Texas to low-enrollment physics programs: raise graduation rates or close

Nature has a report on a meeting between Texas higher ed officials and a delegation from the American Physical Society:

Members of the American Physical Society requested yesterday’s meeting with the state’s Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) after announcements in recent weeks that nearly half of the 24 undergraduate physics programmes at state funded universities could be on the chopping block if they fail to graduate at least 25 students every 5 years.

“Until now, most faculty members thought their role was to do research and teach courses they were assigned. Now, researchers at institutions in Texas are going to have to take responsibility for students graduating successfully,” says Michael Marder, a physicist at the University of Texas at Austin who attended the meeting.

But it’s not necessarily just Texas:

The change may not be confined to Texas. The state’s plans are being carefully watched by officials in other states who are looking for ways to reduce higher-education budgets. Florida governor Rick Scott, for example, has publicly voiced an interest in similar measures.

 

President Obama on Orlando’s WESH: nation must revamp its education system, improve its infrastructure and invest in science and technology

From a post on the Orlando Sentinel TV blog, on an interview by WESH anchor Jim Payne with the President:

In the interview, Payne talked about his two sons, ages 19 and 23. The WESH anchor revealed that his older son recently moved home, and Payne said he is worried his children won’t have the same opportunities he enjoyed as a young man.

President Obama said he shared that concern. “This is the worst financial crisis and recession that has existed in our lifetimes,” Obama said. “So it’s challenging for young people who are coming up in the midst of those kind of circumstances.”

But Obama stressed that country needs to revamp its education system, improve its infrastructure and invest in science and technology.

“This is a great country that had gotten a little soft, and we didn’t have that same competitive edge that we needed over the last couple of decades,” Obama told Payne. “We need to get back on track, but I still wouldn’t trade our position with any countries on Earth. We still have the best universities, best scientists and best workers in the world. We still have the most dynamic economic system in the world. So we just need to bring those things together.”

Obama added that young people — “like your sons” — give him confidence “that they’re going to help figure this out and make sure that we maintain our No. 1 status.”

FSU’s “Flying Circus of Physics” outreach event this Saturday

Learn about it here.

 

News Service of Florida: Florida universities under pressure to produce more STEM degrees

Lilly Rockwell, the education reporter for the News Service of Florida, explored the obstacles facing the drive to increase the production of STEM degrees at Florida’s public universities (here’s a link to the story at the WCTV web site).

The most telling quote in the piece came from Frank Brogan:

State University System Chancellor Frank Brogan said universities have to be responsive to student demand.

“Often times we offer more of what is in demand and if psychology degrees are in greater demand (with students), or if Fine Arts are in greater demand than STEM education, we offer more of them,” Brogan said.

And there it is:  students as customers…again.

There’s more from former FSU Arts and Sciences Dean Joe Travis, who emphasizes the importance of getting students interested in math and science in middle school and before.  And from me:  In my comments, I focused on the importance of making students STEM-ready, perhaps through eligibility requirements for Bright Futures scholarships.

But until policy-makers decide to redirect resources toward building interest and preparation in science, math and engineering fields – perhaps against the flow of student interest – we will not make any substantial progress in reigniting Florida’s economy.

Science and Engineering Readiness Index reaches public relations milestone

The Science and Engineering Readiness Index (SERI), formulated by AIP’s Susan White and FSU’s Paul Cottle to focus the public’s attention on the importance of high school courses in calculus and physics, achieved one more milestone this week when the public relations web site Newswise announced that the AIP’s SERI news release was one of its ten most downloaded for the months of July and August, with 3937 downloads.

Among other visibility highlights for SERI since its release on July 1:

• Publication on the Huffington Post on July 11

• Publication at LiveScience on July 7

• Item in the July issue of Physics Today

• Item on the msnbc web site on July 8

• Op-ed in the July 20 issue of the Orlando Sentinel

• Op-ed in the July 8 issue of the Raleigh News and Observer

• Editorial in the July 21 issue of the Raleigh News and Observer (also reproduced in the July 22 issue of the Charlotte Observer)

• Appearance in the Florida TaxWatch “Government Cost Savings Task Force Report” for 2012-2013, released on September 15 (page 179)

• Article in the October issue of The Physics Teacher

The full report on SERI is in the Summer 2011 issue of the Newsletter of the Forum on Education of the American Physical Society.

Twenty states named “lead partners” in writing of “Next Generation Science Standards”; Florida not among them

h/t Curriculum Matters

Achieve, Inc. has named 20 state partners for the writing of the “Next Generation Science Standards”, which will be based on the “Framework” released earlier by the National Research Council.

The list of “Lead State Partners” does not include Florida, which played leading roles in the earlier adoption of Common Core Standards in math and language arts, and in the development of common assessments for those standards.  It may be that the departure of Commissioner Eric Smith has led to a change in the state’s attitude toward common standards, or that science is not considered a priority in the state.

Achieve expects to complete the science standards by the end of 2012.

Next Florida Senate President focuses on STEM education

From a blog post by Palm Beach Post political reporter John Kennedy, reporting on the selection of Niceville Republican Don Gaetz to be the next President of the Florida Senate:

[Gaetz] vowed to bolster the state’s political ethics, make education meet the state’s economic needs, and turn Florida into a “cradle of common sense solutions,” that can draw businesses with smaller government, low taxes, and reduced regulations…

…Another multi-millionaire who has pledged to fix Florida’ s economy, Gov. Rick Scott, said he liked what he heard from Gaetz, a former county school board member and superintendent.

“He understands that we really have to do the right thing with regard to education. Science, technology, engineering and math are clearly going to be key to growing our state. It’s going to be a real key to getting companies to move here,” Scott said. “I like the challenge that he set down.”

Kennedy also pointed out that Gaetz is the Legislature’s wealthiest member.

The St. Pete Times political blog The Buzz reported that Gaetz also called for a “massive transformation of Florida’s higher education system to make it prepare more of tomorrow’s graduates for the needs of a high-tech work force.”

Florida TaxWatch: Expand STEM programs

Included in the report of the Florida TaxWatch Government Cost Savings Task Force is a three-page section (starting on page 178) on improving STEM education the secondary and postsecondary levels.  The report was released last Thursday.

The bottom line is stated in a recommendation:

The Legislature should direct the Department of Education to develop a STEM-Ready track for high school students, and direct the Board of Governors to develop a STEM-Track for undergraduate degree programs for the state’s colleges and universities.  The Legislature should require DOE to create a specific scholarship track for higher education students enrolled in major coursework in the STEM-fields to encourage higher enrollment in STEM-fields.  Once completed, the Department of Education and Board of Governors should formulate a permanent committee to implement and maintain the program.  Partial funding for the program could be derived from Florida businesses who desire specifically skilled workers.  

Space industry exec at Destin meeting: “you’ve got to have world-class public education in this region and a real strong concentration on STEM”

The Northwest Florida Daily News reported on a Destin meeting of the Aerospace Alliance, an industry group representing Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi.

The story quoted David Trent, the site director for Airbus Americas Engineering in Mobile:

“The question is always where is the workforce coming from, and I can’t stress enough this idea of you’ve got to have world-class public education in this region and a real strong concentration on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). If we don’t have that, we’ll never set up this generational pool to take care of our workforce.

“There are more jobs in aviation than engineers and pilots, without question,” he added. “Even in the commercial airline business there are hundreds of positions. A lot of these jobs are technically based and require some passion for STEM, so I want to encourage this organization to push STEM education.”

On a less cheery note, the News quoted retired General Barry McCaffrey:

“The space program is a disaster,” McCaffrey said during a press conference at the summit. “I would argue right now we’re No. 2 in space. The Russians are in a slight lead. We’ve got to do something about it.”

One week later: SUS leaders prepare to join FSU President’s effort for a “Better Than Texas” alternative plan

Denise Balona reports in the Orlando Sentinel.