Transforming Undergraduate STEM Education Act - Amends the National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 to make changes to the program requiring the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to award competitive grants to institutions of higher education (IHEs) to expand previously implemented reforms of undergraduate science, mathematics, engineering, or technology (STEM) education.
Expands grant uses to allow their use in: (1) implementing, rather that just expanding, research-based reforms in undergraduate STEM education; (2) creating multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary STEM courses or programs; (3) expanding undergraduate STEM research opportunities to include interdisciplinary research and research in industry, at federal labs, and at international research institutions or research sites; (4) implementing or expanding bridge, cohort, tutoring, or mentoring programs that enhance student recruitment or persistence; (5) implementing STEM faculty development programs; (6) supporting the participation of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in instructional or assessment activities at primarily undergraduate IHEs; and (7) researching STEM teaching and learning at the undergraduate level related to the proposed reform effort.
Gives priority, among proposals that expand existing reform efforts beyond a single academic unit, to proposals for which a senior institutional administrator serves as the principal investigator.