Annual Dues: $1,000 - $4,000 (tiered, depending on employee count*)

The Small Business Partner membership, which is available to companies and organizations with 50 or fewer employees, is designed to allow small, entrepreneurial companies to engage more regularly with CGS members by making partnership opportunities more affordable.
 

Special Benefits Reserved for CGS Small Business Partners

• Recognition as a Small Business Partner in all CGS meeting programs
• Recognition as a Small Business Partner on the CGS website (including a link to your website)

Premium Benefits of the Sustaining Membership Network

CGS Annual Meeting

• Reduced rates on sponsorships
• Reduced rates on exhibitor registration
• Option to add one complimentary exhibit-hall only registration pass to your CGS Annual Meeting exhibitor registration, in addition to the two full registrations that are included with exhibiting (available only to sustaining members)
• NEW - Option for members to select exhibit table location (exhibitor registration required)
• NEW - Pre-registration list of Annual Meeting attedees in Excel format (exhibitor registration required)
• Reduced rates on individual meeting registrations
• Priority consideration for all Annual Meeting opportunities
• Opportunities to propose “in-conjunction-with” events at the CGS Annual Meeting
• Recognition in the meeting mobile app
• Opportunity to sponsor awards

CGS Summer Workshop & New Deans Institute

• Opportunity to attend the CGS Summer Workshop and New Deans Institute - corporate attendance is limited to members of the CGS Sustaining Membership Network and invited speakers and sponsors (registration required)

CGS Webinars

• Reduced rates on sponsored CGS webinars
• Priority scheduling consideration
• Detailed attendee report list 

Access to graduate deans

• Opportunity to provide CGS-approved sponsored content for News Network, CGS's bi-weekly e-newsletter (once per calendar year)
• Invitations to CGS research forums and other select events
• Reduced rates for job listings on the CGS Career Portal
• Ability to request to view the CGS Dean’s Discussion List

Publications and information on the latest news, trends and best practices in graduate education

• Access to current and past issues of GradEdge, the only national newsletter dedicated to graduate education
• Full complimentary access to publications in the CGS Online Member Library, including the online membership directory
• Reduced rates for hard copies of CGS publications
• Automatic subscription to biweekly CGS News Network newsletters
   

Access to CGS staff expertise

• Opportunities to collaborate on research and best practice projects
• Tailored membership opportunities based on individual organizations’ needs

Small Business Partner Dues* 

Tiered, depending on employee count

•   1-15 Employees = $1,000 annual dues
• 16-34 Employees = $2,500 annual dues
• 34-50 Employees = $4,000 annual dues

Levels: Small Business Partner ||  Ally  ||  Collaborator  ||  Visionary

Annual Dues: $6,000

Allies join a vibrant network of leading graduate institutions, increasing their own visibility through opportunities only available to members of the CGS Sustaining Membership Network.  Allies recognize the value of the access to an elite group of decision-makers: the CGS graduate dean community.

Special Benefits Reserved for CGS Allies

• Recognition as an Ally in all CGS meeting programs
• Recognition as an Ally on the CGS website (including a link to your website)

Premium Benefits of the Sustaining Membership Network

CGS Annual Meeting

• Reduced rates on sponsorships
• Reduced rates on exhibitor registration
• Option to add one complimentary exhibit-hall only registration pass to your CGS Annual Meeting exhibitor registration, in addition to the two full registrations that are included with exhibiting (available only to sustaining members)
• Option for members to select exhibit table location (exhibitor registration required)
• Pre-registration list of Annual Meeting attedees in Excel format (exhibitor registration required)
• Reduced rates on individual meeting registrations
• Priority consideration for all Annual Meeting opportunities
• Opportunities to propose “in-conjunction-with” events at the CGS Annual Meeting
• Recognition in the meeting mobile app
• Opportunity to sponsor awards

CGS Summer Workshop & New Deans Institute

• Opportunity to attend the CGS Summer Workshop and New Deans Institute - corporate attendance is limited to members of the CGS Sustaining Membership Network and invited speakers and sponsors (registration required)

CGS Webinars

• Reduced rates on sponsored CGS webinars
• Priority scheduling consideration
• Detailed attendee report list

Access to graduate deans

• Opportunity to provide CGS-approved sponsored content for News Network, CGS's bi-weekly e-newsletter (once per calendar year)
• Invitations to CGS research forums and other select events
• Reduced rates for ads in GradEdge and job listings on the CGS Career Portal
• Ability to request to view the CGS Dean’s Discussion List

Publications and information on the latest news, trends and best practices in graduate education

• Access to current and past issues of GradEdge, the only national newsletter dedicated to graduate education
• Full complimentary access to publications in the CGS Online Member Library, including the online membership directory
• Reduced rates for hard copies of CGS publications
• Automatic subscription to biweekly CGS News Network newsletters
• Quarterly Insider Update newsletter tailored with information relevant to sustaining members

Access to CGS staff expertise

• Opportunities to collaborate on research and best practice projects
• Tailored membership opportunities based on individual organizations’ needs

Levels: Small Business Partner  || Ally  ||  Collaborator  ||  Visionary

Student Aid

• The Capitol Recap (NASFAA)
• Fact Sheet on Title IV, International Education (Coalition for International Education)

• How Governments Support Higher Education Through the Tax Code (Pew Charitable Trusts)
• Tax Primer: A Brief Introduction to Higher Education Tax Policy Issues (NACUBO)

• The Essential Guide to Higher Education under the Trump Administration (Politico)
• Higher Education Institutions and Overtime Pay Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (DOL)
• Issue Brief on Interim Title IX Guidelines (ACE)

• Snapshot on Legal History of Race Conscious Admissions Policies (Politico)

• 2019 State Legislative Calendar (Fiscal Note)
• 17 Issues Facing State Legislatures in 2019 (Fiscal Note)
• Higher Education State Policy Issues for 2019 (AASCU)

The Council of Graduate Schools presents awards at the CGS Annual Meeting to young scholars in recognition of their work. A member institution is also recognized for innovative programmatic efforts in promoting an inclusive graduate community.

2013 Awards

Christian Kleinbub Wins 2013 Arlt Award in the Humanities
The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) has awarded the 2013 Gustave O. Arlt Award in the Humanities to Dr. Christian Kleinbub, Associate Professor of History of Art at The Ohio State University. The Arlt Award is given annually to a young scholar-teacher who has written a book deemed to have made an outstanding contribution to scholarship in the humanities.

Winners of 2013 CGS/ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Awards Announced
The Council of Graduate Schools / ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Awards, the nation’s most prestigious honor for doctoral dissertations, were presented to Austin Mason and Valorie Salimpoor at an awards ceremony during the CGS 53rd Annual Meeting.

Florida International University Receives ETS/CGS Award for Innovation in Promoting Success in Graduate Education
The fifth annual “ETS/CGS Award for Innovation in Promoting Success in Graduate Education: From Admission through Completion” was presented to Florida International University (FIU) during the 53rd Annual Meeting of the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS). The award is sponsored by CGS and Educational Testing Service (ETS).

Virginia Tech is working to inventory, coordinate, and enhance research integrity activities throughout the university. Existing resources will be linked to one another and will be viewed within a comprehensive matrix of programs for graduate students participating in collaborative research and for international graduate students studying in U.S. programs.

Proposal Plan and Activities

Virginia Tech will adopt a comprehensive approach to imbed student learning outcomes throughout current and planned programs. These efforts will include:

• The Applied Ethics Initiative (AEI) of the Institute for Society, Culture and Environment (ISCE) will serve as the university resource and integral support unit for the research integrity components of externally funded research and training grants. AEI and the Graduate School will coordinate the access, sharing, and exchange of resources and materials pertinent to research ethics and scholarly integrity. These will be captured digitally and available in multiple formats.
   
• Courses in the International Research Abroad graduate certificate will have incorporated student learning outcomes for research ethics specifically focused on global STEM collaborations and means to assess learning.
   
• The process for developing and approving new graduate degrees and certificates, called the Institutional Plan for Graduate Degrees (IPGD), will incorporate review for research ethics education including in dual degrees and international collaborations. The student learning outcomes will be identified and evaluated through existing Dual Degrees in the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics and its international partnerships with Politecnico di Milano in Italy, UniNorte in Colombia, and Jadavpur University in India.
   
• The Transformative Graduate Education (TGE) initiative in the Graduate School will systematically incorporate learning outcomes for research ethics education into courses offered by the Graduate School.
   
• The Graduate Honor system (GHS) housed within the Graduate School will include an ethics educational component for all graduate students. The materials are designed specifically to assist international students in their transition and understanding of the U.S. cultural context regarding research ethics and professional attitudes.
   
• The NSF funded IGERT grants and internally funded Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Programs (IGEPs) will incorporate and assess student learning outcomes in research ethics into their regularly scheduled sections of GRAD 5134, Interdisciplinary Graduate Education and Research (3 cr).
   
• The Graduate School’s Global Perspectives Program (GPP) will incorporate student learning outcomes in research ethics and scholarly integrity. The program will incorporate research ethics education in a global context for the Virginia Tech students as well as those participating from partner universities, especially the University of Basel in Switzerland.

Emory University is building on the foundation established through the Program for Scholarly Integrity (PSI), which integrates instruction on the responsible conduct of research, scholarship, and teaching into the training of all doctoral students.  Emory’s project expands on the PSI by developing learning outcomes specific to the context of international research collaborations. 

Proposal Plan and Activities

 

• Emory will work to enhance responsible conduct of research and scholarship training to graduate students in two distinct areas: (1) international research collaborations and (2) international graduate students conducting research at Emory.    
   
• Emory and the Laney Graduate School will utilize several existing resources in their initiative to train students in international research ethics.  These resources include:  the Program for Scholarly Integrity (PSI), the Atlanta Clinical and Translational Science Institute (ACTSI), the Center for Ethics, International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS), the Office of Technology Transfer (OTT), and the Faculty Advisory Committee (FAC).
   
• Curricular development will involve three phases:

1. Identification of Learning Outcomes:  The FAC will identify partners in the STEM disciplines, including faculty, students, and other university stakeholders.  The primary goal of the committee will be the development of learning outcomes in the areas mentioned above.  Panel discussions and roundtables will flesh out a comprehensive set of learning outcomes for Emory’s international research constituencies and provide a framework for the development of specific course content.

2. Development of Pedagogical Strategies:  The FAC will suggest topic areas to apply the learning outcomes.  They will establish focus groups across STEM programs tasked with developing constituency-specific new courses or integrating new content into existing courses that will produce the desired outcomes.

3. Student Engagement:  Student Ambassadors, an integral part of the PSI, will have additional opportunities to assist in curricular development.  Additionally, the Laney Graduate School will launch a student workshop competition.  Students will create a workshop designed to meet one of the knowledge, skill, or attitude learning outcomes identified by the Faculty Advisory Committee.  Faculty will mentor competition winners towards international dissemination of their workshop through conference presentation and scholarly publication.
 

• Assessment methods for the international components of the enhanced PSI will be developed in consultation with the Assessment Team assembled as part of the PSI.  Likely assessments may include: 

1. Values Clarification Exercises where students will be asked to assess the process of value clarification on their system of values.

2. Case Study Analysis specific to international investigations and international students working in domestic areas will assess whether or not students have mastered key content knowledge.

3. “Measure of Ethical Decision-Making,” developed by researchers at the University of Oklahoma (Mumford et al.) will be used to assess students’ skill development.

4. Pre-test/Post-test assessments will be used to measure a change in students’ attitudes.

In this project, Northern Arizona University (NAU) will build on its activities as an affiliate in the CGS Project for Scholarly Integrity to create an overarching plan for scholarly integrity. With the recent appointment of a key stakeholder group for research and scholarly integrity, NAU also builds on its commitment to become a global campus and prepare graduates for global citizenship by working to incorporate international issues into research and scholarly integrity training.

Proposal Plan and Activities

Northern Arizona’s project involves three phases:

1. Developing Learning Outcomes: Learning outcomes will be defined through two strategic planning sessions. The first will include faculty and researchers primarily from the STEM disciplines who are involved in international collaborative research or programs. The second session will include graduate international students from primarily STEM fields and U.S. graduate students with international experience. Learning outcomes will be developed for the four core areas of 1) Collaborative Research, 2) Conflicts of Interest and Intellectual Property, 3) Publication Practices and Responsible Authorship, and 4) Resources and Materials: Access, Sharing, and Exchange.
    
2. Creating Curricular Content: An internal request for proposals (RFP) will be distributed primarily in the STEM fields. RFPs will fund curriculum development hybrid training modules, those with an online component and a face-to-face workshop component, related to one or more of the core areas mentioned above. Emphasis will be placed on providing information on the four cores areas and cases studies for new researchers working in collaborative and/or international contexts. The training modules will also address cultural differences and sensitivity training.
    
3. Assessment: The Office of Academic Assessment will assist faculty as they develop assessment plans for student learning objectives for each modules. Program modules will be revised accordingly based on assessment findings. A model of learning outcomes will be published on as part of an online repository available for the project.

Additional planned activities:

• NAU will create a web resource page related to international research integrity. The site will include the relevant learning outcomes and serve as a measure to communicate the importance of international scholarly integrity to the local campus and general public.

• PI’s will create a Blackboard Learn class for the Research and Scholarly Integrity project. All students, faculty, and other researchers will be allowed to enroll in the class with verification of their status at the university. International researchers and collaborators will also be able to access the class as guests.

• During the second year of the project, a workshop will be held to provide training to faculty mentors who have direct contact with U.S. and international students across campus and advise and mentor students in the areas of research integrity. Research design instructors will be invited to attend and encouraged to infuse their existing curriculum with content related to the modules developed on international research and scholarly integrity topics. This training will be offered yearly through the Graduate College and the Office of Research.

The University of Oklahoma requires all graduate students receiving a university stipend to attend a two day, in-class ethics education program. The program, presented by senior, trained doctoral students, teaches students to rely on ethical research guidelines, identify situational constraints in ethical decision-making, reflect on personal biases, and apply various ethical decision-making strategies.

Proposal Plan and Activities

Through this project, the University of Oklahoma will build on its current assessments of ethics education for graduate students by conducting a study of international students compared to students from North America. The project will identify whether differential effects on ethical decision-making are observed, whether international students employ different strategies in ethical decision-making, and whether international students benefit from particular types of instructional exercises.

The cross-cultural analysis will specifically seek to identify potential international differences in six areas:

1. Ethical decision-making prior to instruction.
2. Data management, study conduct, professional practices, or business practices prior to instruction.
3. Sensemaking strategies employed in ethical decision-making and errors made in ethical decision-making prior to instruction.
4. Improvements in ethical decision-making, dimensions of ethical decision-making, or ethical decision-making errors as a result of training.
5. Values or depth of ethical analysis following training.
6. Reactions to the various exercises used in the instructional program.

The findings obtained will be used to develop an additional two-hour instructional block in the existing ethics program to examine cross-cultural differences in ethical decision-making. A new set of survey evaluation questions will be developed to measure the effectiveness of this additional block of instruction.

The study will allow the University of Oklahoma to assess the differential effectiveness of a valid ethics education program for international students while providing evidence bearing on the effectiveness of various instructional interventions for different cultural groups. Publication of the results is anticipated in leading scholarly journals.

Advanced degrees are becoming a necessary entry-level requirement for many of the fastest growing occupations of the 21^st century. America’s capacity to develop the talent required to meet national needs and to compete in the global economy depends on individuals having access to quality postsecondary education, both undergraduate and graduate. The reauthorization of the Higher Education Act provides the opportunity to include policy changes that address these challenges so that America has the educated and skilled workforce necessary to advance the U.S. economy. These changes may however, require different approaches for undergraduate and graduate students.

CGS recommends the following principles for HEA reauthorization:

Establish procedures that support master’s and doctoral students in making informed financial aid decisions to reduce their borrowing and debt.

• Provide loan counseling for students at points of transition in the education continuum.
• Clarify the difference between the amount students are eligible to borrow versus the amount they need to borrow, and require the student to affirmatively make the choice.
• Include information regarding the sources of funding that comprise the student’s award package and the tax liability associated with each source of funding.
• Notify periodically, master’s and doctoral students of their loan repayment options and the amount of interest accrued on their loans.
• Consolidate, reduce and simplify the number of loan repayment strategies available to students, including income-driven repayment options that are income- not degree-based, with the goal of reducing defaults and the amounts of debt forgiven.
• Eliminate duplicative costs of borrowing for a given academic year.

Modify Annual and Aggregate Loan limits

• Provide sufficient federal financing options to graduate students so that they do not seek private education loans.
• Set separate undergraduate and graduate aggregate loan limits for federal loans.
• Provide authority to periodically review and adjust the annual and aggregate student loan limits.

Create incentives for innovative programs and programs that increase degree completion and respond to the demands of the workforce in areas of national need.

• Provide Pell Grants to income-eligible graduate students who did not exhaust their full Pell eligibility as undergraduates, up to the total number of semesters allowed in law.
• Encourage the design and implementation of graduate programs that combine rigorous disciplinary content with workforce expectations.
• Revise the “areas of national need” under Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) to include consideration of the arts, humanities and social sciences.
• Continue the eligibility of graduate students to participate in College Work Study.

• Retain Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) as an incentive to pursue careers in jobs that serve the public good.

India surges 40% while growth from China slows to 5%

Contact:
Julia Kent
jkent@cgs.nche.edu
(202) 223-3791

The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) today reported a 10% increase in the first-time enrollment of international graduate students from 2012 to 2013, a growth that adds to 8% increases in this figure in each of the last two years. Total enrollment of international graduate students among responding institutions reached 220,000 in 2013. The findings were part of the 2013 CGS International Graduate Admissions Survey, Phase III: Final Offers of Admission and Enrollment.

Earlier phases of this year’s survey pointed to a slow-down in the growth of applications submitted by international students, which rose only 2% in 2013 and was the lowest increase in eight years.

Considering the slowed momentum in international applications, CGS President Debra W. Stewart noted that the strong growth in offers of admission and in enrollment reported by the Phase III study are encouraging signs to U.S. graduate schools. “There is no doubt that international students are eager to take advantage of the extraordinary quality of U.S. graduate institutions. The continued growth in first-time enrollment is a sign that decreasing applications have not yet damaged the strong pipeline of international graduate students.”

The survey results corroborate findings from another recent CGS report, Graduate Enrollment & Degrees: 2002-2012, which reported an 8% increase in first-time graduate enrollments among international students from fall 2011 to fall 2012 and a widening gap between U.S. and international enrollments in a number of key fields. International students now account for 15 percent of the nation’s total graduate enrollment.

Trends by country/region of origin

Substantial variations in growth were found among the sending countries and regions analyzed in the study:

• The overall trend in first-time enrollment of international graduate students for 2013 was driven in large part by students from India. The number of first-time enrollees from India increased 40% this year, substantially more than the 1% increase in 2012 and 2% increase in 2011.
• First-time enrollment among students from China increased 5% in 2013, a substantially smaller increase than the 22% surge in 2012 and 21% increase in 2011. This new finding marks the end of seven consecutive years of double-digit growth in first-time graduate enrollment of students from China. However, China continues to be the largest source of international graduate students, representing 34% of all international graduate students in the United States, according to survey respondents.
• First-time enrollment of students from Brazil increased 17% in 2013, following a 14% increase in 2012.
• By region, the first-time enrollment among students from the Middle East grew at 10%, a smaller increase than the 18% increase in 2012.
• First-time enrollment of South Korean students dipped 12% between 2012 and 2013. South Korea continues to be a leading source of international graduate students in the U.S., behind only China and India.  
• According to survey respondents, students from Europe constitute 7% of all first-time enrollments among international students in 2013, while students from Africa constitute 3%, and students from the Middle East constitute 6%.

Commenting on the trends in sending countries, Dr. Stewart said that it will be particularly important to monitor the enrollment patterns of students from the countries that send the largest number of international students to U.S. graduate schools—China, India, and South Korea. “While the substantial increase in first-time enrollments of Indian students is positive, the fluctuation in India enrollment in recent years makes it difficult to confirm a definite trend. Taken with slowed growth in first-time enrollments from China, and the persistent declines in first-time enrollments of South Korean students, I don’t think we can count on any single country to sustain the strong participation of international students that U.S. graduate schools have enjoyed in the past.”

Trends by broad field of study

International graduate students continue to enroll in fields that have been traditionally popular among this population. The two most popular fields among international students are physical and earth sciences, which includes mathematics and computer sciences, and engineering: together they comprised 47 percent of all international graduate student enrollment in 2013, according to survey respondents. Changes in first-time enrollment by field are shown in the table below.

*includes Mathematics and Computer Sciences

Trends by location of study and institution type

International first-time graduate enrollment increased at public institutions (11%) as well as private, not-for-profit institutions (8%) in 2013. All four major regions of the United States saw growth in first-time graduate enrollment in 2013, with increases of 17% in the West, 12% in the Midwest, 9% in the Northeast, and 7% in the South.

Institutions awarding larger numbers of graduate degrees to international students were less likely to experience increases in international first-time graduate enrollment in 2013 than institutions awarding smaller numbers of graduate degrees to international students. This is a reversal from 2012, in which first-time enrollment among international graduate students was larger at institutions awarding larger numbers of graduate degrees to international students than institutions awarding smaller numbers of graduate degrees to international students. First-time enrollment increased an average of 9% at the responding institutions among the 100 largest in terms of graduate degrees awarded to international students, compared with a 14% average increase at the institutions outside the largest 100.

About the report

Findings from the 2013 CGS International Graduate Admissions Survey, Phase III: Final Offers of Admission and Enrollment is based on the third phase of a three-part annual survey of international graduate student applications, admissions, and enrollment among U.S. member institutions. The survey had a response rate of 56%, including 76 of the 100 institutions that award the largest number of graduate degrees to international students. The report is posted at http://www.cgsnet.org/benchmarking/international-graduate-admissions-survey. Overall, the 285 institutions responding to the Phase III survey conferred 66% of the approximately 103,000 graduate degrees awarded to international students in the United States in 2010/11.