Pullman, 99163
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Introduction The Eighth Biennial Education Conference of the American Chemical Society, held late in 1972 in Columbus, Ohio, concentrated primarily on two major issues: manpower supply and demand, with particular emphasis on the educational aspects of the problem, and the quality of contemnorarv chemical education. Initial reactions to the Reco~mendationsof the Conference have been positive. This is matifving, because solutions to the pressing employment problems of scientists and engine& may well lie partly in policies and actions in chemical education that logically could be pursued by the American Chemical Society. We hope in fact that our Recommendations will contribute to the development of such policies and actions. The Biennial Education Conferences are sponsored by the ACS Board of Directors' Committee on Education and Students. The Conferences bring together, by invitation, national leaders in chemical education to deal with issues of major concern. The results over the years are apparent in ACS educational and related endeavors that, in varying degree, have benefited from the impetus or encou&g& ment provided by Recommendations of earlier Biennial Education Conferences. These endeavors include Short Courses program (continuing education) Office of Two-Year Colleees student affiliatechapters in two-year colleges ChemTeC curriculum moiect ~~~~~~~~-~ . International Conferenceon Chemical Education Presentation of ACS Shnn Counes in India and Mexico Revision, toward peater flexibrlity, of ACS membershtp requirements Revision, toward greater flexibility, of the Committee on Professional Tnlining's minimum standards Chemical Education Planning and Cwrdinating Committee ~
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I t is my privilege, on behalf of the Board Committee on Education and Students, to thank the participants in this latest Biennial Education Conference for the stimulating discussions, hard work, and sound judgment that they contributed. The Chairman and the Conferees wish also to express sincere thanks to Dr. Moses Passer, the Conference Secretary, for his work in organizing the Conference and his major eontrihution to the preparation of this Report.
Manpower Supply and Demand There can be no doubt that the imbalance between manpower supply and demand-resulting in unemployment and underemployment-is the most critical problem facing chemists today. This problem, together with certain closely related issues, was the main topic before the Conference. The Conference reached a general consensus on the steps ACS should take to stimulate demand for chemists and on some, but not all, of the measures ACS might adont to reduce the sunnlv of chemists. Measures that the coiferenee recommended for increasing the demand induded the establishment of a continuing inventow of employment opportunities, with particularkmphasison non34
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Education Conference traditional opportunities, and vigorous interaction with government to provide means of utilizing scientific manpower in areas of national need. One of the measures recommended for reducing the supply consisted of more realistic and up-to-date student counseling, based partly on a stronger program of manpower studies. A set of Recommendations not aimed primarily a t the manpower problem calls for ACS to concern itself more d e e ~ l vthan in the past with the quality of education a t all I&&. While these Recommendations have quality as their only objective, to the extent that standards i f quality are raised they cannot help but reduce the supply of chemists. The Conference nevertheless rejected any suggestion that ACS attempt to influence manpower supply by other than quality standards (or recommend such action to any other agency) and reaffirmed the principle that no qualified person should be denied the opprtunity to prepare for the chemical profession. Silrnulation of Demand The Conference agreed that ACS should proceed energetically to take all possible steps to increase the demand for chemists, both by identifying existing but less-recognized sources of demand and bv- nromotinn- actions to create major new employment opportunities. Sources of demand that are not well-recognized exist among several categories of potential employers. One such group consists of small companies that might employ only one or a few chemists. A very large fraction of all BA chemists are employed by such companies, but most college placement offices know little or nothing about the companies, and referrals usually occur in a hit-or-miss fashion, almost by accident. Government-federal, state, and local-is a second category where openings for chemists exist, but are not well publicized, especially in less obvious departments such as public works, police, highway, legal, and 'purchasing. A third group of potential openings might be called "overlap opportunities." Some of these are positions which can be filled either by a chemist or by a person from some other discipline. Others are positions a chemist could fill very effectively after supplemental training in the other discipline. Examples can be found in clinical and other biomedical areas: in banking, sec&ties, and other aspects of finance; in e&ronmental activities: in libraw work and information processing; and in advertising, &keting, and other bus&ess areas. The thrust of the Conference's views on stimulating the creation of new employment opportunities (Statement No. 1, Recommendation No. l a ) was that ACS should exert its influence on a major scale to persuade govemment of the prospect for synergistic efforts implicit in two serious and related difficulties: major problems of society which chemists, could help solve; and the existence of a DCQ~of unemdoved chemists who could be put to work to hehelp solve tieem. I n . making this Recommendation the Conference was aware that the "vigorous measures" specified would include, inevitably, kinds of activities that are new to ACS traditions. The Conference recognized also, however, that ACS has never engaged in this kind of ac-
tivity to any significant extent because, a t least so far as employment was concerned, there was no need-hemists enjoyed a seller's market. Today, the Conference concluded, the need exists, and since i t does exist, ACS has an obligation to act. The goals of the Recommendation include those of several bills now before Congress that would create a "surge tank" mechanism by which the Federal Government would put temporarily unemployed scientists to work in areas of broad national concern, such as the environment, the energy crisis, transportation, food supply and distribution, the management of natural resources, and population problems. The BA Job Market The overall ratio of manpower supply and demand, and the manner in which it changes with time, may not illuminate certain internal trends that also can be most significant. An important example today is the relative demand for BA and PhD chemists. During the 1960's jobs were plentiful a t all levels, and emerging graduate departments needed students. Thus, BA graduates were encouraged to go on to graduate school, and industrial recruiters did not get to see as many BA candidates as they would have liked. Today's BA's, however, hear a great deal about the tight job market for PhD's, and they "vote with their feet": first-year enrollment in chemistry graduate programs has been declining steadily, from 3939 in 196566 (the peak year) to 2994 in 1971-72. Since the number of BA maduates has not declined during this period, the numler of them available for immediate empl&ent has been increasing. Nevertheless, all available evidence, which is admittedlv aualitative and anecdotal, indicates that BA's have lesi difficulty finding acceptable jobs as chemists than do PhD's. In addition, some industrial employers appear to be modifying their research manpower policies by increasing the ratio of BA to PhD personnel. Does this mean that graduating chemistry majors should be encouraged t o opt for immediate employment rather than for graduate school? The Conference concluded that, while the apparent trend deserves careful study and monitoring, any recommendation would be premature a t this time. The situation is still too uncertain to permit meaningful predictions of trends in the relative demands for PhD's and BA's. One aspect of the BA job market that makes it difficult to follow is the fact that, unlike PhD's, who tend to be placed with large, prominent employers, many BA's find jobs with smaller, local employers who may not be well known to the national chemical community. Studies of the job market often fail to recognize these openings adequately and thus may understate the market available t o the BA chemist. Certain other aspects of the BA job market desenre mention. One of them is a sharp decline in the number of entering freshman, which augurs a corresponding decline in the supply of graduates within a few years. On the other hand. the numbers of students entering the premedical stream far exceed the openings in medical sch6ols. Inevitablv. manv of these students will not enter medical school, a&d "thi word" will soon reach their junior colleagues. The consequence may be a large, significant shift to chemistry. Manpower Statistics In addition to Recommendation No. 2 on manpower studies, the Conference reached a consensus on one special problem that is not treated in a recommendation. The problem relates to manpower statistics and career guidance generated hy certain federal agencies, factors that can exercise a major influence on the career decisions of voune neonle. In recent vears. " . . in the face of mounting unemployment among chemists and the increasing difiiculties experienced by new graduates in finding jobs, the pro-
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jections published by a t least one major federal agency have often been too optimistic on employment prospects in chemistry. Discussions with that agency reveal that the projections are based on a particularly optimistic model for the national economy. The Conference agreed that these wholly unrealistic projections have caused, and continue to cause, great harm to young people who base career decisions on predictions from a source-the Federal Govemment-that they have every right to expect to be as reliable as possible. The Conference concluded that ACS should make all possible efforts to persuade this agency to publish manpower data that are more consistent with the real world. Counseling The Conference generally agreed on certain aspects of counseling in addition to those covered in Recommendation No. 4. One of these was the importance of providing good counseling early in the student's academic career. It is important, certainly, that seniors who are considering graduate school have realistic projections for the PhD job market. It is equally important, and too often overlooked, however, that freshmen and sophomores have realistic projections for the job market in chemistry v i s - h i s that in other professions which they are, or should be, considering. Another aspect of counseling that needs serious reexamination is the assumption that all of the better students should be encouraged to go on to graduate school. This may be sound advice for students who intend to stay in research. But for students who hope to advance through administrative channels, the available evidence suggests that a PhD at times may even be a hindrance, and that such students will often have more successful careers if they go into industry with a bachelor's degree. Regular Review by Universities Recommendation No. 5 asks universities to be concerned not only with the quality of their programs, but also with the realities of manpower supply and demand. The background for this Recommendation was published in the Committee on Professional Training's report on doctoral education (Chem. Eng. News, Aug. 14, 1972, p. 35). In that report, a description of the overexpansion of PhD Dromams that took lace in the 1960's precedes the folloding-paragraph, whieh is to be considered the preamhle to this Conference's Recommendation No. 5 Obviously, universities must lwk forward to a period of drastic readjustment to these realities, and many are already so doing. Many institutions where large undergraduate enrollment requires large stsffs will have to recognize that not all of their faculty can hope to participate in the direction of graduate student research. Many established departments will have to consider whether they can continue to operate on their present scale. In particular, many schwls with new or weak programs must question whether it is feasible to continue them. Since no central body, including ACS, has the power or authority to dictate how these adjustments are to he carried out, the necessary decisions will necessarily be made piecemeal by the governing hoards and faculties of the schools involved, by government agencies which allocate funds, or by a most realistic group-the students who chwse between sehwls or who may elect not to undertake graduate training at all. Recommendations: Manpower Supply and Demand 1) We believe that society needs the professional talents of chemists on a vast scale to help resolve many problems of national concern. We further believe that widespread unemployment among chemists in the face of this need is due partly to an inability to marshall these talents. To deal with these two related problems: la) We recommend that ACS take uigorow measures to identify areas of national need to which the chemist's professional talents can contribute, and to interact with gouernment at all leuels to prouide means by which these ouailable talents Volume 51, Number
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may be used for such purposes. Gouernmental action can be direct, in the form of legislation that will utilize scientific manpower for national needs, or indirect, by stimulating industrial R&D on national needs through t w medits and other devices. 2) We recommend that ACS strengthen its program of manpower studies and, either alone or in cooperation with other agencies, work toward the development of o meaningful model thot will incorporate ail identifiuble parameters for forecasting manpower needs. We further recommend that ACS uigorously promote a greater commitment by the Federal Gouernment to this oetiuity because of its releuancy in relating the educational process to society's needs. 3) We reeommend that ACS establish o continuing inuentory of changing employment opportunities in chemistry, to include the fields of chemistry, geographical areas, and categories of employer with particular emphusis on the nontraditional: that it continue to stimulate the deuelopment of supplemental training progmms to qualify chemists for sueh opportunities; and that it develop strategies for expanding the breadth of opportunities and the demand for chemists. 4) We commend the efforts of those academic departments and institutions which prouide counseling for students on the realities of employment and career patterns in chemistry. We urge that such efforts be continued and expanded and thot ACS ossist in prouiding realistic and up-to-date career information for both teachers and students. 5) We recommend that uniuersities regularly review their programs in ehemistry and allied areas to ensure that these are consistent not only with sound educational goals but also with plausible projections of student interest and employmentprospects.
New Directions in Education Work-Study The educational experience tends to be insulated from the life in which the education subsequently will be applied. Thus for many, if not most, students enrolled in chemistry curricula, chemistry tends to be something that takes place in the laboratory on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 2:M) to 4:30 p.m. and that has no relationship to the processes that transpire in a moving automobile, or in their own bodies, or in that remote abstraction, "industry." At the same time, no one has demonstrated that successful completion of the educational process requires the student to be isolated for four long years from the world of useful work. These considerations led the Conference to conclude that paid productive work, as a formal cumcular requirement, is a concept that deserves thomugh study and testing. Recommendation: Work-Study 6) We propose that paid productive work can he a highly desirable integral part of the education process, and that academic curricula should strive to incorporate internships or work assignments as a formal requirement. As stew toward achieving this goal: 65)
We recommend thot ACS organize a study group to consider this proposal. The study group should represent appropriate elements of industry, gouernment, the academie community including student representation, and other scholarly societies, and should begin with an initial examination of existing work-study programs. We further reeommend that ACS seek government or foundation support for a feasibility study of the proposal.
It should be noted that this proposal goes far beyond the traditional small-scale sumierIjobs programs, which too often operate only during periods of prosperity. What is involvedhere is a maior nromam in which oaid . -oroductive work would be a required part of academic curricula, a program which would require major financial commitments by industry. Government support would probably be needed for the feasibility studies and, more importantly, in the operating stage. Indirect government support through tax incentives might provide a major stimulus for industrial support of the program. "
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The Conference was also mindful of one early criticism of a student work-study program-that in performing useful pmductive work for pay, students would deprive graduate chemists of jobs and aggravate an already difficult problem. The short-term answer would be to initiate the program several years hence, when the employment market might be in more favorable balance. The long-term answer would be that work-study students would enter the full-time labor market a t a later age than the conventional student, so that after steady state is achieved, the manpower impact would be nil. Two additional aspects of work-study were noted. F i s t , such programs are operating already in several schools, which would provide valuable information for the proposed study. Second, the results of the study, and the experience of any program that might be launched, would clearly have major application in other academic disciplines. Work-Study and Master's Programs Quite apart from the general utility of work-study in education, the Conference saw in the concept a specific opportunity to breathe new life into the master's program. The prestige of the master's degree in the sciences has declined steadily in the past decade or two, but there appears t o be no inherent reason why this should he so. Witness, for example, the high prestige of an M S in the sciences from a British university or of an MBA in this country. The Conference was convinced that serious effort should be devoted to restoring the status of the master's degree. To do so, however, the universities must take steps to make the degree a "salable" product, attractive to an industrial employer. What better method than work-study to prepare the master's candidate for employment in industry? (See also Recommendation No. 12.) Educational Experimentation The past 15 years-the post-Sputnik years-have been characterized by an exceptionally high level of educational experimentation and innovation in all the sciences. In the main this experimentation has taken place separately within each science or, occasionally, in an all-science framework. Recently, however, some innovative programs are heing discussed or developed that involve the entire institution-the curriculum. the facultv. and the student --as a unified entity. In most respects these experimental deoart radicallv from the kinds of academic Dro-rrmmams grams with which most ihemists, including academic&, are familiar. The Conference felt that, with the proviso that high standards be maintained, these experiments are a welcome innovation which should be encouraged. Recommendation: Educational Experimentation 7) The Conference looked with approval upon braad educational experiments in which a curriculum and its environment are treated as a unified entity and in which adequate levels of quality and breadth of training are maintained. 7a) Inuestigators conducting sueh experimental programs are
urged to eualuate the results of their efforts in a broad framework and to publicize their findings as rapidly as eonelusions or trends can be detected. Experimental programs known to us include those at Antioeh College, Euergreen State College, Governors State College, Johnston College of the Uniuersity of Redlands, the MZT Unified Science Program, and the Unioersity of Michigan study of the Keller Plan. Other programs of similar merit exist, but were not specifically named by the Conference.
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Another kind of innovative experimentation relates to intaneible oersonal attributes, such as attitude, temperament; adadtahility, and creativity, which in the long run may be more important than knowledge of the subject matter. Today we have reasonably good techniques for teaching chemistry and reasonably sensitive tools for mea.suring the student's knowledge of chemistry. But we know
relatively little of how t o "teach" or a t least t o encourage the natural development of important personal attributes and equally little of how t o evaluate them. At the same time i t must he recognized that this area is extremely complex, and that quick and easy answers should not be expected. Recommendation: Personal Characteristics 7b) We are hopeful that studies may be initiated to deuelop new educational techniques in the general area of personal characteristics such os attitude, temperament, adaptability, and creotiuity. These studies would examine existing knowledge and attempt to identify the factors which govern the deueloprnent of these characteristics.
Quality Control Chemists share with the practitioners of every other profession a deep concern for quality education: high quality in the students accepted into the system; high quality in the educational process itself; and, most of all, high quality in the product-the new graduates entering the profession. The concern for quality has been exceptionallv intense in recent vears as a conseauence of the tremendous expansion of
