The Role of Collaboration in Integrated Programs Aimed at Supporting Underrepresented Student Success in STEM

Abstract

The persistent underrepresentation of low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented minority students among those who complete an undergraduate degree in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics remains an issue of concern in higher education. Scholars and practitioners have increasingly realized that more comprehensive supports are required, as opposed to the single-strategy interventions that have been popular for several decades. Such supports, also known as integrated or comprehensive programs, combine and align several interventions that are both curricular and cocurricular and require the work of both faculty members and student affairs staff to design and implement. Collaboration among these groups is crucial to the success of these programs. However, the actual role that collaboration plays in these new student success efforts is undertheorized and has not been examined empirically. In this article, we describe the role of collaboration in improving program design for comprehensive, integrated programs, and for overcoming policy and practice implementation challenges.