EDUCATION
SURVEY SAMPLE Leading academic officers from undergraduate schools met to discuss the role of research at their institutions.
TAKING THE PULSE OF UNDERGRAD RESEARCH Survey of predominantly baccalaureate schools reveals trends in scientific research practices MITCH JACOBY, C&EN CHICAGO
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ORT LEWIS COLLEGE CAN HARDLY
be considered a powerhouse of undergraduate science education. Students at the small liberal arts college in out-of-the-way Durango, Colo., don't boast of top-notch college-entrance test scores—their scores tend to be average. And unlike some schools that have graduated generations of families, students at Fort Lewis tend to be thefirstin their families to attend college. "ïet somehow, Fort Lewis manages to graduate a substantial number of science majors. And a significant number of the school's graduates go on to earn Ph.D. degrees—many in chemistry "How does Fort Lewis do it?" askedjohn R Schaefer, as he compared the small Colorado school to better known and well-to-do schools before agroup ofcollege presidents and other officials at a recent education conference. Schaefer, who serves as president of Tucson-based Research Corporation, a private foundation that supports scientific HTTP://PUBS.ACS.ORG/CEN
research, found answers to his question while visiting the Durango college. "Fort Lewis has people who live, eat, and breathe chemistry,, he said. "This is a faculty that really has the spirit." While some schools have significantfinancialresources that can be used to help interest students in studying science, Schaefer noted, others, like Fort Lewis, "just get in there with the students and work hard at getting them involved in doing science. They find students and inspire them." And one of the keys to inspiration is a rewarding undergraduate research experience. Schaefer's remarks, made this past summer at Fermi National Accelerator Labora- Doyle tory in Batavia, 111., kicked off a two-day meeting of presidents, deans, provosts, chancellors, and other academic officers of colleges and universities. The group was called together to learn about
and discuss some of thefindingsof a major survey titled 'Academic Excellence: The Role of Research in the Natural Sciences at Undergraduate Institutions." Explaining the motivation behind the study, Michael P. Doyle, Research Corporation's vice president and secretary, noted that in 1985, presidents of 48 private liberal arts colleges assembled at Oberlin College in Ohio to discuss, among other things, the need for an increase in resources for research and research-related activities at their schools. In the ensuing years, significant new resources from public and private funding agencies were made available to the schools, Doyle pointed out. ^et no analysis was performed to determine if the new programs were enhancing the institutions' research programs. More recently, Research Corporation and other foundations that sponsor scientific research began to observe a decline in the quantity and quality of research proposals submitted for funding by undergraduate institutions, meaning schools that offer few or no Ph.D. degree programs. There was a sense that the number of peer-reviewed publications was declining from these types of schools, Doyle commented. 'And we were hearingfromfaculty and administrators a general sense of limitation in the time available for research." A PERCEIVED DOWNTURN in the amount of scientific research being carried out at four-year colleges is cause for concern because of the special role played by predominandy undergraduate schools in feeding the scientific pipeline. "Undergraduate institutions have been a national resource for a significant proportion of students who undertake professional careers in the sciences," Doyle asserted. 'And the primary reason cited for their output has been the research experiences ofundergraduate students with their faculty mentors." Looking to replace general impressions of the trends in research performed at undergraduate schools with solid data, five private foundations agreed to pool their efforts and conduct a detailed survey: Research Corporation, the M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust, the W. M. Keck Foundation, the Welch Foundation, and the Camille & Henry Dreyfus Foundation. The team surveyed 136 institutions on a variety of topics including budgets, funding, grants, faculty demographics, and stuC & E N / OCTOBER 2 2 , 2 0 0 1
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EDUCATION gressman urged t h e group to work t o dent involvement in research. In all, more successful? Because, Kennedy said, by increase support for science from their than 100,000 facts, figures, and other bits virtue of their size and faculty-to-student own institutions, to help improve K-12 of data were assembled. The body of inforratio, they're able to pay attention to the math and science teacher training to raise mation, mainly drawn from the decade end"process of learning science and the mode the public's level of science literacy ing in 2000, was compiled in 'The and appreciation, and to learn basic SourceBook," a recently published STEADY RISE lobbying skills. 539-page volume of data and opinNumber of women in tenure-track positions has ions. The group in attendance at FerDetails of the study were pregrown steadily in the past three decades milab was composed largely of repsented by George M. Rubottom and resentatives of the surveyed schools, LeonJ. Radziemski, both of whom % of natural sciences tenure-track positions by gender the sponsoring foundations, and worked on the project as study coornational scientific organizations. dinators. Rubottom serves as program director in the Division of Of the 136 colleges and universiChemistry at the National Science ties that participated in the study 104 Foundation, and Radziemski is the are private and 32 are public. Thirtydean of the College of Sciences at eight of the schools offer advanced Washington State University, in degrees in some subject areas such as Pullman. 1966-70 71-75 76-80 81-85 86-90 91-95 96-00 astronomy, chemistry, physics, geoNOTE: Data from survey of 136 predominantly undergraduate institutions. logical sciences, or biological sciRubottom noted that some of SOURCE: "Academic Excellence: The SourceBook" ences. A significant majority of the the data—such as enrollment and schools, however, 98 in total, offer funding records, endowments, only bachelor's degrees in the natural scituition costs, and college entrance test of inquiry" as opposed to focusing on accuences. Thus the entire group of schools surscores—were collected from public mulating knowledge. "They're able to pay veyed is referred to collectively as "presources. Institution and faculty surveys individual attention to their students and dominantly undergraduate institutions." were used to accumulate other data. make sure that every one of them gets a Donald Kennedy, editor-in-chief of Scifull dose of laboratory experience. And in ence and a professor and president emeri- the absence of graduate students, they tus of Stanford University, spoke in genmake undergraduate participation in origeral of the successes of undergraduate inal faculty research a requirement. That's schools. "We've all seen Ph.D. students an important piece of the story" from the liberal arts schools enter graduLike Stanford's Kennedy, Rep. VernonJ. ate departments superbly prepared," Ehlers (R.-Mich.), a member of the House Kennedy said. Science Committee, also made a strong Pointing out that in his professional case for the value of scientific research at career he has nearly always been affiliated liberal arts schools. A former physics proRadziemski Rubottom with large research institutions, Kennedy fessor at Calvin College, Grand Rapids, said he has long been amazed by the large Mich., and one of very few Ph.D. scienProviding examples of the types of findfraction of Ph.D. degrees awarded at tists in Congress, Ehlers insisted that ings revealed by the study, Rubottom noted research schools to students whose bachresearch at undergraduate institutions that from 1986 to 2000,54% of the preelor's-level education was completed at serves as excellent training for students dominantly undergraduate institutions undergraduate schools. and provides opportunities that aren't that received any awards from Research available at other types of schools. At the Corporation received only one or two. One BY ANALYZING the study sample (the 136 same time, interacting with students who school, however, garnered 19 grants. schools) subject to certain constraints such are conducting research benefits and stimMoving on to a broader spectrum of as size and type of school, Kennedy noted ulates faculty, Ehlers said. funding sources, Rubottom combined that seven of the top eight schools, in terms information on grants funded by Research of numbers of students who went on to earn Corporation, the Petroleum Research Ph.D. degrees in science, are baccalaureate Fund, NSF (including biological and physinstitutions. The top two schools—Reed ical sciences research awards), and the College, Portland, Ore., and Swarthmore National Institutes of Health area awards College, Swarthmore, Pa.—nearly double for the period 1986-2000. the proportional productivity of Harvard and Yde, he commented. "Looking at the combined activity, you see a fairly flat proposal rate and fairly flat But it's not just the proportional numfunding rate," Rubottom noted. "But that's bers that impress Kennedy The Stanford disturbing because faculty sizes have grown academic pointed out that graduates of Kennedy Ehlers 21% in the past 10 years." Carleton College, Northfield, Minn., during Statistics on grants for laboratory instruthe period of the study, earned more Ph.D. After outlining what he referred to as mentation reveal unexpected findings. degrees in chemistry than students whose the "mind of Congress" concerning sciDespite a common impression that acaundergraduate degrees were completed at ence funding, Ehlers left the group of academics work fervently to raise capital for Harvard, Yale, Stanford, or Princeton. demic officers with specific challenges and equipment, proposals to one of NSF's 'That's total numbers," he emphasized. suggestions aimed at improving undergraduate research at their schools. The coninstrumentation programs fell from roughly So why are baccalaureate institutions so 60
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2,100 in 1989 to fewer than 1,300 proposals in 1998. And in 1999, NSF awarded Major Research Instrumentation grants to all undergraduate institutions that applied. "Vet only six proposals were submitted.
analyses as they are completed. One finding just uncovered is that women faculty members at predominantly undergraduate institutions receive more research money than their male colleagues but produce fewer publications. Meanwhile, Karen W Morse, THE WAY faculty members split COUNTING PAPERS president of Western Washingtheir time among academic At all types of institutions, full professors tend ton University, in Bellingham, responsibilities is yet another of to publish slightly more than their colleagues looks outside of the university the enormous number of items for yardsticks with which to addressed by the study. RadNumber of research publications per year measure the successes ofunderziemski reported that classroom 0.81 I Full professor • Associate professor • Assistant professor graduate research. Western's and laboratory teaching—inundergraduates are encouraged cluding preparation time— to participate in scientific meetaccounts for 50 to 60%. Basic ings and to deliver research and applied research, which presentations. includes reading, writing, giving talks, and performing related Speaking at the Fermilab activities, takes up 10 to 20% of meeting, Morse pointed out that Private Public Bachelor'sAdvancedinstitutions institutions degree-granting degree-granting academics' time. three Western chemistry underinstitutions institutions graduates received student The trends in time allocation NOTE: Publications are calculated per faculty member at predominantly undergraduate institutions per year for the period 1991-2000. awards from the Materials at the schools surveyed show SOURCE: "Academic Excellence: The SourceBook" Research Society recently, and hardly any variation between two others wonfirstprize in an baccalaureate and advancedAmerican Chemical Society degree institutions, between poster presentation competipublic and private schools, and DOLLAR SIGNS tion. And last year, 17 underbetween data reported for 1991 Associate professors garner fewer grant dollars than graduates were listed as coauand for 2000. Likewise, there colleagues with higher or lower ranking thors in a total of nine articles was no significant difference published byWestern scientists. between the opinions of faculty $ Thousands "Pushing these kinds of activimembers and institutional rep40 M Full professor • Associate professor • Assistant professor ties and providing the necessary resentatives concerning faculty support can be rewarding for members' practices in allocating the institutions and the stutheir time. dents," she said. Among the 136 schools surveyed, faculty members receive 'An impassioned yet analytion average roughly $24,000 per cal curiosity is as essential to Private Public Bachelor'sAdvancedyear in research funds, not effective learning as it is to effecinstitutions institutions degree-granting degree-granting counting funds provided by the tive teaching," said David E. Shi, institutions institutions institution. Individual variations president of Furman University, NOTE: Dollar amounts are calculated per faculty member at predominantly undergraduate institutions per year for the period 1991-2000. were found to be large, ranging Greenville, S.C. "We often learn SOURCE: "Academic Excellence: The SourceBook" from a high of $74,000 to less best by doing and then by disthan $1,100. Based on funding seminating to others what we data and publication records for the of the analysis is that faculty at schools that have learned." Quoting an ancient Chinese schools participating in the study, the fall in the top cluster of the research model proverb, Shi eloquently summed up the study's coordinators calculated that the are top-ranked in terms of numbers of benefits of engaged learning: "Tell me and cost of publishing in peer-reviewed jour- research dollars and research publications. nals is some $36,000 per paper. "We're just at the beginning of the data Finding just the right measures to dif- mining process," Doyle told C&EN. Some ferentiate or identify similarities between trends in research have already been one institution and the next in a mean- revealed but further analysis is needed. For ingful way turns out to be a key challenge example, concerning the schools surveyed, to analyzing and interpreting the body of Doyle concluded that indeed there is an data contained in "The SourceBook." overall decline in the number ofproposals Radziemski explained that the survey team submitted for research and instrumentaused a cluster analysis method based on an tion support. Yet there is a movement enrollment model and a research model to under way to transfer support from indi- Morse Shi compare and group the schools. vidual faculty efforts to department and The enrollment model considered institution block grants, he said. "We're in I will forget. Show me and I will rememfactors such as college entrance test a period of transition and the outcome is ber. Involve me and I will understand." Copies of "The SourceBook" are availscores and numbers of bachelor's still unclear." degrees granted. The research model The study's associates are starting to able from Research Corporation on the grouped schools by numbers of research publish a newsletter that provides targeted Internet at http://www.rescorp.org. • HTTP://PUBS.ACS.ORG/CEN
grants, publications, and other criteria. One of the study'sfindingsis that graduates of schools that rank highest according to the enrollment model are most likely to complete Ph.D. degrees. Another outcome
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