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Why Graduate Education Must
be Supported
Economic value of university research and graduate programs
States with strong
university research systems significantly increase their economy by attracting
industry.1 Commercial
success depends on research and development and new ways to increase
productivity, which can be assisted by university research.
For example, university research is routinely responsible for the
development of entirely new fields, such as microelectronics, biotechnology,
nuclear physics, and modern agriculture and forestry.
The outcome is that university research and academic programs generate
four times the resources invested in them by the state.2
New York State’s future
economy will depend heavily on a highly skilled work force. Studies
have shown that human resources are the most critical element for economic
growth. In fact, graduate education
is probably the most effective technology-transfer mechanism, i.e., from
university research programs to industry and organizations outside of academia. Therefore, graduate education and training are keys to
improving the economy.
Furthermore, the need for
graduate education is changing.
It has been predicted that the average work-life in the future will
consist of 6-7 different careers!3 To have a highly-skilled work
force will require providing opportunities for people to continue acquiring
skills and expertise throughout their lives.
What is graduate education?
The purpose of graduate
education is to develop and train students to be independent and critical
scholars and researchers. So the discovery of new
knowledge is an integral part of graduate education. It requires mentoring by research faculty, and modern
research is costly. But without this kind of investment, the development of new
fields, which is the foundation for economic and social development, would
proceed at a snail’s pace. The
USA’s university research and graduate education system is the envy of other
nations because of its ability to contribute so significantly to economic and
social development.
Interdependence of undergraduate and graduate education
Graduate students make
substantial contributions to undergraduate education.4 As role
models, they can help undergraduates develop focus and time management, two of
the biggest hurdles for undergraduates. They
help personalize instruction, which is important as the student-faculty ratio
increases.
Graduate education at risk
Because graduate education
requires faculty with research programs and sophisticated laboratory facilities,
libraries, computer services and so forth, it is costly.
The cost is underwritten by the state, federal government, industrial and
commercial partners, and foundations. States
have been reducing their support of higher education.
Among the 50 states, New York State is now dead last in support of higher
education.5 Over the
last decade, as state revenues have declined and these other sources of funds
have in general reduced support, reflecting the economic situation, support for
graduate education has not kept pace with the need.
Infrequent increases in tuition have not covered the increasing costs.
Tuition for public universities only covers a fraction of the cost of
education. The cost of education to
public universities per graduate student per year is about $35,000, whereas
BU’s graduate tuition is $7,000-11,000, which is set by the state to keep
graduate education affordable to students.
Recommendations from national reports
Federal and state
governments need a plan to ensure that highly-qualified graduate students of low
and middle income families can obtain affordable advanced degrees.
States need a plan to
support graduate education that eliminates the current resource instability and
uncertainty of state funds to higher education. (At present, public universities cannot meet system goals
because state funding is so unstable.)
Universities need to
develop other sources of revenue (in particular other than state funds), which
in turn means the units on campus need to develop other sources of revenue.
Graduate students need to
recognize that career paths and the job market are different now and likely to
keep changing. Universities need to
help students prepare for that.
The future of graduate
education at public institutions in the USA, in particular to make graduate
education affordable and at the same time maintain US competitiveness in
knowledge development, information services and other technology, will depend on
a different mix for funding (among federal, state, foundations and individuals)
than has existed in the past. Alumni
giving back to their institutions will become increasingly important.
1
Zucker, Darby & Brewer 1997 Intellectual human capital and the birth of U.S.
biotechnology enterprises. Am Econ Rev 87(3)
2
Shaping the Future: The Economic Impact of Public Universities. 2001 National
Assoc State University & Land-Grant Colleges
3
Kovel-Jarboe 2003 The Changing Contexts of Higher Education and Four
Possible Futures for Distance Education.
http://horizon.unc.edu/projects/issues/papers/kovel.asp
4
Task Force Report: Graduate and professional education: The national debate. 1997 Assoc American
Universities.
5
Our Higher Education System Is a Bargain for New York Taxpayers. 2002 Budget Watch ’03. Public Policy Inst New York State.
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