Initiatives

Community College Partnerships

Rice’s investment in partnerships with Houston-area community colleges is driven by a commitment to improving educational equity and access for local students from under-served communities, to serving as a positive, collaborative neighbor with two-year colleges, and to attracting talented, diverse students to our graduate programs. These goals also intersect with Rice’s desire to increase admission of undergraduate students who come from two-year institutions and to help address the urgent national need for a more diverse STEM workforce.

High Impact Practices Assessment

In collaboration with the Center for Career Development, the Center for Civic Leadership, and the Office of Undergraduate Research and Inquiry, OSEI is leading assessment of the impact and equity of high impact practices at Rice. Drawing on data collected in the annual Survey of All Students and Senior Exit Survey, this assessment will inform ongoing efforts to provide equitable access and educational experiences.

NSF-Funded Study of STEM Teaching Faculty at an R1

Dr. Quenemoen and Dr. Taylor are part of the leadership team of an NSF-funded study of non-tenure- track faculty labor and contributions to student learning in STEM (NSF #2121157, A Self-Study of Contingent Faculty and their Impact on Undergraduate STEM Education at a Research-Intensive Institution).

Presentation
Quenemoen, C.K., Beier, M.E., McSpedon, M., & Taylor, M.T. (2023, June 12) Creating Promotable Teaching Ranks at a Research-Intensive Institution: Key Findings and Challenges for Institutional Change [Poster Presentation]. ASCN 2023 Transforming Institutions, Minneapolis, MN.

Events

Advancing R1 Teaching Faculty for Undergraduate Learning (ARTFUL) Conference, March 3-5, 2024, Rice University. This conference convened representatives from Duke University, Northwestern University, Rice University, The University of Texas at Austin, University of Arizona, University of Houston, University of Kansas, and University of Massachusetts-Amherst to discuss professionalization of the promotable teaching faculty in research-intensive institutions.

Provost’s Task Force on Student Success

In December 2021, President DesRoches, while still provost, formed the Task Force on Student Success. Formation of the Task Force was rooted in Rice’s commitment to equity of educational access, experiences, and outcomes for Rice undergraduates. President DesRoches charged the Task Force with 1) investigating the factors that fuel student attrition and delay graduation; and, 2) providing recommendations for addressing and ultimately eliminating gaps in persistence and graduation outcomes related to racial identity, family income, or student-athlete status. The work of the Task Force also necessarily involved identifying the most important factors that support student belonging, persistence, and academic success.

OSEI is leading efforts campus-wide to advance and coordinate implementation of the Task Force’s recommendations. Among the recommendations was for Rice to establish an academic resource center to provide centralized In fall 2023, Matt Taylor co-chaired with Dean Bridget Gorman the Academic Resource Center Working Group. As a result of that work, OSEI is piloting drop-in study for eight STEM classes in spring 2023.

Scaling Undergraduate Research Opportunities

Participation in research—defined at Rice as including research, design, and creative work—has been a fundamental component of the Rice undergraduate program for decades. The 2022-23 Survey of All Students and Senior Exit Survey found that 70% of Rice undergraduates participate in research during their time at Rice.

The Office of Undergraduate Research and Inquiry (OURI), which reports to OSEI, plays a lead role in this effort. OURI educates students on the value of research and the many ways to get involved in research at Rice; provides grants and other resources to departments and Schools to enhance and scaffold inquiry-based pedagogy at all levels of the curriculum; and sponsors programs (SER and SURF) to advance Rice’s commitment to education equity by eliminating disparities of access to and participation in research for under-represented and under-resourced students.

Other efforts by OURI to scale research opportunities for undergraduates include

  • Partnering with the Dean of Natural Sciences to pilot new Course-Based Research Experiences (CURES) as a way to scale exposure to research among first-year students.

Other efforts by OSEI include:

  • Coordination of the Rice Summer Undergraduate Research Support Program. The program is a collaboration among the Center for Professional and Academic Communication, the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, the Office of Strategic and Educational Initiatives, the Office of Undergraduate Research and Inquiry, the School of Engineering, and the School of Natural Sciences to provide assistance to faculty hosting undergraduate researchers over the summer. The Support Program helps faculty navigate the logistics of hosting students on campus over the summer; offers training for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who will mentor undergraduate researchers; and provides the option of two program tracks designed to meet the particular needs of the program and students: Track 1: Novice Intensive and Track 2: Open Engagement. The Faculty Handbook details processes involved in hosting summer researchers, responsibilities of faculty and staff, and resources available to support you and your students.
  • Collaborations with Rice ENRICH and the School of Natural Sciences to identify research opportunities at Texas Medical Center institutions.
  • Assisting the Faculty Senate in formulating policies for granting course credit for Rice students who participate in research experiences off campus.

Global Education for Undergraduates

In consultation with campus stakeholders, Dr. Quenemoen and Dr. Taylor generated recommendations for a strategy to enhance and expand global education for undergraduates. Their work examined traditional study abroad, faculty-led programs, and experiential learning. The proposed strategy addresses equitable access to and participation in global education for all undergraduates, infrastructure necessary to sustain and expand global education, considerations for integrating global undergraduate education into General Education, and opportunities to leverage Rice’s global partnerships for undergraduate education.

Commitment to Cultural Inclusiveness

Rice seeks a community that embraces a breadth of knowledge, thought, perspectives, experiences and backgrounds and enables us to achieve excellence in all facets of our mission. Campuswide, we are developing knowledge, insights, resources and policy tools to increase equity and improve quality of life, in Houston and around the world.

This means examining the resources and strategies needed to make all students successful. It means looking at different ways of promoting healthy communities and delivering healthcare. It means understanding the ways our policies, laws and culture allocate privilege and promote success.

Rice is prioritizing initiatives and programs that promote equity. From consulting directly with Houston public schools, to designing low-cost health technologies, to offering free online college textbooks — Rice students and faculty are leading efforts that bypass traditional roadblocks and deliver knowledge and practical solutions to the people who need it.