11 November 2002
Copyright © 2002 World Expertise LLC – All rights
reserved
A periodic electronic newsletter for engineering education leaders,
edited by Russel C. Jones, PhD., P.E.
International developments
1) Two of Britain’s top universities have announced plans
to merge, according to a note in the 18 October 2002 issue of Science. Imperial
College London and University College London plan to merge into a single
university, joining forces to better compete in the knowledge economy. The
programs of the two institutions complement one another. The British Parliament
must approve the merger, but the two institutions plan to begin sharing
resources by December. See http://www.sciencemag.org
2) Iran’s parliament has approved legislation to allow
foreign universities to open branch campuses in that country for the first time
since the Islamic revolution in 1979, according to a note in the Chronicle of
Higher Education by Daniel del Castillo. The bill also needs approval by the
Council of Guardians, which determines whether legislation violates Islamic
principles. The proposal appears to have broad support from conservatives, who
see it as a way to keep talented Iranian students from leaving the country to
attend universities abroad, and from liberals who view it as a sign of
increasing openness to new ideas from the West. See http://chronicle.com/daily/2002/11/2002110705n.htm
3) Indian software companies are raiding US turf, according
to an article by Joanna Slater in the November 7th issue of the Wall
Street Journal. The Indian companies offer high quality services at highly
competitive prices, thus attracting the attention of cost-conscious executives
in the US and Europe who do not see a world-wide economic recovery any time
soon. India’s top software firms now have combined sales of more than
$2.5-billion, and they are moving from their core specialty of custom software
development to new areas such as hardware-software integration, operation of a
company’s IT department, and call centers. This pits them head-to-head with
the largest international computer service companies. See http://www.wsj.com
4) A South African university is caught up in a struggle
between course offerings in the English and Afrikanns languages, according to an
article in the Chronicle by Henk Rossouw. The University of Stellenbosch
has decreased teaching in Afrikaans, a language originated in the Dutch spoken
by sailors that landed merchant ships on the southern tip of Africa several
centuries ago, as the population of black students on campus has increased.
Stellenbosch is a public university, and the government has been pressing its
university council to offer more courses in English to accommodate black
students. This year 82% of the university’s freshmen are white, in a country
where 86% of the population is black or mixed race. See http://chronicle.com/weekly/v49/i09/09a04201.htm
5) Postdocs from Japan about to travel to positions in the
US have been given a course on intellectual property rights and other cultural
differences, according to an article in the November 1st Science by
Dennis Normile and Andrew Lawler. The discussion at a recent meeting of the
Japanese Biochemical Society was titled “Working in the US: Advice for Young
Scientists”. Recent incidents have highlighted the difference between Japanese
and US practices regarding the handling of academic research materials and data.
In the US the results of research belong to the institution, while in Japan such
data is typically passed around without any written agreements. Some US
universities are now trying to do a better job of advising incoming foreign
postdocs of issues such as intellectual property rights and conflicts of
interest. See http://www.sciencemag.org
6) India’s Supreme Court has upheld the right of colleges
that are administered by minority groups to use quotas based on religion and
language when admitting students, according to an article by Martha Ann Overland
in the Chronicle. But the Court also ruled that state governments could
impose regulations to ensure a minimum level of academic excellence at such
institutions, even if they do not receive any government funds. The ruling
settled a politically sensitive dispute over whether minority groups had the
right to operate schools and colleges without state interference. Minority
groups in India, such as Christians and Muslims, have a long tradition of
running their own schools and colleges. See http://chronicle.com/daily/2002/11/2002110503n.htm
7) A major review article in the November 1st
issue of Science, written by a large team of authors headed by Martin I.
Hoffert, surveys possible future energy sources which have the capacity to
supply massive amounts of carbon-emission free energy. The authors see
stabilizing the carbon dioxide induced component of climate change as an energy
problem. Possible candidates for primary energy sources include terrestrial
solar and wind energy, solar power satellites, biomass, nuclear fission, nuclear
fusion, fission-fusion hybrids, and fossil fuels from which carbon has been
sequestered. Non-primary power technologies that could contribute to climate
stabilization include efficiency improvements, hydrogen production, storage and
transport, superconducting global energy grids, and geoengineering. The authors
note that all of these options have current limitations, and recommend that
intensive R&D is urgently needed to produce technological options that can
allow both climate stabilization and economic development. See http://www.sciencemag.org
8) A coalition of religious parties that recently gained
substantial power in Pakistan has announced plans to impose “true Islamic
order” by banning coeducational universities and setting up separate
institutions for women, according to a note in the Chronicle by Martha
Ann Overland. Pakistan has some women’s colleges now, but most of the
universities are coeducational. The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) is a six-party
alliance of conservative religious groups opposed to American military
operations in neighboring Afghanistan. It recently gained enough seats in the
National Assembly to become the third largest political party, and one of the
two largest parties will have to get its support to form a majority government.
The MMA does have control of one province, and will likely impose its beliefs
there first. See http://chronicle.com/daily/2002/10/2002102304n.htm
9) The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has
decided to cut its $24-million science program by 13%, according to a note in
the November 1st issue of Science by Richard Stone. The
science program supports research grants, fellowships, and workshops for
scientists from NATO’s 19 member countries and 34 nations in Eastern Europe,
Central Asia, and North Africa. Science has never been a high priority for
NATO’s military leaders, and this cut follows a decade of budget stagnation.
In recent years the science program has received praise for funding security
projects for its innovative Internet projects. Science committee members are
appealing the cut decision. See http://www.sciencemag.org
10) Admissions officers and credentials consultants
increasingly have to check documents for forgery, according to an article in the
Chronicle by Katherine Mangan. Cases of fraud typically involve students
from developing countries who are desperate to get degrees from universities in
developed countries, including those in Western Europe and the United States.
Many graduate programs in the US have opted to farm out their
transcript-verification work to private companies. Among other considerations,
US universities are under more pressure to screen foreign applicants – and
some already admitted students – to be sure they are not connected to
terrorist organizations. See http://chronicle.com/weekly/v49/i10/10a03901.htm
11) A new directive from the European Commission could lead
to a radical change in how contract researchers, mainly postdocs, are employed,
according to a note in the October 25th issue of Science by
Kirstie Urquhart. The EC’s Directive on Fixed-Term Work mandates that EU
nations “prevent the abuse of fixed-term contracts through their continuous
use”. Implementation of the rule will vary from country to country. In the UK,
for example, universities and other employers will be forced to give permanent
positions to any research staff member whose positions are renewed and run
longer than four years, unless they can offer good reasons for not doing so.
Some 59,000 academics are now on fixed term contracts in the UK. See http://www.sciencemag.org
12) Engineering courses in the UK are lacking art and creativity, according to a survey taken concerning the satisfaction of engineering graduates. In a survey reported in the Times Online, graduates complained that their courses focused too heavily on the mathematics side of the subject, missing out on the creative aspects of engineering. They also stated that a more balanced approach would increase motivation. The author of the survey believes that engineering is an art form, and that learning should be more studio based, with workshops, brainstorming, and working in teams. See http://www.thes.co.uk (Reported in NEWS@ SEFI, October 2002)
13) The Republican Party regained control of the US Senate
in mid-term elections, and extended its majority in the House of
Representatives. According to an article in the Chronicle by Michael
Arnone and Jeffrey Selingo, this gives Republicans total control of the
reauthorization of the law that governs student-aid programs, and could clear
the way for the confirmation of a critic of affirmative action to head the
Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights. The change will affect the
leadership of several committees that are important to higher education,
particularly the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which will
rewrite the Higher Education Act. See http://chronicle.com/daily/2002/11/2002110601n.htm
14) A new report details the shift in federal research
priorities, with a relative decline in funds for the physical sciences,
according to a note in the Chronicle by Anne Marie Borrego. The report
prepared by the Rand Corporation, “Federal Investment in R&D”, finds
that while federal spending on research in biology, computer science and
mathematics increased sharply from 1993 to 2000, spending on the physical
sciences – including chemical engineering, geological sciences, and physics
– declined. Overall federal spending on R&D would reach $110-billion if
the President’s 2003 budget proposals were approved, but when viewed as a
percentage of gross domestic product and adjusted for inflation, such spending
has actually shrunk to levels similar to those of the 1950’s. The
President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology Policy is reported
to be preparing a recommendation asking Mr. Bush to increase federal funds for
research in the physical sciences and engineering, See http://chronicle.com/daily/2002/11/2002110401n.htm
15) Tuition at public colleges has taken the biggest jump
in a quarter of a century, according to an article by June Kronholz in the
October 22nd Wall Street Journal. In its yearly survey of
higher education pricing, the College Board said that tuition at four-year
public colleges and universities is up 9.6% from a year ago, or about seven
times the rate of inflation. Private college tuition increased 5.8%, and
community college tuition is up 7.9%. The other side of the coin, though, is
that student aid also increased to $90-billion, almost triple what it was a
decade ago. More than half of that aid amount is in loans which must eventually
be paid back. An increasing amount of aid funding is in merit scholarships for
high scoring, high GPA students. The College Board took pains to portray college
as a good investment and a bargain. See http://www.wsj.com
16) Provisions that limit foreign-student involvement in
research projects or allow the government to review findings from unclassified
research for “sensitive” information before scientists can publish it, are
turning up in federal contracts these days according to an article in the Chronicle
by Ann Marie Borrego. Several academic institutions have been successful in
negotiating softening of these restrictions, and at least one major institution
has refused a contract when the provisions could not be negotiated out. At issue
is the gray area of research and information that is not secret enough to be
labeled as “classified”, but that government officials fear may aid
terrorists. The Bush administration is currently debating a new label,
“sensitive”, that could act as a middle ground. The restrictive clauses fly
in the face of what many researchers consider fundamental tenets of academic
freedom and responsible science: open access to research and the ability to
publish findings from unclassified projects. See http://chronicle.com/weekly/v49/i10/10a02401.htm
17) The House Science Committee has held hearings on
finding the right balance between scientists and the government on how to handle
information that might threaten national security, according to an article in
the October 18th issue of Science by David Malakoff. The
previous posture, worked out two decades ago, had been: Classify some things,
and don’t touch the rest. In the wake of 9/11, however, the government is
considering a more restrictive posture, including such ideas as: rules governing
researchers who can work with potential bioweapons, a new government committee
to screen foreign graduate student entering certain fields, and guidelines on
how the heads of several major government departments can wield new powers to
classify research results. See http://www.sciencemag.org
18) Tens of thousands of protesters – more than half of
them college students – flooded the streets of Washington recently as part of
an international day of demonstrations against the US threatened war with Iraq,
according to an article by Richard Morgan in the Chronicle. Mirror events
sent some 50,000 people through the streets of San Francisco, with smaller
protests in Chicago and Denver, and Berlin, Mexico City and Tokyo. Speaking at
the Washington rally, the Rev. Jesse Jackson said that Martin Luther King, Jr.,
would be “especially happy to see so many young people leading a new peace
movement”. See http://chronicle.com/daily/2002/10/2002102805n.htm
19) Legislators have been trying to set a path for doubling
of the budget of the National Science Foundation over the next five years, and
thought they had worked out a deal. But, according to a note in the October 25th
issue of Science by Jeffrey Mervis, the Bush White House has raised last
minute objections. A counterproposal from the Office of Management and Budget
would shorten the appropriations bill to three years, and remove the word
“doubling”. Congressmen and
lobbyists hope to salvage the original doubling deal when Congress reconvenes.
See http://www.sciencemag.org
20) A US Department of Education study shows that distance
education attracts older women with families, according to an article in the Chronicle
by Dan Carnevale. Overall, about 7.6% of students taking college courses
during the 1999-2000 academic year did so through distance education. The study
shows that women with families and jobs were more drawn to undergraduate
distance-education programs in that year than were members of other groups. The
study shows that more females than males take distance education, and that more
students over 24 take such courses compared to younger ones. Of those students
who took courses at a distance, about 29% completed an entire distance-based
academic program, with the rest having some traditional components in their
studies. See http://chronicle.com/free/2002/10/2002102102t.htm
21) The California Community College System will connect
its 108 campuses with a web based teleconferencing service in order to cut
travel costs, according to an article in the Chronicle by Florence Olsen.
With budget cuts curtailing travel money, the teleconferencing service will
allow substitution of virtual meetings. The system has been designed for future
use for teaching online classes, holding virtual office hours, and providing
reference desk support. It also meets accessibility guidelines for people with
disabilities. See http://chronicle.com/free/2002/10/2002102502t.htm
22) IBM’s new chief executive has announced that the
company is making a $10-billion bet on a strategic shift that he calls
“on-demand computing”, according to an article by Steve Lohr in the October
31st issue of the New York Times. Samuel Palmisano said that
on-demand computing would allow corporate customers to purchase computing
resources as needed as a utility-style service, almost like electricity. He
explained that the utility model would help companies become more flexible and
fast moving by integrating more closely internal operations such as procurement,
marketing and manufacturing. The new IBM initiative will be called “e-business
on demand”. See http://www.nytimes.org
23) Phoenix Online is one of the nation’s largest online
university businesses in a growing field of private, for profit competitors,
according to an article by Florence Olsen in the Chronicle. Online
students are taught by 7,000 faculty members, most of whom are part-time
employees of Phoenix who have full-time jobs elsewhere. The university also has
a support staff of 1,700 online admission advisors, academic counselors, faculty
recruiters, instructional specialists, software developers, and technicians.
Phoenix officials are planning for the expansion of Phoenix Online in the
international market, where they already are adding international enrollments at
the rate of 200 each month. See http://chronicle.com/free/v49/i10/10a02901.htm
24) Instant messaging is no longer just a facet of teenage
life, but now means business, according to the cover story by Steven Cherry in
the November 2002 issue of IEEE Spectrum. It is exploding in applications
ranging from stockbrokerage to customer service, from e-retailing to police
emergency communications, and the military. While the phone is still a major
mode of interactivity, people have erected walls around it with voicemail. And
regular e-mails often join a long list of clutter on the computer screen.
Commercial IM is becoming a communication tool of choice in reaching key people
when immediate communication is needed. One problem is that the four major IM
systems are mutually incompatible, as AOL and Microsoft battle for control. See http://www.spectrum.ieee.org
25) The National Academy of Sciences predicts that
information technology is likely to reshape research universities dramatically,
according to an article in the Chronicle by Vincent Kiernan. In a report
entitled “Preparing for the Revolution: Information Technology and the Future
of the Research University” the Academy warns academe against complacency in
the face of fast-paced technological developments and new competition from
online universities and for-profit institutions. The report says that changes
will be driven by expanded computer-network bandwidth and dramatic improvements
in both hardware and software, such as vastly more powerful notebook computers
and “software agents” that will autonomously collect information requested
by a user. The report suggests that the future may be dominated by freelance
instructors selling their services to many institutions, which in turn compete
for students who buy courses a la carte from many different colleges. See http://chronicle.com/free/2002/11/2002110801t.htm
26) More students than ever have descended on American
campuses this fall, with many public and private colleges reporting record
enrollments, according to an article by Megan Rooney in the Chronicle. While
the trend is a boon for some small private colleges, it is further straining the
budgets of several state universities already hit by the economic downturn. In
some cases higher enrollments will lead to higher tuition and fees, as basic
student services are threatened by cuts. Experts say that a variety of factors
have led to the widespread enrollment increases. When the national economy
stalls, college enrollments tend to grow as a competitive job market leads more
students to seek degrees. Meanwhile, the traditional college-age population is
swelling across the country. And nontraditional older students are also
returning to the classroom in droves, looking for new skills as their economic
prospects falter. See http://chronicle.com/weekly/v49/i10/10a03301.htm
27) According to the findings of a newly released
nationwide survey of professors, faculty scholars are caring more about students
and less about prestige these days. As reported in the Chronicle by Robin
Wilson, professors say they are paying significantly more attention to
undergraduates – both inside and outside the classroom. But they feel that
their institutions still consider increasing their prestige a high priority,
with developing a sense of community involving students and professors less
important. The survey, done every three years by UCLA, asks professors how they
spend their workdays and what they find satisfying about their jobs. It also
asks them to identify their professional goals and their universities’ highest
priorities. The increased interest in undergraduate’s well being, compared to
a 1989 base year survey, is one of the most striking findings this year. See http://chronicle.com/weekly/v49/i11/11a01001.htm
28) The cover story in the November 2002 issue of ASEE
Prism, written by Linda Creighton, describes a number of innovative programs
that are reaching out to get kids excited about engineering. Massachusetts
became the first state in the nation to require engineering instruction in every
grade in public schools, in 2001 – and remains the only state to have such a
program. A different approach is being taken in Texas, where an entrepreneurial
approach funded by private industry provides a turn-key package for school
districts to buy. In Colorado, kids at the third grade level are experiencing
hands on learning, where engineering provides the vehicle for making science and
math relate to things in the kid’s world. The author states that the campaign
to bolster K-12 engineering education is just beginning to provide models that
might be adopted by individual school districts to produce more engineers and
make our society more technology-literate. See http://www.asee.org/prism
29) Ten states have asked the US Supreme Court to take up a
case involving the use of race-conscious admissions policies by the University
of Michigan Law School, according to an article in the Chronicle by Peter
Schmidt. The attorneys general of the ten states do not endorse or condemn
affirmative action in higher education, but say that the states need clarity on
the issue – which only the Supreme Court can give. Their brief argues that
state institutions must know whether their admissions policies are in compliance
with the Constitution, and to what degree they can consider the race of
applicants in attempting to create a diverse student body. See http://chronicle.com/daily/2002/11/2002110101n.htm
30) The number of part-time faculty members and those who
work full-time without tenure-track status has increased strikingly in the past
two decades, according to a new analysis of federal data by the American Council
on Education. As reported by Sharon Walsh in the Chronicle, the number of
part-time faculty members increased by 79% from 1981 to 1999, to more than
400,000 out of a total of one million instructors overall. The large increase is
attributed to the economic recession and a significant increase in the
enrollments of college-age students. Among other findings: 82% of part-time
faculty members and two-thirds of full time, non tenure track professors, did
not have a doctorate (compared to almost 70% of full time tenured or tenure
track who had a doctorate). And despite wide disparities in pay and benefits,
nontraditional and traditional faculty members reported similar levels of job
satisfaction. See http://chronicle.com/daily/2002/10/2002102904n.htm
31) The National Academy of Engineering has initiated an
effort in support of continuous improvement in engineering education, a newly
formed Center for the Advancement of Scholarship on Engineering Education
(CASEE). Its core activities will include a Fellows program to recognize and
support individual researchers, as well as a Community Network program to link
individuals and organizations into a practice-based community. CASEE’s
activities will encompass: the teaching and learning process; teachers and
learners as individuals, and archetypes; instructional materials and learning
technologies; engineering education management and goal structures; and the
social, economic, and political influences on engineering education. An overview
of the new Center is available under “NAE Operating Units” at http://www.nae.edu
32) Among ten of the world’s most industrialized
countries, the relative rewards of higher education are greatest in Britain.
According to a new report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development, described in the Chronicle by Kate Galbraith, higher
education graduates in Britain get a 17% rate of return on their investments.
After Britain, the US was next highest, with a 15% rate of return. Denmark,
France, the Netherlands, and Sweden followed, all with rates above 10%. The rate
of return was calculated by weighing the benefits of higher education, such as
earnings, against costs, such as tuition fees. See http://chronicle.com/daily/2002/10/2002103004n.htm
33) The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools has developed a radical approach to higher education, the Academic Quality Improvement Project, according to an article in the Chronicle by Ben Gose. AQIP draws heavily on principles of industry and business management, fuses academic planning with accreditation, and features much more interaction between the colleges and the accrediting group than does the standard accreditation process. Officials at participating colleges say the new process requires more staff time but is worth the investment, because they can tackle their most pressing projects rather than spend years putting on a good face for an accreditor. North Central’s three year old quality improvement project is the most radical of several new efforts by the regional accrediting groups to invigorate the process. See http://chronicle.com/weekly/v49/i10/10a02501.htm
34) The 5th Annual Colloquium on Engineering
Education organized by the International Education Program at the University of
Rhode Island was held on Providence RI in late October. Given the character of
the program at URI – a dual bachelor’s degree in engineering and a foreign
language in a five year education – the Colloquium attracted speakers and
participants from engineering study abroad programs and from foreign language
faculties interested in serving engineering students on their campuses. Lively
sessions included descriptions of the international engineering education
programs at several schools, inputs from industry on their needs for
internationally experienced engineering graduates, and the roles of professional
and accreditation organizations. The full program can be viewed at http://www.uri.edu/iep
35) The annual meeting of the Accreditation Board for
Engineering and Technology was held in Pittsburgh at the end of October.
Featured was the 2nd National Conference on Outcomes Assessment, a
full two day program on one of the major features of ABET’s Criteria 2000.
Lively sessions asked whether outcomes assessment was achieving its goals,
whether it has helped prepare engineering students for the real world, and how
campuses are uniting over outcomes assessment standards. One session was
conducted as a debate on the topic of use of the NCEES Fundamentals Exam as an
assessment tool – with pros and cons effectively stated by two panelists each.
Outgoing ABET President Jerry Yeargan outlined three challenges for ABET:
process improvement (less time and effort required), how to handle emerging
fields (e.g., information technology), and working with the Canadian and Mexican
engineering accreditation agencies to mount a Western Hemisphere Initiative to
assist in the growth of accreditation in Central and South America. See http://www.abet.org
36) The annual meeting of the American Society of Civil
Engineers, celebrating its 150th anniversary, was held in Washington
DC in early November. “Meet the Press” moderator Tim Russert gave the
keynote address, putting the national and international scenes in perspective
just prior to the mid-term elections. A major Federal Forum had top
representatives of several federal agencies discussing the capabilities of new
hires (need better teamwork, business, leadership and international skills),
trends in federal procurement (moving toward
design/finance/build/operate/maintain), interaction with the private sector
(more outsourcing, more privatization), and new priorities (sustainable
development, infrastructure security). Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta
spoke on the status of air travel security upgrades, and on efforts at increased
security for rail, sea, and pipeline systems. Many technical and professional
breakout sessions completed the program. See http://www.asce.org
37) Upcoming meetings:
- “Enhancement of the Global Perspective for Engineering Students by Providing an International Perspective”, 6-11 April 2003, Tomar, Portugal. Organized by Engineering Conferences International (formerly United Engineering Foundation Conferences). See http://www.engconfintl.org/3ai.html
-
“Fourth Mudd Design Workshop”, 10-12 July 2003, at Harvey Mudd
College in California. Focus on issues that engineering design educators should
address. For information write clive_dym@hmc.edu
38) The Fall 2002 Issues in Science and Technology features
a group of papers entitled ‘Caught in Traffic’ – covering the use of
information technology in fighting traffic congestion, countering sprawl with
transit oriented development, and challenges for developing countries. Other
papers discuss biological pollution from invasive species, the perils of
groundwater pumping, a fair deal for universities doing federal research, and
results of a poll on public views of science issues. See http://www.nap.edu/issues
39) The October 2002 issue of the ASEE Journal of
Engineering Education contains some thirteen papers on a wide variety of
topics: interactive internet based education, integration across disciplines,
faculty development activities, laptops in the classroom, groupware for student
collaboration, science fiction in the classroom, course assessment, minority
engineering programs, innovative first year programs, and environmentally smart
engineering education. See http://www.asee.org/publications
40) The latest issue of the International Journal of
Engineering Education is a special issue on Nanotechnologies, with 11 major
papers introduced by a guest editor. Papers discuss challenges to engineering
education in the field, undergraduate and graduate level programs, and web based
courses. This issue of the IJEE also contains five papers on engineering
education in more traditional areas. See http://www.ijee.dit.ie
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