Review of Specialized Degree-Granting Graduate Programs of the Department of Defense in STEM and Management (2014) / Chapter Skim
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4 Alternative Ways to Ensure High-Quality Graduate Education Outcomes
4 Alternative Ways to Ensure High-Quality Graduate Education Outcomes
Pages 83-107
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From page 83... ...
The first section of this chapter emphasizes the need for and benefits of graduate STEM+M education from civilian institutions. GRADUATE EDUCATION AT CIVILIAN INSTITUTIONS Historically, military Services have used a combination of Service schools and civilian universities to educate its officer corps.
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programs to civilian TABLE 4-1 Institutions That Have Conferred Degrees to SMART Scholars Doctoral Degree Institutions Master's Degree Institutions University of Florida 12 Georgia Institute of Technology 12 Georgia Institute of Technology 9 University of California, San Diego 12 Purdue University 8 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 11 Texas A&M University 7 Stanford University 10 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 7 Utah State University 8 Arizona State University 6 University of Central Florida 7 North Carolina State University 6 Brigham Young University 6 Pennsylvania State University 6 Columbia University 6 University of Central Florida 6 University of Florida 6 University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 6 University of Maryland, College Park 5 University of Washington 6 University of Utah 5 Auburn University, Main Campus 4 University of Wisconsin, Madison 5 Clemson University 4 Auburn University, Main Campus 4 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 4 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 4 University of California, Santa Barbara 4 Stevens Institute of Technology 4 University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign 4 University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 4 University of Maryland, College Park 4 University of Pennsylvania 4 University of Texas, Austin 4 University of Texas, Austin 4 Vanderbilt University 4 Air Force Institute of Technology 3 Brigham Young University 3 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 3 Carnegie Mellon University 3 Pennsylvania State University 3 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 3 Purdue University 3 Naval Postgraduate School 3 San Diego State University 3 University of Connecticut 3 Texas A&M University 3 University of New Mexico, Main Campus 3 University of California, Berkeley 3 University of Wisconsin, Madison 3 University of Colorado, Boulder 3 University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign 3 University of Kansas 3 University of Southern California 3 Worcester Polytechnic Institute 3 SOURCE: Laura Stubbs (Senior Executive Service) , Director, S&T Initiatives and STEM Development Office, OASD(R&E)
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From page 85... ...
Indeed, most quality universities draw the vast majority of their faculty from numerous other quality universities to avoid becoming too ingrown.1 Civilian universities play an important part in educating military officers from all Services. Even though the Navy and the Air Force operate their own graduate schools, they rely on civilian schools to provide quality education, particularly in areas not covered by DoD institutions; in the case of the Air Force, civilian schools provide a breadth of background for faculty at both AFIT and the Air Force Academy.
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From page 86... ...
These joint curricula were to be overseen by joint oversight boards, each headed by a general officer of the Service losing the program. The 2002 agreement also stated that the Air Force and the Navy should, after seats were filled at either NPS or AFIT in a particular field of study, give priority to sending their students to the other institution before sending those students to civilian universities.3 To implement this policy, AFIT and NPS, in coordina tion with the staffs of the other Services, to include the Marine Corps, Army, and Coast Guard, were directed to form a joint admissions and quota control process.4 Following establishment of the agreement, NPS and AFIT closed the designated programs and began sending students to the other school.
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From page 87... ...
The Commission finds that an empowered Board free from individual service branch and school institutional pres sures could address issues facing the schools and provide the non-service focused direction needed to transform the Naval Postgraduate School and Air Force Institute of Technology into a truly joint system of education. 5 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission Report, Vol.
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From page 88... ...
This Board will be located in the National Capital Region. By this recommendation, the newly formed board will also have the authority to: • Take action to eliminate unnecessary curricula and program duplication; • Identify, approve, and implement programs of collaboration in research and instruc tion between the schools; and, • Expand nonresident programs and arrangements with private institutions of higher learning to meet common curriculum and non-Department of Defense focused class requirements.6 During visits to NPS and AFIT, there was little evidence of a working alliance between the schools, or of the oversight board required by the BRAC recommenda tion.
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From page 89... ...
The Department of Defense should implement the rec ommendation of the 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission (Appendix Q, Section 197) to establish an empowered oversight board for the Air Force Institute of Technology and the Naval Postgraduate School, reporting to the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
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FY, fiscal year. SOURCE: Data from the Air Force Institute of Technology and the Naval Postgraduate School.
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From page 91... ...
For instance, one could imagine a graduate program in high-power microwaves delivered in partnership by AFIT and UNM, with some or all of the AFIT courses delivered by distance learning and the thesis research performed at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Kirtland AFB.
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15 "Private" is interpreted to mean both public and private civilian institutions, as opposed to those institutions maintained by DoD, such as the Naval Postgraduate School and the Air Force Institute of Technology.
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Meyer, and C Thille, The Open Learning Initiative: Measuring the effective ness of the OLI statistics course in accelerating student learning, Journal of Interactive Media in Education, May 2008.
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These are the same questions for a traditional in person course, but the remedies for any difficulties uncovered may be much dif ferent. Given proper assessment and careful course design, the literature supports claims that distance education can be as effective as in-person education.
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Over the past 4 years, it averaged 14 new students enrolled in distance education M.S. degrees each year.
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Finally, NPS and AFIT should use distance offerings to enable their students to be in residence at one of the DoD laboratories for their research while taking courses from their home universities. MILITARY TUITION ASSISTANCE Military tuition assistance is designed for military personnel, which is admin istered slightly differently by each Service, pays for part-time education for those not selected to attend one of the full-time sponsored education programs.
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From page 97... ...
This combination of drawbacks creates a large gap between the education of those using military tuition assistance and of those selected for full-time sponsored study at AFIT, NPS, or a civilian institution. A modest change to military tuition assistance procedures could yield great benefits for the military, as well as for military personnel seeking STEM graduate degrees.
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The Department of Defense (DoD) should create a new category of Priority Military Tuition Assistance for science, technology, engineer ing, mathematics, and management graduate education and do the following: • Significantly increase the maximum tuition payment per credit hour.
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• Allow military tuition assistance funds to be used at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) and the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS)
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Students attend a range of quality graduate schools.27 Table 4-3 provides the number of graduate degrees conferred under the SMART program. The fact that graduation rates for SMART graduate students average about 94 percent, far higher than national averages, testifies to the quality and determination of these students.
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Funding for Civilian Graduate STEM Education Several factors limit DoD's ability to provide graduate education opportunities for its civilian STEM workforce. Not surprisingly in today's budget-constrained environment, one of the limiting factors is funding, both in terms of amount and predictability.
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These funds can also be used for tuition assistance, long-term and full-time study, and back-filling positions behind students attending school and transition ing back after graduation. DAWDF is a critical enabler for the Defense Acquisition Workforce improvement strategy.
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From page 103... ...
It is estimated that DoD funds Ph.D. graduate education for hundreds of personnel at civilian universities each year at a cost of many tens of millions of dollars, not including salary and living costs.33 Programs include the Air Force Civilian Institutions Program, managed by AFIT; students sponsored by military installations; and the graduate portion of SMART, described earlier in this chapter; as well as many local organizational programs (e.g., DoD laboratories)
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West Point, NSF, and NIH have negoti ated reduced tuition rates for Ph.D. students sent to civilian institutions.
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In 1970 1971, higher education institutions had awarded 230,509 master's degrees, and by 2004-2005, a total of 574,618 master's degrees were awarded, an increase of approxi mately 150 per cent.39 According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there were 730,635 master's degrees awarded for 2010-2011 and 754,229 master's degrees awarded for 2011-2012, the last year for available data.40 In fact, the rate of growth of master's degrees has been significantly higher than for professional degrees in law, medicine, and dentistry.41 Career-oriented fields now dominate master's degree programs, with the degree no longer considered an intermediate degree that follows the baccalaureate and preceeds the doctorate. Of course, this is also reflected in the emphases of both AFIT and NPS graduate programs.
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From page 106... ...
However, if DOD agencies could describe PSM programs that would meet their projected needs, possibly in concert with large procurement programs, PSM degrees would likely be configured to meet DOD's needs by a number of universities that are actively expanding their PSM offerings.45 In line with this recommendation, DoD agencies could help university faculty plan such degrees, offer PSM students internships, and provide financial support to PSM students in return for appropriate DoD service, for instance, through the SMART program described later in this chapter. Finding 4-10.
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From page 107... ...
While AFIT and NPS, as currently configured, can meet many of the most mission-critical needs for graduate educa tion, there is a wealth of opportunities to expand the current offerings. This chapter outlined some of those possibilities: expanding offerings at NPS and AFIT with new degrees, new partnerships, and new distance learning modes; and expanding options for DoD personnel with civilian institutions, including various funding mechanisms.
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