Cooperative Agreement NNX10AG68A

IN COLLABORATION WITH OUR STRATEGIC PARTNER, THE SOCIETY OF HISPANIC PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS (SHPE), THE HISPANIC COLLEGE FUND (HCF) RESPECTFULLY SUBMITS THIS PROPOSAL TO SERVE AS THE BROKER-FACILITATOR FOR HISPANIC STUDENTS FOR NASA'S OSSI SYSTEM. THROUGH SCHOLARSHIPS AND PROGRAM INITIATIVES, WE HAVE SUPPORTED THE EDUCATION OF OVER 4,800 HISPANIC STUDENTS SEEKING CAREEN IN STEM, BUSINESS, AND OTHER AREAS. OUR PROPOSED STRATEGY IS DESIGNED TO DIRECTLY ADDRESS THE THREE OSSI PILLAR I PRIORITIES, RECRUITMENT, RETENTION, AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT THROUGH ACTIVITIES THAT WILL BROADEN THE DIVERSITY OF INSTITUTION TYPES AND NUMBER OF HIGH PERFORMING HISPANIC PARTICIPANTS IN THE OSSI APPLICANT POOL. THROUGH OUR COMPREHENSIVE RECRUITMENT STRATEGY, HCF'S OSSI INITIATIVE WILL PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR NASA SCIENTIFIC AND ENGINEERING MENTORS TO ANNOUNCE THEIR INTERNSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AND PROVIDE A RICH POOL OF APPLICANTS. HCF AND SHPE ALREADY HAVE SIGNIFICANT INTERNAL RECRUITMENT RESOURCES. HCF ALREADY ATTRACTS NEARLY 40,000 HISPANIC SCHOLARSHIP APPLICANTS EACH YEAR, WHO CAN BE INFORMED OF OSSI OPPORTUNITIES. HCF ALSO HOSTS ANNUAL HISPANIC YOUTH SYMPOSIA AND HISPANIC YOUTH INSTITUTES, WHICH CAN PROVIDE ADDITIONAL OSSI RECRUITS. SHPE HAS OVER 250 STUDENT AND CHAPTERS ON CAMPUSES NATIONWIDE AND PROFESSIONAL CHAPTERS, WHICH WILL PROVIDE OSSI WITH DIRECT ACCESS TO THOUSANDS OF HISPANIC STUDENTS AT THE UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE LEVELS. BUILDING ON THIS INTERNAL RECRUITMENT, HCF WILL LAUNCH AN INTEGRATED SOCIAL MARKETING RECRUITMENT EFFORT WHICH WILL EMPLOY MEDIA, VIRAL MARKETING, "ON THE GROUND" FESTIVALS AND WORKSHOPS. SINCE A LARGE PROPORTION OF HISPANIC STUDENTS DO NOT COMPLETE HIGHER EDUCATION, RETENTION IS A CRITICAL PART OF OUR STRATEGY. HCF HAS A STRONG TRACK RECORD IN SUPPORTING THE RETENTION OF HCF SCHOLARS. WORKING WITH SHPE, OTHER OSSI PARTNERS AND NASA, HCF WILL DIRECTLY INFORM HISPANIC STUDENTS ABOUT THE WEALTH OF INFORMATION AND RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO THEM, INCLUDING INTERNSHIPS, FELLOWSHIPS AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN NASA AND ELSEWHERE. HCF WILL WORK WITH OUR OSSI PARTNERS AND NASA TO IDENTIFY THE WEB OF RESOURCES IMPORTANT FOR RETENTION (E.G., CONTINUED SCHOLARSHIP SUPPORT, MENTORSHIPS, ETC.) AND TO LINK HISPANIC STUDENTS TO THE RESOURCES THAT MEET THEIR PARTICULAR NEEDS. OUR STRATEGIC PARTNER, SHPE, WILL SERVE AS AN ADDITIONAL SOURCE FOR MENTORS AND OTHER RESOURCES AND SUPPORT INFORMATION FOR OSSI STUDENTS. FINALLY, E-MENTORING WILL PLAYA CRITICAL ROLE IN RETENTION. HCF'S CAREER DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY INCLUDES CAREER AWARENESS, MENTORING, AND DIRECT EXPERIENCE THAT WILL BE FACILITATED BY PARTICIPATION IN NASA INTERNSHIPS AND FELLOWSHIPS. WE WILL HELP STUDENTS DEVELOP CAREER AWARENESS THROUGH PRESENTATIONS AT THE REGIONAL CONFERENCE, SHPE CONFERENCES, AND CAREER INFORMATION ON THE OSSI AND OUR WEBSITES. THROUGH THE E-MENTORING SET UP THROUGH OSSI, STUDENTS WILL HAVE DIRECT PERSONAL CONTACT WITH STEM PROFESSIONALS. IN ADDITION, HCF WILL PROVIDE A SERIES OF HIGHLY INTERACTIVE ONLINE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS OR WEBINAR. HCF WILL WORK COLLABORATIVELY WITH OSSI PARTNER AND WITH NASA TO DESIGN FORMATIVE EVALUATION TO INFORM PROGRAM REVISIONS AND SUMMATIVE EVALUATION TO EVALUATE PROJECT OUTCOMES AND IMPACTS.