Wimbush Selected for New Commission to Study Graduate Student Pathways

James C. Wimbush, Dean of the Indiana University Graduate School

Dean of the University Graduate School, James C. Wimbush, has been selected for a new commission to study the educational and career pathways graduate students take and recommend ways to help students move more easily from their studies into careers.

The Commission on Pathways Through Graduate School and Into Careers, is being created by the Council of Graduate Schools and the Educational Testing Service. In addition to Dean Wimbush, the commission includes leadership from academia and business. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, the commission is tasked with examining how much graduate students know about their career options once they obtain their degrees, and how students learn about their professional opportunities after graduation and the role of graduate programs in guiding students in their transition to a career.

The findings will be disclosed in a report next spring.

‘Steps Taken’ to support strong system of graduate education

If you missed it, the IDS has a story on the recent "Steps Taken" report. The report is a follow up on the "Path Forward" report released last year on the future of graduate education in the U.S.

http://www.idsnews.com/news/story.aspx?id=81338&search=wimbush§ion=search

WSJ: U.S. Business Schools Get More Competition From Abroad

IU Kelley School of Business, Courtesy of Indiana University

By KEVIN HELLIKER

U.S. graduate business schools are losing their iron grip on the thriving market for international M.B.A. students.

At the 25 U.S. graduate-business programs that award the largest numbers of degrees to international students, applications for the 2011 fall semester declined 4%, according to a survey released Tuesday by the Council of Graduate Schools, based in Washington, D.C.

Although international applications to all American business schools rose by 4%, that figure paled in comparison to the 12% growth in international bids to U.S. programs offering degrees in engineering and physical and earth sciences, the survey said.

Business-school deans attribute the relatively sluggish growth to a growing number of high-quality competitors overseas.

"Schools throughout Europe, Asia and Australia have made huge investments in graduate education in general—more specifically, business school," said James Wimbush, an Indiana University dean overseeing several graduate schools, including business.

In other disciplines, international applications to U.S. graduate programs rose 9% in education, 8% in arts and humanities, 8% in life sciences, and 5% in social sciences and psychology, making business the field with the smallest increase.

The trend is evident in separate data from the Graduate Management Admission Council, which administers the GMAT, the most popular entrance exam for graduate programs in business.

GMAC sent less than 78% of its scores to U.S. schools in test-year 2010, ended last June 30, compared with 83% in test-year 2006. During that period, the total number of exams sent jumped to 779,000 from 601,000, according to the GMAC Web site.

In one indication of growing international demand for graduate degrees in business, non-U.S. citizens taking the GMAT outnumbered U.S. citizens for the first time ever in test-year 2009, and did so again in test-year 2010.

Meanwhile, in the Financial Times's most recent rankings of global MBA programs, American schools held 24 of the top 50 spots in 2011, down from 31 in 2007.

World-wide, the number of programs accepting the GMAT has grown to 5,000 from 4,181 five years ago, said Julia Tyler, an executive vice president of GMAC.

A growing percentage of test-takers from India are choosing programs in their own country, Ms. Tyler said, adding that test takers in Western Europe are choosing that region's schools, including the London Business School, which on the latest Financial Times ranking shares the top spot with the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

U.S. business schools aren't the only programs encountering greater competition for overseas students. Of all international students who left their home countries to study, only 20% came to the U.S. in 2008, down from 25% in 2000, said Debra W. Stewart, president of the Council of Graduate Schools.

"As we sit here today, the U.S. graduate education is the best in the world," she said. "But the future is far from secure."

For U.S. graduate schools in all fields of study, the number of applications for fall 2011 from prospective international students rose 9%, according to the Council of Graduate Schools survey, roughly the same level of growth reported last year.

That includes spikes in applications of 18% from China, 7% from India and 2% from South Korea—the largest three countries of origin for international graduate students in the U.S., the council said.

Write to Kevin Helliker at kevin.helliker@wsj.com

Corrections & Amplifications
James Wimbush is a dean at Indiana University who oversees several graduate schools, including business. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said he was dean of the university's graduate school of business.

Read the original story in the Wall Street Journal

"Steps Taken on the Path Forward" highlights impact of landmark report

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

University Graduate School Dean James C. Wimbush

Washington, D.C. – On Tuesday, April 5, 2011, policymakers, business leaders, and higher education stakeholders shared their perspectives on the importance of graduate education to U.S. innovation and competitiveness and discussed the impact of last year’s landmark report “The Path Forward: The Future of Graduate Education in the United States.”

The Path Forward report, a joint effort of the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) and Educational Testing Service (ETS), called on the federal government, universities and industry to work together to ensure that graduate education remains a viable option for a growing number of students.

The report is produced by the Commission on the Future of Graduate Education, an 18-member group made up of university and industry leaders. James Wimbush, dean of the University Graduate School at Indiana University, is one of seven graduate school deans to serve on the commission.

At this year’s forum, a new paper “Steps Taken on the Path Forward” was released; the document reviews the impact of The Path Forward one year later and outlines issues and challenges confronting graduate education now and into the future. On campuses, the report has:

• Influenced critical decision processes by helping to shape institutional strategic plans and goals for graduate education programs;
• Changed institutional priorities by highlighting the importance of graduate education, the report resulted in making graduate fellowships the top priority for one institution’s fundraising;
• Created new communication channels, such as catalyzing new online discussions between deans and faculty about graduate education issues and development of a video aimed at clarifying career pathways for students; 
• Shaped evaluation metrics and affirming the commitment of graduate deans to developing and using outcome measures and offering more information to prospective and current students;

Introduced new programs, particularly professional development programs for graduate students.

“The report’s findings and recommendations have had an impact on a number of fronts - from federal policy to new university based strategic directions. They have facilitated a national conversation about the role and value of graduate education and its centrality to our quality of life.” said Debra Stewart, president of the Council of Graduate Schools. “While challenges remain, stakeholders across the country have taken the report’s findings to heart and are working to strengthen the graduate education enterprise,” she added.

Among the featured speakers were several policymakers as well as business leaders and graduate deans. Kurt Landgraf, President and CEO of ETS, Stan Litow, VP of Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs, IBM and President of IBM's Foundation, and Ronald Townsend, Executive VP for Global Laboratory Operations, Battelle Memorial Institute, discussed the importance of human talent to innovation and competitiveness.

A panel of graduate deans followed, made up of Robert Augustine, Dean of the Graduate School, Eastern Illinois University; Lisa Tedesco, Vice Provost & Dean, Laney Graduate School, Emory University; and James Wimbush, Dean, The University Graduate School, Indiana University. Each dean shared examples of the ways they used the report at the local and state level.

The event underscored the role of graduate education in maintaining and enhancing U.S. competitiveness and the need to support this strategic national asset.

About The Path Forward report 

The report, The Path Forward: The Future of Graduate Education in the United States, was guided by the Commission on the Future of Graduate Education ─ a group jointly formed by the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) and Educational Testing Service (ETS) in 2009 to study how graduate education can meet the challenges of the 21st century. The Commission is comprised of 18 university presidents and chancellors, provosts, graduate school deans, corporate leaders and higher education scholars. The report and additional information is available at www.fgereport.org.

Media Contact: Belle Woods / (202) 223-3791 / bwoods@cgs.nche.edu
UGS Contact: Erika Lee / (812) 856-3744 / ebigalee@indiana.edu

###

The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) is an organization of over 500 institutions of higher education in the United States and Canada engaged in graduate education, research, and the preparation of candidates for advanced degrees. Among U.S. institutions, CGS members award 93% of the doctoral degrees and 76% of the master’s degrees.* The organization’s mission is to improve and advance graduate education, which it accomplishes through advocacy in the federal policy arena, research, and the development and dissemination of best practices.

* Based on data from the 2009 CGS/GRE Survey of Graduate Enrollment and Degrees

Dean Wimbush Interviewed for the Chronicle of Higher Education

The University Graduate School Dean James C. Wimbush was interviewed for an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education yesterday while attending the annual meeting of the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C. Read his thoughts on learning outcomes in graduate education below.

Measurement of ‘Learning Outcomes’ Comes to Graduate School

December 1, 2010, 3:34 pm
By David Glenn

Graduate-level programs were once relatively immune from pressure to define and measure “learning outcomes” for their students. But for good or ill, the student-learning-assessment movement has begun to migrate from the undergraduate world into master’s and doctoral programs. (At some institutions, there is even talk of defining a set of “foundational outcomes” for all graduate students—that is, a set of learning goals that would be analogous to general-education goals for undergraduates.)

On Wednesday morning, as the annual meeting of the Council of Graduate Schools got under way in Washington, three graduate deans led a workshop on assessing graduate students’ learning and using such assessments to improve programs.

Formal assessment for improvement, they said, is more useful and less painful than many faculty members believe. (And in any case, accreditors are insisting on it.)

The three deans sat down for an interview after the workshop.

Q. In doctoral programs with intense mentor-apprentice relationships, the idea of establishing rubrics and other lists of learning outcomes might seem off-key. If I’m a senior professor of comparative literature and I’ve supervised 30 dissertations during my career, I probably know in my bones what successful learning in my program looks like. Why should I be asked to write out point-by-point lists of the skills and learning outcomes that my students should possess?

Charles Caramello, associate provost for academic affairs and dean of the graduate school at the University of Maryland: If you write out lists of learning outcomes, you’re making the invisible visible. That’s really my answer. We’ve all internalized these standards. They’re largely invisible to us. Assessment brings them out into visibility, and therefore gives them a history.

William R. Wiener, vice provost for research and dean of the graduate school at Marquette University, who is currently dean in residence at the Council of Graduate Schools: There’s no way to aggregate and to learn unless you’ve got some common instruments. By having common instruments, we can see patterns that we couldn’t see before.

James C. Wimbush, dean of the University Graduate School at Indiana University: Part of the story has to do with the external enviroment. Because of the decrease in funding for state institutions, because of political pressures from state legislators, we are forced to be much more accountable. Our boards of trustees now are looking for more accountability. They don’t necessarily say, “We want to make sure that you’re doing assessments of graduate programs.” But they’re questioning, Do we have too many graduate programs? We have to do a better job of being accountable for how we use our resources from the state and elsewhere. Assessment is one of the ways of doing that.

To read more:
http://chronicle.com/blogs/measuring/student-learning-outcomes-come-to-grad-school/27552

Commission calls for maintaining U.S. pre-eminence in graduate education

 Photo courtesy of Indiana University.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 29, 2010

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A landmark report released today (April 29) confirms the necessity of a graduate-level workforce to maintain U.S. competiveness and innovation while warning that the country must adopt a national strategy to increase degree completion and broaden participation in graduate education.

The Path Forward: The Future of Graduate Education in the United States calls on government, universities and industry to work together to ensure that U.S. graduate schools remain preeminent and that more U.S. citizens begin and complete graduate degree programs.

The report was produced by the Commission on the Future of Graduate Education, an 18-member group made up of university and industry leaders. James Wimbush, dean of the University Graduate School at Indiana University, is one of seven graduate school deans to serve on the commission.

"The report makes it clear that graduate education is going to be increasingly important in the future," Wimbush said. "This report is a wake-up call to the nation that action needs to be taken now to provide opportunities for more talented individuals to attend graduate school. The U.S. is losing its competitive edge in training graduate students, and the country will soon start to fall behind in its production of talented students in areas of critical need."

The report says that U.S. pre-eminence is threatened by growing international competition, demographic changes in the college-age population, and budget constraints. It contends that graduate education remains the engine of a highly skilled workforce, yet is vulnerable on several fronts.

    * The number of U.S. jobs that require a graduate degree is estimated to grow by 2.5 million by 2018, including a 17 percent increase in those requiring a doctorate and 18 percent in those requiring a master's degree.
    * While underrepresented minorities are the fastest-growing segment of the population, students from these groups currently begin and complete college at far lower rates than majority students.
    * Internationally, the U.S. share of the global international student market has shrunk since 2000, and competition abroad is increasing. Potential international graduate students have more options today.

The report, released at a forum at the U.S. Capitol, includes findings and recommendations targeted to three sectors: policymakers, universities and employers.

"The recommendations focus on removing hurdles for talented individuals to go to graduate school," Wimbush said. "And for federal policy makers, the report suggests initiatives to increase funding opportunities, training opportunities and loan forgiveness programs. It also has important implications for universities -- to help them attract talented students and help the students complete their degrees."

The report calls on employers to develop more partnerships with universities and governments, collaborate with universities to define entry points into careers and skills needed for 21st-century jobs, and provide internships and work-study opportunities for graduate students.

"IU is already working on some of the recommendations in the report, such as developing professional master's degree programs, recruiting talented students to graduate programs and providing funding to help students complete their degrees," Wimbush said. "But there is still much more for us to do and consider in order to be prepared for the future needs of our nation."

The Commission on the Future of Graduate education was formed in 2009 by the Council of Graduate Schools and the Educational Testing Service to study how graduate education can meet the challenges of the 21st century. The report can be seen online at www.fgereport.org.

http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/14301.html