In response to the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) request for information, the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) was pleased to provide input to the Administration’s National Bioeconomy Blueprint detailing steps to harness biological, research innovations to address challenges in health, food, energy and the environment.

The CGS-ETS Pathways Through Graduate School and Into Careers report has garnered press attention. An article in Inside Higher Ed quotes commission chair Patrick Osmer, Vice Provost, Graduate Studies and Dean of the Graduate School at The Ohio State University as well as commission member Ron Townsend, Executive Vice President for Global Laboratory Operations at Battelle Memorial Institute. The Chronicle of Higher Education also covered the report and includes quotes from Dr. Osmer as well as commission member James Wimbush, Dean, University Graduate School at Indiana University. Diverse Issues in Higher Education featured an article about the April 19th Legislative Forum on Pathways Through Graduate School and Into Careers which quotes several speakers, including Freeman Hrabowski, President of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Dwight Hutchins, Global Managing Director of Accenture, Kurt Landgraf, CEO of ETS, and Dr. Osmer. Additionally, EdWeek’s College Bound blog included a post about the report.

Additional coverage the week of April 23 included an article in ScienceInsider which quoted Debra Stewart, CGS President, and Patrick Osmer, Pathways Commission Chair and Vice Provost for Graduate Studies and Dean of the Graduate School at The Ohio State University. Additional coverage appeared in Science Careers, University World News, and U.S. News & World Report’s University Directory.

More recently, an opinion piece by CGS President, Debra Stewart, and ETS President & CEO, Kurt Landgraf was published by the Huffington Post on Thursday. Additionally, the report was featured in a Nature News Brief, and online articles at Onlinemba.com and the Society for Human Resources Management. Also, the university websites for two commission members, Jeff Gibeling, dean of Graduate Studies at the University of California, Davis, and James Wimbush, dean of the University Graduate School at Indiana University, also posted information about the Pathways initiative.

By 2020, 2.6 million new or replacement jobs will require an advanced degree. Yet a new report warns that the nation will not be able to tap graduate students with high-level knowledge and skills unless university, business, nonprofit and government sectors team more closely — and innovatively — than they do now.

The report, Pathways Through Graduate School and Into Careers, calls for such changes in graduate education’s link to the workforce. It also calls for greater collaboration from key stakeholders in higher education and business and recommends broadening graduate education to include the development of professional skills essential to students’ success. The report was produced by a commission of university and business leaders convened by the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) and Educational Testing Service (ETS).

“The nation’s capacity to thrive depends critically on our ability to out-innovate, out-create and out- think the world,” says Debra W. Stewart, President of CGS. “Our graduate schools are the place where high-potential people come together with talented faculty and develop the competencies to address the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.”

Through in-depth interviews with employers, the report authors discovered that while employers  indicate they value the skills and expertise of people with graduate degrees, they would welcome an emphasis on business savvy and teamwork, communication and problem-solving skills. Employers also contend that more graduate students need to be taught to innovate, apply their content knowledge to other areas and think like entrepreneurs, the report shows.

“To date, there has been little research to identify whether graduate students understand the relationship between their studies and future career options,” says Cathy Wendler, co-author of the report and Principal Director of Research at ETS. “If we can illuminate career pathways, we will ensure that students have a map or framework within which to make informed choices, employers will understand key factors integral to employee and employer success and universities will be able to adapt and improve programs to better meet workforce demands.”

The findings and recommendations are targeted to three sectors: policymakers, universities and employers. For example, the report recommends that federal policymakers provide support for studies that help us understand career pathways for graduate students and that they also consider establishing a Professional Plus Program for graduate students on research assistantships that will help prepare  them for the variety of career options open to them.

“Higher earnings continue to be associated with advanced education levels,” says ETS President and CEO Kurt M. Landgraf. “A recent study showed that across the 15 fields examined, individuals with a graduate degree earned an average of 38.3 percent more than those with a bachelor’s degree in the same field. In addition, the overall unemployment rate for individuals who hold graduate degrees  traditionally has been lower than for those who hold an undergraduate degree. With such tangible economic benefits, why aren’t more students pursuing graduate school? Cost and family obligations are obvious reasons, but this report shows another major factor may be a lack of understanding of career options.”

The report also suggests that university officials should track career outcomes of their graduates; make stronger career counseling services available; connect graduate students with graduate alumni; broaden the focus of graduate education to include development of more professional skills; and build more opportunities for graduate school faculty and students to engage with industry, government and other sectors.

Finally, employers should enhance and expand collaborative relationships with their higher education counterparts; make strategic investments in graduate programs; provide additional internship and research opportunities for graduate students; offer sabbatical and research opportunities for graduate faculty; and provide financial assistance for employees wishing to pursue graduate studies.

Copies of Pathways Through Graduate School and Into Careers and additional information are available at www.pathwaysreport.org.

ETS Contact: Tom Ewing, 1-609-683-2803 — tewing@ets.org

CGS Contact: Julia Kent, 1-202-461-3874 — jkent@cgs.nche.edu

Contact:
Patty McAllister
pmcallister@cgs.nche.edu
(202) 223-3791

Tom Ewing, ETS     
tewing@ets.org
(609) 683-2058

Washington, DC (September 8, 2011) —

To address the critical need for innovators and experts in a wide range of fields that are essential to America’s success in the global economy, the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) and Educational Testing Service (ETS) have convened a commission of academic and industry leaders to explore this important issue and to offer findings and policy recommendations in a new report which will be released at the CGS annual legislative conference April 19, 2012.

The need to develop a highly skilled workforce was first addressed in a 2010 landmark report “The Path Forward: The Future of Graduate Education in the United States.” That report argued that the nation’s future prosperity and ability to compete in the global marketplace depends on producing graduate degree holders prepared to address the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. One major unmet need the report identified was that of understanding pathways through graduate school into the world of professional occupations. 

“The Commission consists of industry leaders, university presidents, graduate deans, and provosts,” explains Debra Stewart, CGS President. “With advice from national experts garnered through a series of meetings, and with support from ETS and CGS, the Commission will guide the development of a publication outlining its findings and recommendations.”

“We plan to disseminate the resulting report widely to universities, policymakers, employers and government agencies funding research and education,” adds ETS President Kurt Landgraf. “It will inform the debate, quantify the steps that academic and business communities need to take to address these challenges now, and better position America for success in the future.”

The role of the Commission on Pathways through Graduate School and into Careers is twofold. First, the Commission will guide a research effort addressing issues such as:

• graduate student knowledge of career options
• how students learn about occupational opportunities
• the role of graduate programs and graduate faculty in informing and guiding students along the path to professional occupations
• career pathways that individuals with graduate degrees actually follow

Commission members will help identify the appropriate questions to ask, suggest possible data sources and experts to consult with in this work, and guide the preparation of the final report.

The second role of the Commission is to help create a national conversation about why understanding the pathways through graduate school and into careers is important. Commission members will also provide advice on policy recommendations for key stakeholders.

Pathways through Graduate School and into Careers

Commission Members

Corporate Leaders:  

• William D. Green, Chairman, Board of Directors, Accenture
• Stan Litow, IBM Foundation President and SVP IBM
• Joseph Miller, Executive Vice President and CTO, Corning
• Russ Owen, President, Managed Services Sector, CSC
• Ron Townsend, Executive Vice President, Battelle Memorial Institute

University Leaders:

• Patrick Osmer, Chair, Vice Provost/Dean, Graduate School, The Ohio State University
• Jeffery Gibeling, Dean, Graduate Studies, University of California, Davis
• Maureen Grasso, Dean of the Graduate School, University of Georgia
• Freeman Hrabowski, President, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
• Jean Morrison, Provost, Boston University
• Suzanne Ortega, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, University of North Carolina
• Teresa Sullivan, President, University of Virginia
• Lisa Tedesco, Dean of the Laney Graduate School, Emory University
• James Wimbush, Dean, University Graduate School, Indiana University

Ex Officio Members:

• Kurt Landgraf, President and CEO, ETS
• Debra W. Stewart, President, Council of Graduate Schools        

Contact:
Belle Woods
bwoods@cgs.nche.edu
(202) 223-3791

We commend President Obama for the administration’s Fiscal Year 2013 budget which invests in education, research and innovation.  The proposed budget reflects a strong commitment to the understanding that American competitiveness in a global economy depends on developing human talent.

In general, the FY 2013 budget maintains, and in some instances increases, investments in key graduate education programs at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Education. Given the current fiscal constraints, CGS especially appreciates several key provisions that support graduate education and research.

Among these are NSF’s new “Core R&D Launch” initiative which will include $5 million for research on STEM Professional Workforce Preparation, which will include coordination and synthesis between NSF STEM workforce development programs.  This type of initiative is vital as the highly-skilled STEM workforce needs to be able to lead research at the cutting edge of science.

Additionally, NSF will invest in a  nearly 45% increase over the FY 12 estimated funding level for the Graduate Research Fellowship program; this increase will ensure 2,000 new awards can be granted in FY 13 as well as bringing the stipend level up to $32,000.

We also applaud the administration’s continued support for graduate education programs at the U.S. Department of Education through level funding of the Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) program as well as the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program, the Strengthening Historically Black Graduate Institutions program, Master’s Degree Programs at HBCUs and Predominantly Black Institutions, and the Promoting Postbaccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans program. 

However, CGS is concerned about the decrease proposed for the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) Program, which would be cut more than 13% from FY 12 levels.  This is of particular concern because the traineeship model has been highly successful for innovating and achieving success for students in graduate education.  Additionally, the Federal Cyber Service: Scholarship for Service program funding would fall by 44.4% to $25 million.  Given the importance of ensuring the security of our federal agencies’ cyber-related functions, such a decrease could have a profound effect on recruitment of graduate students into this vital area of study. 

Recently, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projected that by 2020, 2.6 million new jobs will require people with advanced degrees.  If we want to meet those workforce needs, we must encourage more students to pursue and complete graduate studies.  We look forward to working with the administration and Congress as the Fiscal Year 2013 budget and appropriations process moves forward.  Tomorrow’s creators in a wide range of fields and sectors are educated in our graduate schools.  We need to invest in graduate education as a strategic national asset if we want America to prosper.

On April 19, 2012, CGS and Educational Testing Service (ETS) released a report Pathways Through Graduate School and Into Careers that calls on university, business, and government sectors to team more closely — and innovatively — than they do now in order to prepare the highly skilled talent the country needs to be successful going forward.

The report examines career pathways from the perspective of students, graduate deans, and employers. The analysis of the quantitative and qualitative data led to a set of recommendations for university leaders, employers, and policymakers, along with the call for greater collaboration among these three sectors.

Produced by a 14-member commission of university and business leaders convened by CGS and ETS, the report and associated materials are available at http://pathwaysreport.org. We hope you will share the report widely and join us in working to strengthen the pathways for graduate students into the full spectrum of 21^st century careers.

Press Release

For more information, please contact:

Julia Kent

The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) strongly supports President Obama’s call for policies to increase job opportunities, support basic research, reform immigration, and expand access to education.  In his 2012 State of the Union message, the president indicated his support for strategic investments to spur economic recovery while also streamlining government.

The president emphasized innovation, saying, “Innovation also demands basic research.  Today, the discoveries taking place in our federally financed labs and universities could lead to new treatments that kill cancer cells but leave healthy ones untouched…Don’t gut these investments in our budget.  Don’t let other countries win the race for the future.  Support the same kind of research and innovation that led to the computer chip and the Internet; to new American jobs and new American industries.”  This commitment to scientific discovery is a crucial part of building a stronger American economy.

In order to continue the research President Obama mentioned, we must invest in education at all levels or we will lack the talented workforce that will drive innovation in the future.  The president said, “Growing industries in science and technology have twice as many openings as we have workers who can do the job.” 

Many of the creators and innovators these companies seek will be trained in our graduate schools.  The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that by 2018 more jobs will require people with graduate degrees, specifically an 18% increase in jobs requiring a master’s degree and a 17% increase for people with doctoral degrees.  

It is vital, given workforce needs, that careers and the requisite skills needed to pursue those careers are clearly shared with students throughout the education pipeline.  To that end, the Commission on Pathways through Graduate School and into Careers was launched jointly by CGS and Educational Testing Service last year.  The Commission’s report, which will be released in April, will offer concrete recommendations for universities, business leaders, and policymakers designed to address these challenges and ensure America has the highly skilled talent needed.

We also applaud President Obama’s call to retain international students who study in the U.S. but who face challenges when they wish to remain and work after graduation.  About 40% of international students studying at our colleges and universities are pursuing graduate degrees and it is in our collective best interest to permit those who want to stay and contribute to our economy following completion of their degrees to do so.

We look forward to working with the Administration to ensure that U.S. graduate schools can continue their vital role in ensuring our populace is creative, innovative, and ready to meet the challenges of the 21^st century global economy.

This landmark report was released by the Commission on the Future of Graduate Education, a joint initiative between CGS and Educational Testing Service.

This paper reviews the impact of The Path Forward report one year later and outlines issues and challenges confronting graduate education now and into the future.

CGS and a number of other higher education stakeholders sent a statement to Congressional members highlighting the importance of retaining the in-school interest subsidy on federal Stafford loans for graduate and professional students. The subsidy's elimination is included in the debt ceiling increase measures proposed by both House Speaker Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Reid. The statement urges Congress to retain the subsidy.