 17 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

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