LOS ANGELES, Calif.

Latino students who major in math, sciences, and technology have a better academic performance if they also have strong relationships with the faculty, according to a recent study from the University of Southern California.

Dr. Darnell Cole, an associate professor at USC, examined different variables that affect student academic performance in the study, “Examining the Academic Success of Latino Students in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Majors.”  The study was published in the July-August issue of the Journal of College Student Development and was co-authored by Araceli Espinoza, a graduate student

Cole said one reason they undertook the study was that trends show that minority enrollment in higher education is expected to grow over the next ten to thirty years.

 “If there are issues in sustaining minority recruitment, particularly in STEM majors, we want to identify ways to keep students and help them be successful in those fields,” said Cole.

The study used a sample of 146 Latino students in STEM majors and assessed academic success based on how much the student’s grade point average (GPA) and retention in the STEM program were affected by variables such as faculty-student interaction and participation in racial/ethnic organizations.  The data were not tracked to provide hard percentages on the relationship between GPA and faculty-student interaction or racial/ethnic groups and STEM retention, but only suggested correlations between the variables and student performance, Cole said

All participants were tracked through their senior year in the STEM program.

The study suggests that faculty play an important role in creating an engaging environment for Latino students and that departure from STEM majors is because of a “chilly academic environment.”  It found that faculty accessibility and efforts to engage students outside of the classroom are positive indicators of the environment of the student’s chosen field.