FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

CONTACT: Julia Kent 

202.461.3874 / jkent@cgs.nche.edu

"At a time when our fastest growing occupations and knowledge-based economy requires more, not fewer, individuals with advanced degrees, the President’s budget overlooks the importance of education as a critical component of America’s competitiveness in a global market. Master’s and doctoral education is the backbone of America’s national security and economic strength: graduate degree holders develop the knowledge and innovations that make America a leader in healthcare, technology, and defense. The President’s budget continues the trend of the past several years by proposing policies that make graduate education less affordable. The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) supports efforts to strengthen and grow America’s economic future, but not at the expense of our master’s and doctoral students. CGS calls upon Congress’ to put forward a budget that makes a strong commitment to education, and does not create barriers for students who seek master’s and doctoral degrees."

"Further, CGS is concerned that the cuts to the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation will lead to a serious decline in scientific, technological, and medical breakthroughs. These breakthroughs have strengthened our national defense, economic prosperity, personal wellbeing, and health. They are applied commercially, create jobs, and help businesses grow. Disinvesting in our nation’s science and research enterprise today jeopardizes our ability to attract domestic and international talent to meet the increasing demand for a STEM-educated workforce."

In a previous statement CGS expressed its objections to the proposed elimination of the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

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

Project will Join Humanities Initiative, Expanding Project to All Broad Fields of Study

Washington, DC — The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) has been awarded a major grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF #1661272) to help universities collect data on the career pathways of PhDs in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Through a competitive sub-award process, CGS will select doctoral institutions to implement surveys of STEM PhD students and alumni, gathering information about their professional aspirations, career pathways, and career preparation. The project complements a parallel endeavor to collect and analyze data on humanities PhDs through a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

The project builds upon two earlier phases of CGS research: a feasibility study supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and a survey development phase supported by the Mellon, Sloan, and National Science Foundations (NSF #1534620). In the most recent phase, CGS developed two surveys—one for current PhD students and one for PhD alumni— by gathering input from senior university leaders, research funders, disciplinary societies, researchers, PhD students, and alumni.

The two surveys address important workforce questions not currently answered by existing national data-collection efforts. For example, the surveys will help faculty and university leaders understand whether participation in professional development activities is associated with certain career preferences and career pathways. Because universities will be collecting their own data, the project will ultimately allow them to conduct program-level analyses of data with the intention of improving programs.

CGS President Suzanne Ortega believes the project will assist universities in assessing their students’ career outcomes and enhancing graduate training for the next generation STEM workforce. “As we work to improve the career preparation of our students, we need to understand how the professional development experiences of PhDs align with the demands of the 21^st century workforce. This project promises to provide universities with this critical information.”

CGS has issued a Request-For-Proposals (RFP) to CGS member institutions to participate in the project as funded partners. The RFP is accompanied by the survey instruments and an Implementation Guide that offers guidance on incorporating the survey administration into existing university processes. To support broad institutional adoption of the instruments, universities that are eligible to apply for both humanities and STEM funding are encouraged to submit a combined proposal.

The initiative complements other CGS endeavors to support career diversity for PhDs, such as a recently-completed project to understand the professional development needs of graduate students in STEM fields. Through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), CGS has also established the Next Generation Humanities PhD Consortium, a collaborative learning community for the 28 NEH Next Generation PhD grant awardees. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

CONTACT: Julia Kent 

202.461.3874 / jkent@cgs.nche.edu

Following is a statement by Council of Graduate Schools President Suzanne Ortega.

"In response to the March 6^th Executive Order on Immigration, the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) continues to affirm that our nation’s security is paramount and a strong visa process contributes to our safety. However, as an organization of approximately 500 universities, we also believe that the modified ban is still likely to have unintended consequences on U.S. graduate students and their institutions.  Although this revision reduces the scope of the January 27^th order, international graduate students and scholars, regardless of country of origin, may continue to view the uncertainty regarding visa policies as a deterrent to pursuing graduate studies in the United States."

"The strength of our nation’s graduate education depends upon both domestic and international talent. International faculty and students are vitally important to U.S. graduate education and research. They are essential contributors to our economy and research enterprise. International students (both graduate and undergraduate) contributed nearly $36 billion to the U.S. economy in 2014-15 (IIE, 2016). Domestic students benefit from the experience of training alongside international students, gaining the cultural competence needed to be competitive in a global economy. American graduate education represents the gold standard of higher education around the world, and we are committed to seeing it remain open to the best and brightest domestic and international talent."

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Julia Kent  (202) 461-3874 / jkent@cgs.nche.edu

Employers, Graduate Schools Aim to Narrow Gap between Workforce Needs and Graduate Training

Washington, DC — Graduate schools and programs play a key role in preparing students for the knowledge workforce, but more work needs to be done, according to a new report by the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS). Currently, the preparation of US graduate students is too narrowly focused on academic research skills, at the expense of professional skills such as communication, teamwork, mentoring, and leadership.

Most STEM PhDs and master’s degree recipients work in careers outside the academy. To improve graduate student preparation for multiple career pathways, CGS conducted a two-year project to map the landscape of STEM professional development programs with support from the National Science Foundation (#1413827). Project activities included a survey of over 900 university deans, STEM faculty, and professional development staff at 226 institutions; interviews with employers from across the STEM workforce; and a workshop of industry leaders, federal science agencies, entrepreneurs, graduate deans, researchers, and recent PhDs and postdocs.

“The good news coming out of this project is that graduate institutions are devoting considerable time and resources to broadening the professional preparation of students in STEM graduate programs,” said CGS President Suzanne Ortega. “But to ensure that students succeed, we will need to make it easier for them to access high-quality resources. Our ultimate goals should be supporting student success in a range of career paths, and promoting the health and competitiveness of the STEM workforce.”

Sharing a perspective held by many employers, Brian Fitzgerald, CEO of the Business-Higher Education Forum, said that innovation increasingly relies on a workforce that possesses cross-cutting skills, preferably those in technology. “Many employers seek to collaborate with universities to address the STEM skill demand. Businesses benefit from these partnerships because they get critically needed talent, and universities benefit because their students graduate with job-ready skills.”

Key Project Findings

1. Employers outside the academy seek broad “transferable skills” as well as specific scientific skills in graduates with advanced STEM degrees. Skills most frequently mentioned by employers as lacking include data science and big data skills; science policy; governance, risk, and compliance; and time-, project-, and budget management. Currently only about one in 10 programs addresses these needs.


2. Approximately six out of 10 universities reported offering structured professional development programs to help STEM graduate students develop skills beyond academic research. While programs vary in content, the most common emphasis is on preparation for academic careers and on transferable skills such as written and oral communication and interdisciplinary and intercultural teamwork.


3. Low student participation in professional development programs is a common challenge for most universities. Two factors that can prevent students from obtaining valuable skills needed for career success after graduation are student concern that faculty do not value broad professional development and careers outside academia, and federal funding structures that do not give incentives for broad professional preparation for STEM graduate students.


4. Graduate schools play a key leadership role in shaping, supporting, promoting, and sustaining professional development for graduate students who will pursue a broad array of advanced STEM and non-STEM careers. Most graduate schools do so in collaboration with staff and/or STEM faculty, combining centralized and program- or department-based activities.

Report Recommendations

The report includes recommendations for improving professional development of STEM graduate students in research degree programs. These include:

1. Improving coordination among graduate schools, graduate programs, employers, alumni, and federal funding agencies to ensure graduate student financial support and graduate education are more strategically aligned.


2. Increasing efforts to ensure professional development experiences provided to advanced STEM graduate students are relevant to employers.


3. Gathering and sharing more evidence about the effectiveness of different models for delivering relevant professional development programs to graduate students.


4. Improving assessments of professional development programs, addressing efficacy as well as student satisfaction. Best practices are also needed in the use of these data to inform graduate degree programs and professional development programs.

Survey findings were used to develop a searchable online database of university professional development programs for graduate students, which universities can use as models for developing new programs or improving existing ones.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Julia Kent | (202) 461-3874 / jkent@cgs.nche.edu

Declining Applications from Key Countries Contribute to Slowed Growth in Prospective Student Interest

Washington, DC —New data from the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) reveal that first-time international graduate enrollment increased by 5% in Fall 2016, the same rate of growth seen last year. Yet U.S. institutions saw a lag in growth in the total number of international graduate applications, from 3% in 2015 to 1% in 2016.

The slow-down in application growth occurred despite a 4% increase in the number of applications from prospective Chinese graduate students, who constitute the largest subgroup of international students both in terms of applications and enrollments. The overall decrease in application growth was due to the combined effect of decreases in applications from important sending countries and regions: India (-1%), the Middle East and North Africa (-5%), South Korea (-5%), and Brazil (-11%).

While application counts of prospective European graduate students to U.S. institutions remained consistent with last year, first-time enrollment of European graduate students at U.S. institutions rose by 8%, ending the recent streak of declining enrollment growth rates from this region.

“The continued increase in enrollments is good news for U.S. universities,” said CGS President Suzanne Ortega, “but we can’t take that position for granted. Universities in the U.S. and around the world are waiting to see the potential impact of the uncertain policy environment on the mobility patterns of international graduate students.” Dr. Ortega added that the recent executive order that bars entry or return of U.S. visa holders from specific countries poses a concern. “We must ensure that the U.S. remains an attractive and viable place for the world’s most talented students to pursue education and research.”

The report also includes data on trends by field of study. In terms of total applications and first-time enrollments, Business (17% and 20% respectively), Engineering (30% and 26% respectively), and Mathematics and Computer Sciences (21% and 20% respectively) continue to be the most popular fields of study. Sixty-eight percent of total international graduate applications and 78% of first-time graduate enrollments were to master’s and certificate programs, suggesting that U.S. master’s programs continue to be viewed as good investments by international students.

As the only report of its kind to offer data on the current academic year, International Graduate Applications and Enrollment: Fall 2016 reports applications, admissions, and enrollments of international master’s, certificate, and doctoral students at U.S. colleges and universities. Additional report findings can be found in the attached page of highlights.

About the survey and report

Conducted since 2004, the CGS International Graduate Admissions Survey tracks the applications and enrollments of international students seeking U.S. master’s and doctoral degrees. In Fall 2016 the survey was redesigned to collect data by degree objective (master’s and graduate certificate vs. doctorate), and for all seven regions of origin, eight countries of origin, and all eleven broad fields of study, yielding the only degree-level data currently available for graduate admissions and enrollments. 395 U.S. graduate institutions who are members of CGS or its regional affiliates responded to the 2016 survey.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

CONTACT: Julia Kent 

202.461.3874 / jkent@cgs.nche.edu

Following is a statement by Council of Graduate Schools President Suzanne Ortega.

"Our nation’s security is paramount and a strong visa process contributes to our safety. However, as an organization of approximately 500 universities, we encourage the administration to reconsider the executive order barring entry or return of individuals from specific countries."

"The strength of our nation’s graduate education depends upon both domestic and international talent. International faculty and students are vitally important to U.S. graduate education and research. They are essential contributors to our economy and research enterprise. International students (both graduate and undergraduate) contributed nearly $36 billion to the U.S. economy in 2014-15 (IIE, 2016). Domestic students benefit from the experience of training alongside international students, gaining the cultural competence needed to be competitive in a global economy. American graduate education represents the gold standard of higher education around the world, and we are committed to seeing it remain open to the best and brightest domestic and international talent."

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                             

Contact: Julia Kent

(202) 461-3874 / jkent@cgs.nche.edu

Washington, DC – The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) Board of Directors has announced its officers for the 2017 term. CGS is governed by a 12-member Board of Directors drawn from member institutions. Board members serve for set terms.

Dr. Nancy Marcus, dean of the Graduate School at Florida State University, was announced the 2017 Board Chair at the conclusion of the 2016 CGS Annual Meeting. Appointed graduate dean in 2005, Marcus’ responsibilities include oversight of the education of approximately 8,500 graduate and professional students. During her tenure as Dean, Marcus has sought to enhance and complement the experience graduate students gain in their individual academic units by establishing programs such as the Office of Graduate Fellowship and Awards, The Fellows Society to promote interdisciplinary engagement, fellowships for international study, and an online tracking system to monitor graduate student progress.

“CGS is honored to have Dr. Marcus’ expertise during this important time in graduate education. She has provided exceptional leadership to The Graduate School at Florida State University and will help advance CGS’ mission to meet the evolving needs of our member institutions,” said CGS President Suzanne T. Ortega.

The new Chair-elect, Dr. Karen Butler-Purry has served as the associate provost for graduate and professional studies at Texas A&M University since 2010. In addition, Butler-Purry is a professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering and has experience in graduate education as a faculty member, administrator, researcher, and program leader. Under Butler-Purry’s leadership, the TAMU Office of Graduate and Professional Studies (OGAPS) added a new initiative to promote and support graduate student participation in professional development opportunities aligned closely with the university’s Quality Enhancement Plan, Aggies Commit to Learning for a Lifetime.

Beginning their three-year terms on the board on January 1, 2017, are Dr. John McCarthy, senior vice provost for academic affairs and dean of the Graduate School at University of Massachusetts Amherst; Dr. Paula McClain, dean of the Graduate School and vice provost of graduate education at Duke University; and Dr. Josephine Nalbantoglu, dean of graduate and postdoctoral studies at McGill University.

Dr. M.J.T. (“Mark”) Smith, dean of the Graduate School at Purdue University, will remain on CGS’s Executive Committee for one year as immediate past chair.

“Dr. Smith has provided outstanding leadership during his term as CGS Board Chair,” Ortega said. “He has contributed greatly to the success of graduate students at his own institution and to graduate education more broadly in his efforts to improve faculty diversity.” 

For Immediate Release

Contacts:

Julia Kent, Council of Graduate Schools

(202) 461-3874 | jkent@cgs.nche.edu

Tom Ewing, ETS

(609) 683-2803 | tewing@ets.org

Washington, DC – Today the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) and the Educational Testing Service (ETS) presented Cornell University with this year’s ETS/CGS Award for Innovation in Promoting Success in Graduate Education: From Admission through Completion. Dr. Barbara Knuth, senior vice provost and dean of the Graduate School, accepted the co-sponsored award on Cornell’s behalf during the 56^th Annual Meeting of the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS).

The award recognizes promising, innovative proposals to enhance student success and degree completion at the master’s or doctoral levels while promoting inclusiveness. The winning institution is selected on the strength of its proposal to meet the award’s goals and to serve as a model for other schools. The winner receives a two-year, $20,000 matching grant.

Through the project: Innovative Inclusion Interventions (I3): Promoting Graduate Student Success through Advancements in the Climate of Graduate Education Cornell University intends to promote graduate student success and a more inclusive climate through four innovative interventions supporting the academic and social engagement of graduate students across identities. These interventions include: a summer success symposium, an interactive theatre project, an intergroup dialogue project immersion program, and an inclusive teaching institute for graduate students and postdocs.

Knuth commented, “Our goal is to achieve a campus climate in which all graduate students feel valued and accepted by faculty and peers, and where incidents of bias are minimized. This recognition from ETS and CGS will help us to provide an environment in which all members of our graduate community understand and value the diverse identities, experiences, and perspectives present on our campus.  I am honored to accept this award on behalf of my Graduate School colleagues and our partners across many offices at Cornell.”

“The practices showcased by this award competition greatly benefit the graduate education community, and we especially want to thank ETS, whose support makes possible this novel way to promote best practices among the graduate community.” said CGS President Suzanne T. Ortega.

“Pursuing and completing master’s or doctoral level study is challenging, and a program such as this that provides both academic and social engagement goes a long way to ensuring higher levels of student success,” said David G. Payne, Vice President and COO of ETS’s Higher Education Division. “ETS congratulates Cornell University for their innovative and inclusive approach.”

This year, the selection committee chose one institution to be named as Honorable Mention: North Carolina State University for a project titled GradPath: A Graduate Student Success App. Led by Maureen Grasso, dean of the Graduate School, this project’s aim is to develop a mobile-friendly tool to give graduate students timely access to critical academic data and professional development information in real time. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Julia Kent (202) 461-3874 / jkent@cgs.nche.edu

Washington, DC – The Board of Directors of the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) has announced that Dr. Karen DePauw, vice president and dean for graduate education at Virginia Tech University, is the 2016 Winner of the Debra W. Stewart Award for Outstanding Leadership in Graduate Education. The awards ceremony was held during the CGS 56th Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.

The award was created by the CGS Board of Directors to recognize outstanding leadership in graduate education, and particularly those leadership qualities exemplified by the Council’s fifth President, Debra W. Stewart. The selection committee gives consideration to nominees with a strong reputation for ethics and integrity, a history of active participation in the graduate community, and a record of strategic vision and actions resulting in meaningful impacts. Areas of special consideration include evidence-based innovation, program development, diversity and inclusion, student learning and career outcomes, personnel management, policy advocacy in support of graduate education and research, and fiscal responsibility.

Dr. DePauw becomes the award’s first recipient for her invaluable contributions to the Virginia Tech graduate community. Her many accomplishments include: success in building a strong, diverse graduate community in multiple locations in Virginia; establishment of the national award-winning, Innovate Graduate Life Center; creation of the signature academic initiative: Transformative Graduate Education; initiation of 14 unique interdisciplinary graduate education programs; and promotion of work-life management programs that foster thriving (not surviving) during graduate studies.

“We applaud the Council of Graduate Schools’ recognition of Dr. DePauw’s many contributions to graduate education,” said Virginia Tech President Tim Sands.  “Her work has significantly advanced the quality of our student’s experience, and her dedication to the wellbeing of our graduate community exemplifies the Virginia Tech spirit of service.”

“Karen DePauw’s leadership has contributed greatly to the success of graduate students at her institution and to the enterprise of graduate education worldwide,” said Dr. M.J.T. Smith, dean of the Graduate School at Purdue University and chair of the Council’s Board of Directors. “Dr. DePauw’s innovative use of technology and life-long commitment to building a diverse and inclusive graduate community sets a standard of leadership for deans of graduate education across the globe.”

Nominees for the award must be a current senior, graduate dean at a CGS member institution (Regular or Associate) and cannot be an active member of the CGS Board of Directors. Nominations are made by CGS member institutions and are reviewed by a selection committee of former graduate deans in the CGS community. The winner receives a $4,000 prize to support continuing innovations at the awardee’s institution.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Julia Kent (202) 461-3874 / jkent@cgs.nche.edu

Washington, DC – The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) has awarded the 2016 Gustave O. Arlt Award in the Humanities to Dr. Barlow J. Elmore, assistant professor of environmental history at The Ohio State University. The awards ceremony was held during the CGS 56th Annual Meeting.

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. Dr. Elmore becomes the award’s 46^th recipient for his book, Citizen Coke: The Making of Coca-Cola Capitalism (W.W. Norton, 2014). He received his PhD in history from the University of Virginia in 2012.

Citizen Coke chronicles the making of what Dr. Elmore calls “Coca-Cola capitalism,” a system for making money deployed by many twentieth-century businesses, one that involved scavenging on natural capital stockpiles generated by vertically integrated industrial empires, agribusinesses, and government-run utilities. Dr. Elmore argues that Coca-Cola capitalism ultimately weighed heavily on host communities, especially in regions where the company was able to capture precious water resources in arid regions of the country. The book has been praised in media outlets ranging from The Wall Street Journal to Times Higher Ed.

“The Arlt Award has a long and prestigious history of recognizing exceptional humanities scholarship generated by early-career humanities faculty,” commented Dr. Suzanne Ortega, president of the Council of Graduate Schools. “The Council of Graduate Schools is delighted to recognize Dr. Elmore for his important contributions to the field of History.”

Created in 1971, the Arlt Award honors the first president of CGS, Gustave O. Arlt. The winner must have earned a doctorate within the past seven years, and currently be teaching at a North American university. Nominations are made by CGS member institutions and are reviewed by a panel of scholars in the field of competition, which rotates annually among seven disciplines within the humanities. This year’s field was History. The winner receives a $1,000 honorarium, a certificate, and travel to the awards ceremony.