2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Technological Infrastructure Equity for Minority Serving Institutions in Construction Education

Presented at Broadening Perspectives in Construction Education

In the U.S. and its territories, over 800 identified Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) exist. Despite the number of MSI and the diverse population that they targeted, there is a gap in the number of higher education degrees obtained by minority students in relation to non-minority students. The root cause(s) of the gap must be determined to take tangible actions to reduce and, ideally, eliminate this obtainment gap. When considering this gap, there is a question of whether the learning technology infrastructure is equivalent between MSI and non-MSI. Depending on the institutions, some institutions provide only 2-year degrees and act as feeder institutions for other institutions. With a smaller student body and no graduate college, do these MSI institutions offer the same level of learning technology infrastructure support? What is infrastructure support? Learning technology infrastructure consists of the underlying technology systems provided by federal, state, university, or departments to support digital learning and teaching. Learning technology infrastructure resources can include buildings, the electrical grid, broadband internet, computer labs, and others. During the COVID-19 pandemic, as many communities relied on the learning technology infrastructure for delivering coursework, it became evident that not all communities had the same level, specifically rural, economically disadvantaged, and/or minority communities. The concern for rural communities is not unique to the U.S., with many other countries reporting a similar phenomenon. The research objective of this paper is to determine if any structural issues limit students graduating from MSI, more specifically from construction programs. The methodology used in this paper includes a robust literature review to assess the state of the learning technology infrastructure at MSI and non-MSI, particularly the construction programs. The literature review indicates very little research on MSI as a whole. Based on the literature review, “Minorities in Construction Management” had no search results, leaving much room for improvement.

Authors

Dr. Rachel Mosier http://orcid.org/https://0000-0001-8937-978X Oklahoma State University [biography]

Dr. Rachel Mosier is an Associate Professor at Oklahoma State University, with a background in structural engineering and project management. Dr. Mosier has received regional and international teaching awards through the Associated Schools of Construction. Her research interests focus on engineering education.
Dr. Sanjeev Adhikari http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5051-0346 Kennesaw State University [biography]

Dr. Sanjeev Adhikari is faculty from Kennesaw State University. Previously he was faculty at Morehead State University from 2009 to 2016 and faculty at Purdue University – Indianapolis from 2016 to 2019. He completed a Ph.D. degree in civil engineering, focusing on construction management, from Michigan Technological University in 2008. He has an extensive teaching background with 22 years of the academic experience at five different universities. Students and
departments have always praised him for his outstanding teaching and research excellence. He has been involved in numerous professional societies to supplement his teaching and research, including ASCE, ACI, ASEE, ASC, ATMAE, and TRB. His research output has been well disseminated as he has published 100+ journal papers and conference papers. His research interests are 1) Creating Innovative Sustainable Materials, 2) Digital Construction, 3) BIM and VDC, 4) Virtual Testing Lab, 5) Construction Education, and 6) Sustainability.
Dr. Sandeep Langar http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7955-1646 The University of Texas at San Antonio [biography]

Dr. Sandeep Langar is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Construction Science in College of Architecture, Construction, and Planning at The University of Texas at San Antonio. He received his Ph.D. in Environmental Design and Planning from the Co
Dr. Tulio Sulbaran The University of Texas at San Antonio [biography]

He received his Ph.D. in Civil Engineer from Georgia Institute of Technology with concentration in Construction Management with a minor in Computer Engineering and strong statistical background. He has over 8 years of work experience in the A/E/C (Archite

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