18 March 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.
_____________________________________________________________________
Pakistan’s president, Pervez Musharraf, has announced
plans to overhaul the nation’s entire system of higher education, according to
articles in the Chronicle of Higher Education by Martha Overland. In
recent speeches, President Musharraf has said that the government will emphasize
information technology, engineering, and the biological sciences in order to
meet the industrial needs of the country. To fill the needs for computer
engineers, Pakistan is opening 10 new information-technology institutes, and
also plans to begin using distance education programs to train more computer
engineers. See http://chronicle.com/free/2002/03/2002031203t.htm
. In an earlier speech, Musharraf criticized the state of higher education
throughout the Muslim world, and asked Muslim countries to work together to
improve that situation through sharing of intellectual and financial resources.
See http://chronicle.com/2001/02/2002021905n.htm
The economic crisis in Argentina is adversely affecting
universities there and students studying abroad, according to articles by
Michael Esterbrook and Alex Kellogg in the Chronicle. Recent government
budget tightening moves in Argentina have cut the salaries of all state workers
– including faculty members – by 13%, and have withheld funds for campus
maintenance and student loans. The weakening peso and inflation – which may
rise to 15% this year – will further erode university resources. Some
1.2-million students study at the tuition-free public universities in Argentina,
up from 800,000 in 1990. See http://chronicle.com/daily/2002/02/2002022503n.htm
. Argentine students studying in US universities are facing financial problems
also, as the flow of support funds from their parents has dried up. Some 3000
students and some 600 researchers from Argentina are currently on US campuses.
US universities with significant Argentine student and researcher populations
are trying to buffer their financial problems with financial aid and employment
opportunities. See http://chronicle.com/daily/2002/02/2002022502n.htm
Japanese academics appear set to enjoy new freedoms that
would allow closer collaborations with private companies and greater autonomy in
spending research grants, according to an article in the 1 March 2002 issue of Science
by Dennis Normile. But these advances will come with a price – an end to
lifetime job security, and stricter evaluations of the quality of their work.
These changes are being recommended by an advisory panel to the Ministry of
Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. One thorny issue yet to be
decided is whether the new rules on faculty evaluation and job security will
apply to current employees of universities or only to those hired after the new
approach takes effect. See http://www.sciencemag.org
British scientists are alarmed over an ‘export control
bill’ that would grant to the government sweeping powers to monitor exchanges
of information on technology, according to an article by Kate Galbraith in the Chronicle.
The bill is aimed at preventing information on creating weapons of mass
destruction from falling into the wrong hands abroad, but scientists fear that
the bill could act as a chokehold on research. The bill is broadly worded,
putting the transfer of “technology of any description” under government
scrutiny. The impetus for the bill arises from a series of embarrassing scandals
involving Iraq, including sales of arms and training of a biological weapons
expert. The government insists that critic’s concerns are overblown, and that
this bill is merely an updating of a 1939 law to account for new methods of
information transfer. See http://chronicle.com/daily/2002/02/2002012003n.htm
Ireland’s science agency is restructuring to recruit more researchers from around the world to work at Irish universities, according to a note in the Chronicle by Doug Payne. The Science Foundation Ireland, which administers more than $550-million in grants annually, will support new programs of fellowships to help universities and companies to recruit world-class researchers, grants to support academic/university partnerships, and grants to support scientists who want to work in Ireland. See http://chronicle.com/daily/2002/02/2002022107n.htm
A new study shows that Internet use in China rose almost 50% in 2001, to 33.7 million people. At the same time, the Chinese government has placed tighter restrictions on Internet service providers, in a move to discourage political dissent. It has issued its most intrusive Internet controls to date, ordering service providers to screen private e-mail for political content and holding them responsible for subversive postings on their websites. The new rules represent Beijing's latest efforts to tighten its grip on the only major medium in China not already under state control. The regulations also create new difficulties for a competitive industry trying to attract more overseas investment. See http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,49855,00.html
The Canadian government has set up the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Fellowship Program -- modeled on the Rhodes Scholarships -- to support Canadians and some foreign scholars, according to a note in the Chronicle by Karen Birchard. The government is providing $79-million as an endowment, and predicts that the investment income will eventually support up to 100 doctoral fellowships and 20 mid-career fellowships. Three-quarters of the fellowships will go to eligible Canadians, with the remainder open to international competition. See http://chronicle.com/daily/2002/02/2002022205n.htm
U.S. developments
A new report from the National Academy of Engineering says
that most Americans know little about the world of technology, according to an
article in the March 2002 issue of Engineering Times. The report.
“Technically Speaking: Why All Americans Need to Know More About Technology”
points out that Americans must make day to day decisions that are technology
based. It calls upon engineering societies and universities to institute
fellowship programs to create a cadre of policy experts and journalists with a
background in engineering. See http://www.nspe.org
for the article, and to purchase a copy of the report see http://www.nap.edu.
The report has a companion site at http://www.nae.edu/techlit
Applications to the Peace Corps have increased 39% since
President Bush promised to fight terrorism at home with more volunteers abroad
in his State of the Union address, according to an article in the 21 February
2002 New York Times. The President urged all Americans to commit
themselves to at least two years of volunteer service in their lives. For some
applicants, motivation includes poor job prospects in a sluggish economy in
addition to the events of September 11th. See http://www.nytimes.com
The Bush administration has proposed new criteria for the
measurement of effectiveness of federal financing of basic scientific research,
according to an article in the Chronicle by Jeffrey Brainard. The new
criteria would focus on the quality of research programs, mainly as assessed
through peer review of the studies the programs finance. They would also require
federal agencies that distribute research funds to examine the relevance of the
studies they sponsor to their agency’s objectives, and to develop reliable
measurements of the researcher’s performance. This information would then be
used to guide future decisions on spending. Critics are worried that the
proposal could inhibit research at universities and other institutions that
takes years to pay off. See http://chronicle.com/daily/2002/02/2002022803n.htm
The White House has spurned efforts to close the ‘Digital
Divide’, according to an article by Yochi Dreazen in the February 27th
Wall Street Journal. Administration leaders have spoken out against
programs aimed at bringing the poor, minorities, and rural residents in the US
into ready access and utilization of the Internet. Breaking with Clinton
administration policy, the Bush administration is dismantling many programs
devoted to ending the so-called digital divide. Democrats have complained,
criticizing the Bush administration for dropping the programs amid a recession
that leaves the least-educated Americans most vulnerable. The administration
says that the divide has been closed somewhat, and that future efforts should be
undertaken by the private sector. One casualty is the Technology Opportunities
Program (TOP), which was a Clinton favorite, aimed at providing matching grant
funding for technology projects at schools, libraries, health agencies, police
departments, and other nonprofits. See http://www.wsj.com
The President’s Science Advisor, Jack Marburger, recently
discussed the administration’s FY 2003 budget for science and technology at
the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
He presented a justification for a major focus on supporting the fight against
terrorism, but also described in detail the opportunities presented by new tools
and understandings of science at the atomic level. His full remarks can be found
at http://www.ostp.gov/html/02_02_20.html
The hiring of foreign workers under H-1B visas is
frustrating native job seekers, according to an article in the February 27th
Washington Post by Carrie Johnson. Groups such as the Black Data
Processing Associates and the IEEE-USA say that there is significant
unemployment of Americans in the technical areas where companies continue to
hire from abroad under the H1-B program. Some 28,000 skilled foreign workers
were approved for visas during the last three months of 2001. See http://www.washingtonpost.com
The National Academy of Engineering has awarded two top
prizes, honoring engineers in education and in medicine, according to an article
in the March 2002 issue of Engineering Times. Eli Fromm of Drexel
University received the Bernard M. Gordon Prize for his work in broadening the
engineering curriculum to emphasize communication, business and design. The
changes he has promoted, according to the Academy, have had dramatic results in
improving the retention of students – especially minority students. Robert
Langer of MIT received the Charles Stark Draper Prize, for his work with polymer
plastics. The technologies he developed have created new ways for drugs to reach
parts of the human body, thus prolonging lives and easing suffering for millions
of people each year. Each prize includes a $500,000 award. See http://www.nspe.org
. The NAE also has announced its list of newly elected members – 74 in the US
plus seven new foreign associates. For a listing and short description of
rationale for each elected, see http://chronicle.com/daily/2002/02/2002021810n.htm
Colleges are slowly starting to count work with technology
in tenure decisions, according to a major article in the Chronicle by
Jeffrey Young. To date the standard advice to faculty has been not to
waste time teaching online or laboring over electronic course enhancements
unless you have already climbed to the top of the tenure and promotion ladder
– but to stick to traditional academic activities like publishing journal
articles. Arguments about whether technology in teaching counts seem to be more
pronounced in research universities than at more teaching-oriented schools.
Leaders at a nationwide project called Merlot propose a solution: apply the same
kind of peer review system used for journals to the evaluation of electronic
teaching materials. Many professors say that the lack of consideration given to
teaching with technology at some institutions is simply the latest example of a
longstanding neglect of teaching in professional evaluation. See http://chronicle.com/free/v48/i24/24a02501.htm
An Indian University plans a dramatic expansion of distance
education using the airwaves, according to a note in the Chronicle by
Martha Overland. The Indira Gandhi National Open University will establish 40 FM
radio stations and set up 2,000 television satellite downlinks to its study
centers. The new facilities will bring educational programming, in languages
specific to the local area, to every corner of the country. The university is
India’s largest provider of distance learning programs, with an enrollment of
750,000 students. See http://chronicle.com/free/2002/02/2002022601u.htm
Research networks in North America and Europe have formed
an international group to create a global backbone network for use by scientists
doing multinational research, according to a note by Florence Olsen in the Chronicle.
The new group includes advanced networking groups in Canada, the US,
Britain, and Europe. The network is intended to provide advanced Internet
services to researchers in such fields as high-energy physics, astronomy,
weather forecasting, and biological and earth sciences, all of which require the
transfer and analysis of huge quantities of data. See http://chronicle.com/free/2002/02/2002022003t.htm
Two Canadian colleges are testing the effectiveness of
wireless learning, as reported in a Chronicle note by Karen Birchard. The
research program will assess whether wireless technology helps students to learn
better in their first year in colleges – and also whether going wireless will
help attract future students. Students in an introductory accounting course will
use handheld pocket computers with Internet access. They will be able to
download course materials, including their textbooks, and to communicate with
fellow students and their instructors. See http://chronicle.com/free/2002/03/2002030101u.htm
More institutions are encouraging students to create online
‘electronic portfolios’ that highlight their academic work and experiences,
according to an article by Jeffrey Young in the Chronicle. An e-portfolio
is typically an extensive resume that links to an online repository of a
student’s papers, problem sets, pictures from study-abroad periods, and
anything else that demonstrates the student’s accomplishments and activities.
Such portfolios can be useful in dealing with prospective employers, and with
parents who want to know where their tuition money is going. See http://chronicle.com/free/2002/02/2002022101t.htm
A new handbook collects essays about the nuts and bolts of
online learning, according to a note by Brock Read in the Chronicle. The ASTD
E-Learning Handbook (McGraw Hill, 2002) compiles both essays that have
previously appeared in online or print journals, and other written specifically
for the book. The book’s range of suggestions and studies is its greatest
strength, according to one reviewer. See http://chronicle.com/free/2002/03/2002030701u.htm
The March/April issue of Change magazine has an
interesting series of articles on university finances and student aid. “Cracks
in the Bedrock” asks whether U.S. higher education can remain number one in
the world with current fiscal pressures. “Higher Tuition” analyzes the trend
for public institutions to raise tuition and fees as state dollars decrease.
“After the Tipping Point” explores the complex relationships between the
economic downturn, public policy on funding higher education, changing
demographics, and the information economy’s demand for a more educated
workforce. “Is Merit Based Student Aid Really Trumping Need Based Aid”
concludes that to date need based aid is not jeopardized. And “The Blurring
Line Between Merit and Need in Financial Aid” indicates that student’s
academic promise is becoming more important in admissions and is increasingly
influencing the amount of aid granted. See http://www.heldref.org
A national commission that blasted American research
universities in 1998 for ignoring undergraduate education says in a follow-up
report that the institutions have undergone a ‘sea change’ in the emphasis
they put on teaching undergraduates, according to an article in the Chronicle
by Robin Wilson. The Boyer Commission, followed up its 1998 report
“Reinventing Undergraduate Education: A Blueprint for America’s Research
Universities” with a new survey of 123 research universities. The group
concluded that the universities have made ‘considerable headway’ in
achieving many of the recommendations of the earlier report. However, the group
noted that campus efforts to improve undergraduate education are not always well
coordinated and that many faculty still do not believe that teaching is as
important as scholarship in tenure and promotion decisions. The new report says
that universities have made the most progress in creating research opportunities
for undergraduates. See http://chronicle.com/daily/2002/03/2002030801n.htm
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a federal privacy law
governing educational records does not prohibit teachers from asking students to
grade one another’s work, according to a note by Ben Gose in the Chronicle.
The unanimous decision ends a challenge filed by an Oklahoma mother who had
argued that peer grading violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
because the grades are disclosed without parental consent. The mother had filed
the lawsuit after her learning disabled son was ridiculed as a ‘dummy’ after
his grades were disclosed in his sixth grade classroom. Briefs filed by
educational organizations argued that posting of exemplary papers in the
classroom and having students exchange and assess written work of others was a
time tested instructional method. See http://chronicle.com/daily/2002/02/2002022001n.htm
The global economy requires international accreditation,
according to an article by Kathy Kowalenko in the March 2002 issue of IEEE’s The
Institute. With globalization of the engineering profession and the trend in
companies of hiring from qualified engineering and computer science programs in
many countries, many countries have adopted national accreditation systems. IEEE
has organized several international workshops to inform its members, government
officials, university leaders, and industry executives about the accreditation
process. It is noted that in today’s economy, graduating from an accredited
university with globally equivalent programs has become extremely important for
engineering students. See http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/INST/ti.html
A new study explores the factors linked to tuition
increases at public and private colleges, according to a note by Thomas Bartlett
in the Chronicle. The study by the U.S. Department of Education’s
National Center for Education Studies examined trends in institution’s costs
and revenues and what they charge in tuition, from 1988 to 1996 for private
colleges and from 1988 to 1998 for public colleges. At private colleges, the
study found a strong correlation between increases in undergraduate tuition and
institutional aid for students, with a smaller but still significant correlation
between tuition and higher faculty pay. The overriding influence in public
universities was reductions in state appropriations. See http://chronicle.com/daily/2001/02/2002021803n.htm
Researchers at Cornell University have developed a model
for evaluating success of transfer students from 2-year institutions, according
to a note by Jamilah Evelyn in the Chronicle. The model evaluates how
successful community colleges are in preparing students to transfer to public
four-year institutions, and how effective universities are at graduating those
transfer students. Community colleges are judged mainly on the proportion of
students they send to four-year institutions and how many of those students
graduate within three years. Universities are judged on the proportion of such
transfer students who graduate within three years of transferring. See http://chronicle.com/daily/2002/02/2002022203n.htm
President Peter McPherson of Michigan State University has
challenged the nation’s universities to heed the wakeup call of the September
11th terrorist attacks by becoming more involved internationally,
particularly in developing countries struggling with poverty. According to an
article in the February 21st issue of the MSU News Bulletin by
Deb Pozega Osburn, McPherson challenged all public universities to make
long-term commitments to solving global problems that universities are uniquely
qualified to address. He cited university’s expertise in economics,
agriculture, and education as examples of resources that should be used to
improve the human condition globally. See http://www.newsbulletin.msu.edu/feb21/sou.html
Minority faculty members have made slight gains in
representation on campuses, according to new figures reported by the U.S.
Department of Education. As noted in the Chronicle by Martin van der
Werf, about 82.8% of faculty members were white in 1999, down slightly from
83.9% in 1997. The proportions of Hispanic and Asian faculty members were up
slightly, with the proportion of Black faculty members virtually unchanged. The
study also looked at changes in percentages of full time vs. part time faculty:
four year private colleges hired a higher percentage of full time faculty, while
public four year colleges hired a higher percentage of part timers. See http://chronicle.com/daily/2002/03/2002031102n.htm
A panel at the recent AAAS annual meeting offered
strategies for raising the number of women scientists in academe, according to
an article by Lila Guterman in the Chronicle. Placing women in leadership
roles and making rational hiring decisions are vital to helping female engineers
and scientists receive equitable treatment in the job market, according to
panelists. Success stories from several institutions were reported. Many of the
speakers also stated that improving women’s opportunities for being hired and
promoted usually results in overall improvement for a department or institution.
See http://chronicle.com/daily/2002/02/2002022002n.htm
The engineering discipline, trying to provide a warmer
welcome for female students, tries to stress social relevance – an important
factor for many women. According to a major article by Elizabeth Farrell in the Chronicle,
the percentage of women students choosing engineering continues to hover
around 20% – up only a little from the 15% some 20 years ago. For years
educators assumed that women’s lack of interest in engineering was due largely
to the programs’ being male dominated and the curriculum’s containing lots
of math and science, but trends in other fields suggest that is too easy an
explanation. The challenge for the engineering program is to show that its
disciplines have social value and relevance. Engineering programs need to make
the field relevant by first providing a framework, instead of just charging into
math and science equations. See http://chronicle.com/weekly/v48/i24/24a03101.htm
Women engineers and scientists who want to pursue academic
careers in Japan face almost insurmountable obstacles, according to an article
by Lucille Craft in the March 2002 issue of ASEE Prism. Increasingly,
however, they are fighting back against the male-dominated, tradition bound
Japanese culture that assumes that women exist primarily to serve as wives and
mothers. Currently at national universities in Japan, women comprise a higher
proportion of science and engineering faculties than ever before, but they are
concentrated at the lower rungs: 15.9% of all assistants, 11.2% of lecturers,
but only 5.8% of associate professors and 2.4% of professors. See http://www.asee.org/prism
The University of Wisconsin has given ‘equity’ pay
raises to 42 female faculty members, according to a note in the Chronicle by
Jennifer Ruark. The raises are part of a continuing effort to redress gender
inequity at the university. After a 1992 study found a significant gap between
men’s and women’s salaries that could not be explained by merit,
accomplishment, or years of service, the university gave pay raises to 372
female faculty members. When salaries were examined again in 1995 and in 1998,
no aggregate differences were found. But questions about the validity of the
1998 study led to the recent re-evaluation and subsequent raises. See http://chronicle.com/daily/2002/02/2002021901n.htm
The International Journal of Engineering Education has
published Volume 18, Number 1, 2002. Some eleven papers cover topics on
engineering education research and policy, engineering design, mechanical
engineering, manufacturing engineering, engineering mathematics, and marine
engineering-software. See http://www.ijee.dit.ie
The Chronicle of Higher Education has vastly improved its job postings, and has made them freely available on the Internet. Signing on at http://chronicle.com/jobs brings up a menu that includes:
Ø Faculty positions (click on Science/Technology, then Engineering)
Ø Administrative positions (click on Academic affairs, then Deans)
Ø Executive positions (look at Presidents, Chancellors, and VPs/Provosts)
Ø
Positions outside academe
In each case, positions available are listed by state, and
date of posting is noted. Also in each case, you can sign up for an e-mail alert
each time new positions are added to categories of interest to you – a
significant free service when you want to explore available positions.
Since this Chronicle service is now vastly superior
to its previous approach, and is superior to the listings previously provided in
this space in the Digest, the listing of positions of possible interest will no
longer be carried here.
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