Technological Infrastructure Equity for Minority Serving Institutions in Construction Education

Abstract 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.