STEM:

Recommendations for
Curriculum at Lone
Star-North Harris

By Jose Duran
Lone Star College- North Harris
April 26, 2021
Research Overview

Introduction
Problem
Methodology
Results
Recommendations
01 Introduction
Curriculum Current Status
STEM is a challenging field of study with an intensive
curriculum for those wishing to transfer

Students need to attend summer or enroll fulltime(15+ credit

hours) to manage to transfer within a two year time frame
Curriculum Challenges

STEM programs are generally more

expensive and understaffed.

Scheduling can also be an issue

with many students in STEM
programs.
02 Problem
Unavailability of
Courses

STEM programs have

specific course
requirements linked Some of the required
to a major or field of courses are not offered
study. at North Harris and are
limited at other
campuses as well
Effects of
unavailable
courses ● Delayed graduation
and transfer
● Increase of stress in
students
● Scheduling issues
 Crammed Curriculum

The curriculum for STEM transfers requires

and immense number of courses. Most of
“..many students were still enrolled in
which are math and science. The issues
STEM by the end of the 6-year period”
comes when they are all pushed into one
-(Van Noy & Zeidenberg, 2017)
semester at once, leaving the students with
an incredible amount of coursework.
LSC-North Harris v. HCC

Both LSC and HCC offer

very similar pathways for
Mechanical engineering.
Both crowd the semesters
with more than 4 courses
(fulltime)
03 Methodology
 01 02 03
Analysis of
secondary Survey and raw Create
sources data analysis Recommendations for
the college
04 Results
 Scarcity in Funding and Staff

● STEM courses are very costly due to the

technology and equipment to properly be able
to teach a course that is generally accompanied
by a lab/project.
● Colleges struggle to find staff capable of
teaching the STEM courses in fields like
engineering and technical courses
“Having access to adequate financial
resources is always a challenge;
ultimately, the size of the budget will
limit the types of engineering design
projects that can be done”
-(Walz & Christian, 2017)

● Community college are not getting sufficient

funds in comparison to 4 year institutions
“Sorry, we don’t have that here”

● More than ¼ of the students surveyed could not find

their required course at North Harris. This can be a
mild inconvenience for some, but it can ruin someone
else's schedule.
Survey says……. “I’m overwhelmed”

Although most of the students did not feel

overwhelmed, it is still concerning that almost 40% of
the students surveyed did. The results can be a
response to the poorly scheduled curriculum
Enrollment in Math is Low!

By association if the math courses are

receiving low enrollment rates, then so are the
STEM courses which are just as difficult if not
more than the math courses.
 Recommendations

Increase funds available for STEM Modify Curriculums

FUTURE
RESEARCH
-Investigate fund distribution
across various programs of
study at Lone Star North
Harris

-Perform better research to

find the staff capability in Lone
Star North Harris

-Redistribute survey and

obtain more responses for
better representation of
Student population
Thank You!
 RESOURCES

● Associate of Science in Engineering Science—Electrical / Computer

Engineering—Field of Study Curriculum | Houston Community
College—HCC. (n.d.). Retrieved April 9, 2021, from
https://www.hccs.edu/finder/programs/associate-of-science-in-engineering-
science---electrical--computer-engineering---field-of-study-curriculum/
● Associate of Science in Engineering Science—Mechanical
Engineering—Field of Study Curriculum | Houston Community
College—HCC. (n.d.). Retrieved April 9, 2021, from
https://www.hccs.edu/finder/programs/associate-of-science-in-engineering-
science---mechanical-engineering---field-of-study-curriculum/
● Associates of Science Field of Study: Mechanical Engineering. (n.d.). Lone
Star College. Retrieved April 9, 2021, from
//www.lonestar.edu/programs-of-study/Mechanical-Engineering-AS.htm
● Corbett, E. P. J. (1977). The little rhetoric (1st ed). Wiley.
● Corcoran, T. B. (n.d.). FACTORS AFFECTING ENROLLMENT IN
ENGINEERING-RELATED TECHNICAL PROGRAMS IN COMMUNITY
COLLEGES. 200.
● Engineering.pdf. (n.d.). Retrieved April 9, 2021, from
https://www.uh.edu/undergraduate-admissions/apply/transfer/transfer-equi
valency-guides/engineering.pdf
RESOURCES
● Lowry, K., & Thomas-Anderson, T. (2017). How Community Colleges Are
Closing the Skills Gap through CTE and STEM Funding Innovations. New
Directions for Community Colleges, 178, 45–54.
● Program: Civil Engineering, B.S.C.E. - University of Houston—Acalog ACMSTM.
(n.d.). Retrieved April 9, 2021, from
http://publications.uh.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=36&poid=12907&ret
urnto=12978
● Program: Computer Science, B.S. - University of Houston—Acalog ACMSTM.
(n.d.). Retrieved April 9, 2021, from
http://publications.uh.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=36&poid=13015&ret
urnto=12965
● Program: Mechanical Engineering, B.S.M.E. - University of Houston—Acalog
ACMSTM. (n.d.). Retrieved April 9, 2021, from
http://publications.uh.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=36&poid=12912&ret
urnto=12978
● Rincon, B. E., & George-Jackson, C. E. (2016). STEM Intervention Programs:
Funding Practices and Challenges. Studies in Higher Education, 41(3),
429–444.
● Van Noy, M., & Zeidenberg, M. (2017). Community College Pathways to the
STEM Workforce: What Are They, Who Follows Them, and How? New
Directions for Community Colleges, 178, 9–21.
● Walz, K. A., & Christian, J. R. (2017). Capstone Engineering Design Projects For
Community Colleges. American Journal of Engineering Education (AJEE),