The 2012 report from the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) calls for producing one million more STEM college graduates in the following decade than previously forecast. To achieve this goal, "[a]dult and working students and those from backgrounds atypical of traditional STEM students may need alternative pathways to be successful in STEM disciplines," particularly those students who have historically been underserved by higher education. The report urges stakeholders to consider that "students who need non-traditional pathways to STEM degrees require special attention" (p. 30). Since we could not find comprehensive reviews of studies to support the preceding recommendations, we undertook a systematic literature review focusing on a critical subset of underrepresented students: 2-year to 4-year Latino transfer students. Separately studying underrepresented groups in STEM is important because access to higher education and transfer patterns differ between student groups. We chose this student group for several reasons. First, recent reports from National Academies argue for leveraging 2-year to 4-year transfer in meeting the STEM workforce demand. Second, Latino students disproportionately graduate from 2-year institutions with the intention to transfer and pursue a bachelor's degree within a 4-year institution. In fact, 45% of Latino STEM students pursuing higher education in 2012 attended public, 2-year colleges. Third, Latino students are the largest of minority populations underrepresented in STEM fields.
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