The Future of Graduate Education

Transcription

1 The Future of Graduate Education Daniel Denecke Director, Best Practices Council of Graduate Schools AACN Master s Conference Orlando, Florida February 19, 2009

2 Tomorrowland House of the Future 1955 Sponsored by the Monsanto Company; designed by Marvin Goody and Richard Hamilton (MIT). Cell phones; wireless; flat screen tv s; microwave oven Destroyed by a wrecking ball in 1967 House of the Future 2009 Bland, beige, and terribly unimaginative. -- P.J. O Rourle, Future Schlock, Atlantic, December 2008

3 The Council of Graduate Schools Member organization, with 500 members (members award 95% of U.S. Ph.Ds, 84% of master s) Primary representatives are graduate deans or equivalent Advocacy, Research and Best Practices

4 A crisis is a terrible thing to waste. - Attributed to economist Paul Romer

5 We have Crises! I. The Financial Crisis Stimulus and Accountability II. The Talent Crisis?

6 I. The Financial Crisis

7 a. Stimulus The Final Stimulus Package for US Research and Education Infrastructure NSF: $3 billion, including $2.5 for research, $400 million for infrastructure, $100 million for education NASA: Unclear (probably $1 billion for science; including $400 million for climate change research NIH: $10 billion, including $8.5 billion for research, $1.5 billion for university research facilities DOE: $2 billion for research, including $1.6 billion for Office of Science, $400 million for Advanced Research Project Agency-Energy source: The Final Stimulus Bill, Doug Lederman, Inside Higher Ed, February 14

8 b. Accountability Time to Degree Completion Rates Representation/Diversity Enrollment Management Return on Investment Economic Competitiveness Public Good Accountability

9 CGS Best Practice Initiatives that address Efficiencies and Accountability Ph.D. Completion Project Professional Master s Degrees The Project for Scholarly Integrity And Responsible Conduct of Research Initiatives

10 PhD Completion Project Over 40 universities Data collection on completion rates and time to degree across range of disciplines Interventions: Selection and Admissions, Mentoring, Financial Support, Program Environment, et al. Impact Assessment

11 Professional Science Master s Over 120 programs at over 60 institutions and growing Combines core research coursework of a research master s with training and soft skills and professional internship experience Intersector partership: developed in collaboration with industry Interdisciplinary: integrate study in the natural sciences and mathematics with knowledge and training in management, law, or other professional domains (e.g. financial computation)

12 The Project for Scholarly Integrity ORI-funded project to develop national models for comprehensive, institutionalized education in research ethics and training in responsible conduct of research (RCR) education ( ) ( Builds on prior CGS RCR initiatives: ORI-funded project to develop innovative training models in RCR ( ) NSF-funded project to identify best practices in RCR training and ethical deliberation ( ) Florence Global Summit on Research Ethics and Scholarly Integrity (2008)

13 II. The Talent Crisis

14 Doctoral Degrees Awarded in STEM Fields (selected years) 35,000 30,000 25,000 United States 20,000 15,000 Germany & UK 10,000 5,000 0 Asia (incl. China) China Asia includes China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan 2005 and 2006 data for China estimated based on recent trends of 17% average annual growth Source: National Science Board, Science and Engineering Indicators 2008, Appendix Tables 2-42 and 2-43

15 S&E Doctorates Awarded to US Citizens 35,000 30,000 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 Total S&E Doctorates % U.S. Citizen 80% 75% 70% 65% 60% 55% 50% Source: National Science Foundation, WebCASPAR Database, retrieved September 2008

16 Globalization of Talent Market Past U.S. was magnet Future Strong growth in graduate education locally Virtually all tried to stay Strong competition globally

17 CGS Best Practice initiatives that address the talent crisis Graduate International Collaborations Project Professional Science Master s Ph.D. Completion Project Peterson s Award for Inclusiveness

18 CGS Member Engagement in International Joint & Dual Degrees is Growing Degree Type 2007* 2008** Change (%) Established Programs with International Universities Plans to Establish New Programs with International Universities Dual/Double Degree Programs Joint Degree Programs Dual/Double Degree Programs Joint Degree Programs 32% 51% +19 3% 14% +11 3% 33% +30 9% 11% +2 Data represents largest 50 institutions with respect to international student enrollment. For data on largest 10, 25, 50, and all universities, see *source, Council of Graduate Schools, 2007 Graduate Admissions Survey II: Final Applications and Initial Offers of Admissions. August 2007 and **source: Council of Graduate Schools, 2008 Graduate Admissions Survey II: Final Applications and Initial Offers of Admissions. August

19 Graduate International Collaborations Project Two-year, $200K grant from NSF to identify policies and practices that foster, or inhibit, successful international collaborations in graduate education, including research and formal (e.g. joint and dual) degree collaborations. Activities: Survey and Focus Group Research Workshops and Meetings White Paper and Publication

20 The Millennial Challenge: Graduate Students of the Future

21 Four Questions Who are the millenials? How well positioned are graduate schools to respond? What are areas of vulnerability

22 Who are the millennials? Born Different from generation X or baby boomers because more... Confident Visual Multi-tasking Technologically savvy Collaborative learners Value balance Diverse

23 Millennials are different... 40% have ethnic minority background 20% have at least one immigrant parent Hold higher expectations across lines

24 Graduate Schools Respond Embracing Interdisciplinary Curricula Greatest growth area in graduate curriculum Central to strategic plans of most universities Embedding Soft Skills Communication Interdisciplinary teamwork, flexibility Project management Computational skills Communication ability Basic business skills Ethical reasoning Rediscovering Master s Developing Online Alternatives

25 Challenges for Attracting and Retaining Millennials Demographic challenges Accountability demands Community and context Broader horizons (vs. ivory tower)

26 Graduate Education 2020 Support from Educational Testing Service A 10-year project: annual symposia, publication series Convening some of the world s leading thinkers to look at trends affecting the future of graduate education, with special emphasis on examinations of these trends from a global perspective.

27 Graduate Education 2020 Speakers Anthony Carnavale, Georgetown University (economics and education policy) Chris Dede, Harvard University (researcher on educational technology) David Baker, Penn State (international education researcher) Stephen Trachtenberg, President Emeritus, George Washington Peter Scott, Vice Chancellor, Kingston University Christian Bode, Secretary General, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)

28 Sample Questions from the Graduate Education 2020 Initiative If predictions of a merger of biological and nonbiological intelligence comes true, what are the implications for graduate education? How might technology reconfigure the current financial and training models for graduate education? How important is political context (e.g. democracy, transparency, and an open society) to a thriving graduate education and economic competitiveness?

29 Conclusion: What does Graduate Education s Future Hold? Stimulus AND accountability (for efficiency, integrity, and contribution to the public good) E.g. master s attrition and completion International, interdisciplinary, intercultural, intersector partnerships Master s $15M in stimulus for professional science master s More reforms to attract Millennial students Leadership with long-term vision as well as short-term solutions

30 Thank you