While I’ve witnessed myriad innovations in the financial services industry throughout my career, there is one area where banking has been slower to evolve: investing in women. Up until the last few decades, the financial world imposed nearly impenetrable barriers that prevented women from reaching the highest levels of an organization. This was the case both in terms of hiring women and offering products. But these days, equality has become a widely touted priority for businesses and positive gains have been occurring within the industry and the regulatory community. In 2014, Janet Yellen became the first woman to chair the Federal Reserve, for instance. While not banking specific, the number of women on the boards of Fortune 500 companies has grown to 20%, up from 15.7% in 2010.

Graduate programs in the humanities have faced withering criticism for churning out a surplus of doctorates despite a tight academic job market. Data released on Thursday by the Council of Graduate Schools suggest that the criticism could be starting to sink in. While overall applications to doctoral programs were up nearly 1 percent from 2015 to 2016, applications to arts and humanities programs declined by 7.1 percent.

There are two very different pictures of the students roaming the hallways and labs at New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering. At the undergraduate level, 80 percent are United States residents. At the graduate level, the number is reversed: About 80 percent hail from India, China, Korea, Turkey and other foreign countries. For graduate students far from home, the swirl of cultures is both reassuring and invigorating. “You’re comfortable everyone is going through the same struggles and journeys as you are,” said Vibhati Joshi of Mumbai, India, who’s in her final semester for a master’s degree in financial engineering. “It’s pretty exciting.”

The idea that a Ph.D. can prepare you for diverse careers — not just for the professoriate — is now firmly with us. Most doctoral students in the arts and sciences start out with the desire to become professors. But that’s not where most of them end up. By now, most graduate advisers understand that their doctoral students will follow multiple career paths. And increasing numbers of professors and administrators are trying to help students do that. The number of Ph.D.s who pursue nonfaculty careers varies by field, of course. But the reality in many disciplines is: If you’re teaching a graduate seminar with eight students in it, only two of them, on average, will become full-time faculty members. What happens to the rest? And as important, how do they feel about where they end up?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: Katherine Hazelrigg (202) 461.3888/ khazelrigg@cgs.nche.edu

New Council of Graduate Schools publication highlights effective strategies and best practices

Washington, DC – The next generation of faculty will be better prepared to help their students learn, thanks to a new Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) report released today. Strategies to Prepare Future Faculty to Assess Student Learning is the product of a three-year project to identify models for infusing undergraduate learning assessment skills into existing Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) programs. With support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Teagle Foundation, and in collaboration with seven funded institutions and 19 affiliates, the project involved nearly 1,300 graduate students and 200 faculty across the humanities, social sciences, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).

Knowing how to assess whether students are learning – and what they’re learning – is key to advancing the quality of U.S. higher education. Yet learning assessment is typically a topic to which faculty have little or no exposure until they actually begin their faculty careers. By that time, they are busy trying to publish, obtain research funding, and keep up with their teaching responsibilities. Evaluation of student learning outcomes may take a backseat to these other important activities, unless faculty are already prepared and possess the skills to execute high-quality learning assessments.

CGS President Suzanne Ortega commented that “Our long-term goal is to help universities fully integrate learning assessment skills into the majority of professional development programs for graduate students interested in faculty careers. Ultimately, we hope to build a cadre of new faculty who will become champions for undergraduate teaching and learning.”

The report outlines a core set of assessment skills and competencies, and common tactics for integrating these skills into existing professional development programs. Innovative strategies such as “flipping” the classroom (having students watch lectures at home and participate in active learning discussions in class), using audience response systems (or “clickers”) to engage students, and conducting “teaching-as-research” projects are just a few examples of the practices in use at universities.

CGS partnered with seven institutions: Cornell University; Harvard University; Indiana University; Michigan State University; North Carolina A&T State University; University of California, Merced; and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, as well as 19 affiliate partners. The project built upon more than two decades of CGS partnerships for preparing future faculty.

An Executive Summary is freely available for download. The full report can be purchased online.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: Katherine Hazelrigg (202) 461.3888/ khazelrigg@cgs.nche.edu

Data Indicate Increasing Number of Graduate Certificates Awarded
 

Washington, DC — Today the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) reported continued growth in total graduate enrollment, first-time enrollments, number of applications, and degrees conferred at U.S. universities in its report, CGS/GRE Graduate Enrollment & Degrees: 2006-2016. The majority of growth in Fall 2016 continues to be in programs leading to master’s degrees, which comprise 82.5% of degrees awarded in 2015-16. In addition, the number of graduate certificates awarded by institutions participating in the survey increased by 11.8% between 2014-15 and 2015-16, suggesting that a growing number of students see the value in these micro-credentials.

“The consistent growth in applications, first-time enrollment, and degrees conferred in programs leading to master’s degrees indicates that graduate education is meeting the increasing workforce demand for advanced degree holders. The unemployment rates are lower for advanced degree holders. More and more jobs are requiring a higher skill level, and graduate education is adapting to meet those needs, as evidenced by the increase in graduate certificates,” said CGS President Suzanne Ortega.

For the second year in a row, all underrepresented minority (URM) groups monitored by the survey saw greater increases in first-time graduate enrollment than their White, non-Hispanic counterparts, even though their overall representation in the graduate student body remains relatively low. Among first-time U.S. citizens and permanent resident graduate students in the Fall of 2016, approximately 23.4% were underrepresented minorities, including American Indian/Alaska Native (0.5%), Black/African American (11.8%), Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander (0.2%), and Hispanic/Latino (10.9%).  The one-year rate of change in first-time graduate enrollment for most URM groups was greater than its respective five-year and ten-year average percentage change.

“I’m cautiously optimistic at the continued increase in overall first-time enrollments for underrepresented minorities,” said Ortega. “However, URMs remain proportionally underrepresented. We still have a lot of work to do to ensure this is a sustained trend across graduate programs and leads to a more diverse workforce.”

This year’s survey results show first-time graduate enrollment of international students decreased 0.9% between Fall 2015 and Fall 2016. It is the first decrease since 2003, though the five-year average annual increase (7.8%) and ten-year average annual increase (7.4%) rates remain high. In contrast, first-time graduate enrollment for U.S. citizens and permanent residents increased 3.2%. Conversely, the total graduate enrollment increased by 2.4% for international students and decreased by 0.1% for U.S. citizens and permanent residents over the same Fall 2015-2016 period.

For the fifth consecutive year, institutions responding to the CGS/GRE Survey of Graduate Enrollment & Degrees for Fall 2016 reported increases in first-time graduate enrollment (522,131). More than one half of those first-time graduate students were women (58.1%). New highs for the application and admission cycle were also achieved, with institutions receiving more than 2.2 million applications and extending over 903,000 offers of admission in Fall 2016 for graduate students in graduate certificate, education specialist, master’s, or doctoral programs.

Other report findings are summarized below. 

Findings by Broad Field

• By broad field of study, the largest number of total applications for Fall 2016 were in engineering (322,120), business (277,060), and health sciences (276,886). Business (83,391), education (80,274), and health sciences (64,519) were the three largest broad fields of first-time graduate enrollment in Fall 2016.
• By broad field of study, the largest one-year increases in graduate applications occurred in the fields of mathematics and computer sciences (5.5%), physical and earth sciences (5.0%), business (3.2%), and biological and agricultural sciences (3.1%).
• Consistent with recent trends, graduate applications in arts and humanities decreased 6.2% between Fall 2015 and Fall 2016.
• First-time graduate enrollment in education increased both at the master’s level (2.3%) and the doctoral level (3.0%) between Fall 2015 and Fall 2016.
• In Health Sciences, there has been a robust increase in awards of both master’s degrees (13.7%) and doctoral degrees (9.5%) between 2014-15 and 2015-16.

Findings by Degree Level

• The large majority of all first-time graduate students in Fall 2016 were enrolled in programs leading to a master’s degree or a graduate certificate (83.4%).
• The number of graduate certificates awarded by institutions participating in the survey increased by 11.8% between 2014-15 and 2015-16.
• At the doctoral level, health sciences (12.1%) had the largest one-year increase in the number of applications of all broad fields of study. At the master’s/other level, mathematics and computer sciences (8.4%) reported the highest one-year percentage increase.

Findings by Student Demographics

• Among first-time U.S. citizens and permanent resident graduate students in the Fall of 2016, about 23.4% were underrepresented minorities.
• Particularly notable among underrepresented minorities was that for two consecutive years, first-time graduate enrollment of American Indian and Alaska Native increased (5.4% between 2014-15 and 2015-16, and 3.4% between 2013-14 and 2014-15).
• In Fall 2016, the majority of first-time graduate students at all degree levels were women – 58.9% at the master’s degree and certificate level and 52.8% at the doctoral level.
• International students comprised the largest share of first-time graduate students in mathematics and computer sciences (60.7%), followed closely by engineering (55.7%).

About the report

Graduate Enrollment and Degrees: 2006 to 2016 presents the findings of an annual survey of U.S. graduate schools, co-sponsored by CGS and the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Board. It is the only annual national survey that collects data on graduate enrollment by all fields of study and is the only source of national data on graduate applications by broad field of study. The report, which includes responses from 625 institutions, presents statistics on graduate applications and enrollment for Fall 2016, degrees conferred in 2015-16, and trend data for one-, five- and ten-year periods.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: Katherine Hazelrigg (202) 461.3888/ khazelrigg@cgs.nche.edu

Council of Graduate Schools Releases Learning Outcomes, Assessment Tools, and Best Practices for Deans

Washington, DC – The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) released new recommendations for educating graduate students on the ethical conduct of research in international collaborations. The report, Research Ethics Education in Graduate International Collaborations, represents the culmination of three years of collaborative research, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF #1135345). In addition to recommendations for deans, the report includes a set of learning outcomes for doctoral students, case studies based on successful programs, and an online repository of assessment tools.

“In recent years we’ve seen more and more graduate students participating in international collaborative research. These exchanges are vital to the advancement of science and creation of new knowledge,” said Suzanne Ortega, CGS President. “At the same time, however, we recognize that ethical norms and regulations vary a great deal across cultures. Graduate deans must prepare their students to navigate these challenges and conduct responsible research, and this report will help them achieve that goal.”

In order to collaborate successfully, students need to learn about research protocols, professional expectations, and scholarly standards in other cultures, and develop the reasoning skills they will need to respond to ethical conflicts as they arise. Most research training programs, however, typically do not cover international issues. CGS sought to address this need by developing valid and replicable models for integrating international issues into research ethics education programs.

The report included two surveys of graduate deans and students at four universities. The student survey was conducted in 2013 and 2015, and gathered information on graduate student awareness of research ethics and participation in training. Findings showed that student awareness and participation increased from 2013 to 2015, for both STEM and non-STEM students.

Surveys of deans revealed a number of common strategies for conducting research ethics education activities and assessing student learning. The learning outcomes, which are available online on the CGS website, span a variety of knowledge and skill areas as well as professional attitudes that students should foster in order to be successful.

To produce the report, CGS partnered with four institutions: Emory University, Northern Arizona University, the University of Oklahoma, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, as well as six affiliate partners. The project built upon prior CGS work with the Project for Scholarly Integrity, which developed multi-disciplinary graduate education programs in the responsible conduct of research, and a 2008 Global Summit of university leaders focused on research ethics.

The report is available free of charge on the CGS website.

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Multiyear CGS-TIAA Research Initiative on 15 College Campuses Finds High Quality Financial Education Programs Effective

Press contacts:

Julia Kent
202-461-3874 / jkent@cgs.nche.edu

Leslie Sepuka
888-200-4062 / media@tiaa.org

WASHINGTON, DC (November 15, 2016) –  Research conducted by the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) in conjunction with TIAA, a leading financial services provider, found that 60 percent of master’s students and 55 percent of doctoral students report feeling stressed about their finances. While most students were able to make ends meet, 38 percent of master’s students and 36 percent of doctoral students worry about meeting their monthly expenses.

The majority of students surveyed reported having no exposure to financial education, and fewer than one-third are aware of any financial education programs available at their institution. However, graduate students are at an optimal stage of life to receive financial education, as high-quality financial education can impact degree completion rates, address concerns about educational loan debt, and help increase diversity in academia.

Despite concerns about making ends meet, when offered the choice, surveyed students indicated they are most eager to learn about more complex and longer term financial topics such as investing, selecting employee benefits, and retirement planning.  This finding indicates that university financial education programs may be most successful when they are tailored to the needs and interests of the graduate student population.

The findings are from research conducted with 13,000 graduate students as part of a three-year collaboration among CGS, TIAA and more than 30 leading universities. Fifteen universities received grants to ensure a successful project launch, including research to inform campus program development to directly engage students. An additional 19 universities participated as affiliates in the program on a self-funded basis. The program showed that with relatively modest investments, universities can leverage their expertise in teaching and training, tap into existing campus resources, and address their students’ unique needs and preferences for learning— something they already do every day as educational institutions.

Key lessons and data from this groundbreaking program are available in a new report: “Financial Education: Developing High Impact Programs for Graduate and Undergraduate Students,” available on the CGS website.

“Graduate education has long been one of the drivers of our nation’s economic strength and vitality. At a time when global competition is only increasing, it’s vital that the U.S. remain committed to maintaining its leadership in graduate education,” said Roger W. Ferguson Jr., president and CEO of TIAA.  “Central to this is ensuring students have the tools and resources they need – like those which came from this program – to pursue advanced degrees without sacrificing their long-term financial security.”

“Financial education helps current and prospective graduate students make more informed decisions about their educational and career plans—from choosing degree programs, to deciding how much money to borrow, to evaluating job offers,” said Suzanne Ortega, president of CGS. “The innovations developed by our partner institutions showed that these programs are effective and needed.” 

Each program developed during the Enhancing Student Financial Education initiative used different tactics, tools and resources that would resonate with their student bodies. Some schools opted for traditional approaches to financial literacy, including offering seminars on managing mounting debt and saving for goals such as a car purchase during spring and fall orientations.

Other schools chose to use more non-traditional methods. Loyola University Chicago and Cornell University, for example, hosted versions of Discovery Channel’s game show “Cash Cab” where contestants fielded questions on issues like FAFSA and student loans. Winthrop University held a “tweet Night” in residence halls where students were able to live tweet with accounting, finance and economics professors. And the University of Kentucky hosted a public screening of the 2014 film Ivory Tower, which was followed by a panel discussion featuring experts in higher education and public policy.

The report identifies the most promising practices employed by each of the 15 participating schools to design results-driven financial education programs. Today, these practices and accompanying resources are available at http://studentfinancialsuccess.org/.

“This project has helped graduate schools and other university leaders better inform current and prospective graduate students about the value of advanced degrees as well as the financial options and implications of graduate study on debt and future earnings,” said Ron Pressman, Chief Executive Officer at TIAA. “Partnerships similar to the ones encouraged by this initiative can help ensure a future pipeline of students who are financially, as well as academically, prepared to consider graduate study.”

Through this project, CGS developed GradSense [gradsense.org], an interactive website designed to raise awareness among prospective and current graduate students about issues related to financing an advanced degree.

Research partners participating in Enhancing Student Financial Education ranged in graduate enrollment size and included a diverse mix of institutions:  Arkansas State University, Cornell University, Eastern Illinois University, Florida A&M University, Iowa State University, Kansas State University, Loyola University, Mississippi University, Ohio State University, University of Colorado System, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Kentucky, University of Maryland Baltimore County, University of South Florida, and Winthrop University.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

CONTACT: Julia Kent 

202.461.3874 / jkent@cgs.nche.edu

“We believe that the Trump administration’s decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which protects nearly 800,000 young, undocumented people brought to the U.S. as children, will hurt the American economy and our institutions of higher education. The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS), an organization of approximately 500 universities, recognizes and affirms the importance of constitutional order and the need to follow the rule of law. However, we also believe that the DACA program has allowed a group of exceptional young people, brought to this country by their parents, the opportunity to contribute to and positively impact our society and economy by serving in the U.S. military, attending college, entering the workforce and paying taxes. The strength of our nation’s graduate programs depends upon students from diverse backgrounds. To disrupt the lives of these young people is unconscionable and inconsistent with the moral values and basic principles upon which our country was founded.

Dreamers contribute significantly to our economy; according to a recent study by the CATO Institute, deporting those currently in DACA would cost over $60 billion in lost tax revenue and result in a $280 billion reduction in economic growth over the next decade. These bright and talented young people did not choose to come to this country, but America is the only home they know. We hope the U.S. Congress will work to find a permanent solution that allows these young people to stay. It is in our country’s best interest to do so.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: Katherine Hazelrigg | (202) 461-3888/khazelrigg@cgs.nche.edu

Project will Help PhD Programs Strengthen their Professional Development and Mentoring Efforts

Washington, DC – Twenty-nine universities have been selected to participate in a collective effort to gather and use data about the careers of PhD students and alumni, the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) announced today. Grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF grant #1661272) and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will support data collection about PhD careers in STEM and humanities fields.

The universities and consortia that have been selected to receive awards to participate as funded project partners are:

These universities collectively awarded over 8,000 PhD degrees in 2013-14 alone. CGS is expanding the scope of data collection by inviting other CGS doctoral institutions to participate as affiliate partners.

Over the course of the multi-year project, universities will collect data from current PhD students and alumni with surveys that were developed by CGS in consultation with senior university leaders, funding agencies, disciplinary societies, researchers, and PhD students and alumni. The resulting data will allow universities to analyze PhD career preferences and outcomes at the program level and help faculty and university leaders strengthen career services, professional development opportunities, and mentoring in doctoral programs.

Universities will also be able to use the data to communicate the career trajectories of PhD alumni to current and prospective students, helping them to make more informed selections of PhD programs.

“Today, universities recognize that PhD students aspire to a wide variety of careers, including academic research and teaching,” said CGS President Suzanne Ortega. “Knowing what your alumni do— and how well they are prepared—is becoming the new paradigm, and our university partners are leading the way for the entire community of doctoral institutions.”

CGS will study the processes of survey administration and identify promising practices for implementation that will be shared with graduate schools nationally. Universities from across the country will be able to compare their data on PhD career preferences and outcomes with the national dataset analyzed by CGS.

Rush Holt, CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), noted that the project will expand the country’s understanding of the U.S. STEM workforce. “We already know that PhD-trained scientists contribute to the STEM workforce in every sector. One of the important things this project promises to give us is a better picture of the skills needed to be successful in the wide variety of careers available to today’s and tomorrow’s graduate students.”

The initiative will also provide a deeper understanding of PhD careers in the humanities. “The initiative meshes well with comparable work on expanding career horizons and opportunities for humanities PhDs,” noted Jim Grossman, executive director of the American Historical Association and a member of the committee that advised CGS on survey development. “This work will give us critically-needed information about diverse career pathways among humanists, many of whom pursue careers beyond the professoriate. Its results will empower doctoral students and alumni working to understand and expand the career options available to them.”

The first wave of the survey will be sent to PhD alumni in Fall of 2017, and CGS will begin publishing the first wave of survey findings the following Fall.

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