Mohr CIRTL Talk 11 03

Changing Graduate Education:Lessons from the UC-AGEP: 

John Mohr Chair, UC-AGEP Steering Committee Associate Dean, Graduate Division Associate Professor, Sociology University of California, Santa Barbara Changing Graduate Education: Lessons from the UC-AGEP

I. AGEP (Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate): 

I. AGEP (Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate) NSF Sponsored program Goal = “To increase the number of minority students pursuing advanced study, obtaining doctoral degrees, and entering the professoriate in STEM disciplines. Alliances participating in this program are expected to engage in comprehensive institutional cultural changes that will lead to sustained increases in the conferral of STEM doctoral degrees, significantly exceeding historic levels of performance.”

II. UC-AGEP: 

II. UC-AGEP 1999—3 Individual Awards $500,000 x 5 years (Berkeley, Irvine, San Diego) 2000 — Expanded to include 6 other campuses $66,000 each (Davis, UCLA, Riverside, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz) No “Lead” Campus

III. The “Alliance”: 

III. The “Alliance” A Natural Experiment (Different Programs, Goals, Structures) Uniquely Visible because of Steering Committee. Pre-existing infrastructure Share Best Practices, Discuss Dilemmas, Problem Solve, Reflect, Plan, Coordinate and Create

IV. Program Successes: 

IV. Program Successes (1) UC-Leads (San Francisco): Undergraduate Research Experience Program Enter as Sophomore Stipend, research expenses, professional development, test prep, etc. 1st Summer Research on home campus 2d Summer Research on alternate UC campus

IV. Program Successes: 

IV. Program Successes (2) Diversity Officers (Berkeley): High Level Staff Located in Colleges (Report to Divisional Dean) Work closely with faculty (admissions, grants, program implementation). Work closely with Students

IV. Program Successes: 

IV. Program Successes (3) Graduate Retention Program (Irvine): Pre-Enrollment Summer Program Professional Development Activities Cohort continues throughout graduate career

IV. Program Successes: 

IV. Program Successes (4) Pre-Application Conference (Berkeley): UG Students Pre-identified and invited November conference Meet with Faculty, attend classes Conference Application = Grad Application

IV. Program Successes: 

IV. Program Successes (5) Summer Graduate Internship (Santa Barbara): From Working with HBCUs Summer visitation to promote UC campus as post-doc destination Builds communities and connections Two-way Programs, satisfying mutual interests

V. Virtues of Alliance Model: 

V. Virtues of Alliance Model Alliance = Alternative to “hiring” as mode of acquiring professional knowledge & expertise. Promotes Reflexivity (sharing and discussing) Promotes Creativity (common problem solving arena) Facilitates Economies of Scale Enables Synergistic Opportunities

VI. Lessons on Organizational Change from UC-AGEP: 

VI. Lessons on Organizational Change from UC-AGEP (1) Changes in Student Diversity require transformative (not incremental) changes. Quantitative and Qualitative Change. (2) Organizations are extremely resistant to such changes. So, think big.

VI. Lessons on Organizational Change from UC-AGEP: 

VI. Lessons on Organizational Change from UC-AGEP (3) Changes in Organizational Structure are an especially effective mechanism for bringing about radical Organizational changes. (4) Organizational Crises are an especially effective moment for bringing about radical Organizational changes.

VI. Lessons on Organizational Change from UC-AGEP: 

VI. Lessons on Organizational Change from UC-AGEP (5) Faculty, Staff and Senior Administration are all necessary but not sufficient elements. (6) Faculty are critical to graduate education. They are also natural born change agents. But they must be used sparingly and effectively. (7) Staff are critical because the work is very labor intensive (but training & experience are critical). (8) Senior Administrators can provide legitimacy, critical resources and faculty buy-in. They also can kill a good program fast.

VI. Lessons on Organizational Change from UC-AGEP: 

VI. Lessons on Organizational Change from UC-AGEP (9) Data, data analysis and the effective dissemination of these analyses are the most effective means of persuasion in academic organizations. (10) Don’t reinvent the wheel. Rely on existing professional knowledge bases whenever possible. (Hiring, Alliance, Professional community, etc.).

VI. Lessons on Organizational Change from UC-AGEP: 

VI. Lessons on Organizational Change from UC-AGEP (11) Research Driven Diversity Development (RD3) = means spend resources on infrastructure (not students). (12) Inter-organizational partnerships are critical but they must be carefully constructed, one by one, on a basis of shared respect and mutual pursuit of common interests.