U.S. sharpens research policy
The U.S. Congress fears that America's universities are at risk
of falling behind. In a response to that, it mandated the National
Research Council (NRC) to investigate how the competitiveness of
the U.S. higher education sector can be boosted.
The NRC report states that "America is driven by
innovation… Our nation's primary source of both new knowledge and
graduates with advanced skills continues to be our research
universities." These, however, increasingly face challenges such as
"unstable revenue streams, antiquated policies and practices,
demographic change and increasing competition from universities
abroad".
10 points to foster innovation
This would necessitate a number of reforms vital the future of
an innovative U.S. Among them is the demand of creating a stable
nationwide policy fostering university R&D and graduate
education. At the same, greater autonomy should be given to public
research universities, an issue which is also currently being addressed in Europe.
In this context, it is furthermore paramount to strengthen the
links between research institutes and businesses, the NRC states.
Goal should be to accelerate the transfer of knowledge into the
real economy. Finally, the overall output of graduates should be
increased while sustaining a higher level of internationalization.
Here, U.S. institutes are experiencing great popularity as recent
data shows.
Reforming graduate education
Among the 10 recommendations, a major reform of graduate
education is suggested:
"Improve the capacity of graduate programs to attract talented
students by addressing issues such as attrition rates,
time-to-degree, funding, and alignment with both student career
opportunities and national interests.
- Research universities should restructure doctoral education to
enhance pathways for talented undergraduates, improve completion
rates, shorten time-to-degree, and strengthen the preparation of
graduates for careers both in and beyond the academy.
- Research universities and federal agencies should ensure, as
they implement the above measures, that they improve education
across the full spectrum of research university graduate programs -
including the social and behavioral sciences, the humanities, and
the arts - because of the increasing breadth of academic and
professional disciplines necessary to address the challenges facing
our changing world.
- The federal government should significantly increase its
support for graduate education through balanced programs of
fellowships, traineeships, and research assistantships provided by
all science agencies that depend upon individuals with advanced
training.
- Employers - businesses, government agencies, and nonprofits -
that hire master's- and doctoratelevel graduates should more deeply
engage programs in research universities by providing internships,
student projects, advice on curriculum design, and real-time
information on employment opportunities
Scholarships targeting research priorities
The number of federal fellowships and traineeships should be
increased to support 5,000 new graduate students per year in
science and engineering, an investment amounting to $325 million in
year 1 and climbing to a steady-state expenditure of $1.625 billion
per year. This funding is not designed to increase the overall
numbers of doctoral students per se, but to provide incentives for
students to pursue areas responding to national needs and to shift
support from research assistantships to mechanisms that strengthen
doctoral training. Implementing other aspects of our recommendation
will save money for the federal government, universities, and
students. Improving completion rates and reducing time-to-degree in
doctoral programs, for example, will increase the
cost-effectiveness of federal and other investments in this
area.
On the whole, improving pathways to doctoral degrees will ensure
that we draw strongly from among the "best and brightest" across
fields that are critical to our nation's future. Strengthening
preparation of doctorates for a broad range of careers, not just
those in academia, assists students in their careers, along with
employers who need their staff to be productive in the short
term."