THE CALL TO TRANSFORM POSTSECONDARY STEM EDUCATIONAL PRACTICES AND INSTITUTIONAL POLICIES

The National Science Foundation's Innovation Through Institutional Integration (I-Cubed) initiative was developed in 2008 to incentivize changes in how institutions of higher education approach STEM education and research. Aimed at institutions with multiple STEM education grants, the I-Cubed initiative provided funds and support to move away from silos of activities to integrated structures. This article reports on the findings of a study designed to examine programmatic and structural changes occurring at a sample of participating institutions, including both community colleges and 4-year institutions. The work summarizes the need for change in institutions of higher education, describes previous research on institutional change, and presents a new theory of change based on case study findings. Using document reviews, surveys, case studies, and social network analyses, the research examines change in six institutions over a 5-year period. Of central interest are changes in infrastructure, programmatic offerings, and relationships among faculty. The research shows how context-geopolitical, economic, and sociocultural-impacts the process of change and its outcomes. Special attention is focused on the roles of historical, as well as current, contextual mediators.