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The University of Florida series, Measuring University Performance, will take up additional topics reflecting the university's commitment to measuring university performance in quality and productivity of research, teaching, extension, and service.

All of us at the University of Florida welcome comments and suggestions prompted by this series. Please write to the Office of Institutional Planning and Research, PO Box 113115, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-3115 (ufdata@aa.ufl.edu).

Introduction

In the last Measuring University Performance we focused on undergraduate education at the University of Florida and the progress that has been made over the past few years. We now turn our attention to graduate education and the improvements that we must make to match the very best universities in the country. Graduate education is an integral part of the rich undergraduate experience offered by a research university. Undergraduates benefit from the teaching, research, service, and mentoring of graduate students. And, graduate students develop the leadership skills and receive the hands-on experience so desired by employers.

Graduate students participate in a large portion of university research and development and enrich them with new ideas. Strong research programs attract the very best graduate students. Over the past five years we have seen tremendous growth in our sponsored research activity. Between FY 1995 and FY 1997, external research funding increased by 22 percent and royalties and license fees by 230 percent. According to the latest NSF data, UF ranks 12^th among AAU public universities, and 20^th in the nation, in science and engineering R&D expenditures. Preliminary figures for 1997-98 indicate another record breaking year for both sponsored research and technology transfer.

Growth of the university's research activity improves our success in recruiting and retaining high quality faculty and students. To reach the levels of performance we expect we must increase our graduate enrollment and enhance the availability of financial aid for graduate students. The strong economic climate and Florida's emphasis on building a technology-based economy make this an opportune time to address these issues.

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High Demand/High Technology

Although in this decade we hear much about the lack of suitable employment in academic positions for graduate students, particularly doctoral students, our students know better. Many of our new advanced degree holders actively and very successfully pursue employment outside the university. Nationally and at the University of Florida, about one-half of PhD recipients work in jobs outside the academic sector. Overall, the unemployment rates for doctoral and master's degree recipients remain at the low level of one and two percent, respectively.

A recent study sponsored by the federal government finds that the demand for scientists and engineers remains strong, particularly in industry. Research and development (R&D) continues to grow faster than the economy as a whole. Industry spending on R&D accounts for two-thirds of all R&D expenditures and is the fastest growing sector. The Computing Research News 1996 Taulbee Survey identifies the increased demand for new PhD's in computer, communications, and information sciences and engineering fields. The supply of these highly trained graduates remains nearly constant. The American Institute of Physics recently reported on the improved employment outlook for PhD physicists-a group hard hit in the past. Many of them have excellent skills that prepare them for careers outside the academic area where they voluntarily seek out jobs as financial analysts, engineers, and so on.

In a February 1998 report the Southern Technology Council (STC) found that "The emerging economy places a premium on highly trained and skilled people with backgrounds in scientific and technical disciplines. In study after study, high growth companies identify the lack of trained professional and technical personnel as both their primary area of need and the major road block to maintaining their current level of expansion." Florida is one of four member states STC identifies among the national leaders in building technology-based state economies. Indeed, a recent survey by the American Electronics Association and Business Facilities magazine (August 1998) ranks Florida second after Texas in the importance of high-tech industry to its state economy. The survey based its state rankings upon eight factors, including the number of high-tech companies and the growth in high-tech jobs and exports.

The increasing emphasis on high technology creates a critical need for a well-educated and highly skilled workforce. Graduate programs supply many of the workers needed by this industry, but they often produce the entrepreneurs who form the new high-tech companies. We must continue to expand the capacity of our state universities for this advanced training. More than 70 percent of UF's graduate degree recipients remain in the state after graduation (1996 Graduate School Study), creating the essential pool of high tech employees and employers. Strong graduate programs not only help retain Florida's "best and the brightest," they also attract other talented individuals to the state for their education and subsequent permanent residence.

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Current Graduate Enrollment

In Fall 1997, we had 7,671 graduate students enrolled at the University of Florida. Although we rank 12^th among our AAU peer institutions in sheer numbers, our graduate student population as a percentage of the total student population is quite low. At 19 percent, we are far below the average of the top ten AAU public universities (27%) and even below the average for all AAU publics (22%).

Percentage Graduate Enrollment:
UF vs. Top Ten AAU Publics

[AAU Top Ten: Virginia (1), Pittsburgh (2), Michigan (3), No. Carolina (4), UCLA (5), SUNY-Buffalo (6), Maryland (7), Berkeley (8), Kansas (9), Illinois (10).]

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Planned Growth

A decision to increase graduate enrollment and develop new graduate programs requires a serious commitment. Each year, the provost meets with each academic dean to discuss the college's enrollment plan. The deans develop a market analysis to assess the need to increase or decrease graduate enrollment. Working together, the provost and the deans develop both short and long-term goals for growth that fulfill the needs of both the college and the university. New academic programs receive a thorough and rigorous evaluation by the Graduate School and the university administration before seeking required approvals from the Board of Regents.

Recently, we developed an 8-year projection of graduate enrollment at UF. This plan calls for a 10 percent increase next year (98-99), followed by a 4 percent increase each year through 2002 and a 3 percent increase each year through 2006. As shown below, our proportion of graduate students will increase gradually from roughly 19 percent today to nearly 26% by 2006. This growth will bring us in line with the top AAU public universities. Extensive research over the past two years clearly indicates that we can meet these goals and that the graduates from these programs will quickly find the employment that the state's economic development plan generates.

Graduate Enrollment Growth: Present to 2006

In some parts of the country and in some fields, recent graduates forego graduate education and some even leave college early. They find good employment in fast growing fields such as computer programming. The strong economy and demographic changes in the United States' population produce a decline overall in graduate enrollment. Since 1992, graduate student enrollment at U.S. institutions grew not at all and in 1996 even declined by 2 percent. However, these national data obscure some important regional differences.

Between 1996 and 1997, graduate enrollment among the AAU publics increased slightly among those universities located in the south (+0.7%) and west (+0.5%) while decreasing among those in the Midwest (-3.0%) and northeast (-2.3%). Further, a study by the Council of Graduate Schools and the Graduate Record Examination Board shows graduate enrollment between 1995 and 1996 increasing among southern universities (particularly Research I universities) while decreasing among institutions in the other three regions, particularly those in the Midwest and northeast. Graduate growth, in short, appears in the fast growing and more populous regions of the south and the west. These regions also hold a disproportionate share of states focused on building technology-based economies.

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Assistantships and Fellowships

Competition for high quality graduate students is tougher than ever in this climate of declining enrollment and a strong labor market. A study conducted by the university's graduate school last fall documented the large financial disadvantage we must overcome to attract a higher proportion of the best students. As shown below, we rank near the bottom among thirteen AAU public institutions on both teaching and research assistant stipends, and for both in-state and out-of-state students. The average net stipend (stipend minus any fees or tuition that students must pay out of their own pocket) for our half-time, in-state graduate assistants is $8275-17 percent or $1651 less than the AAU peer average. For out-of-state graduate assistants, our position improves somewhat as we pay about $800 less than the peer average of $8842. Further, taking into account Gainesville's relatively low cost of living, we move up on the rankings on both in-state and out-of-state stipends (9^th on both). Even so, for attracting the best students, we have a definite financial disadvantage.

Average Net Stipends for Graduate Assistants

(Universities included in chart, listed alphabetically: Berkeley, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Texas-Austin, UCLA, Washington, Wisconsin.)

Data collected by the National Science Foundation indicate UF provides a low number of fellowships or traineeships to full-time science and engineering graduate students. Eight percent of our students receive their primary support from fellowships compared to an average of 14 percent of students at the other 31 AAU public universities. We rank 26^th on federally sponsored fellowships or traineeships and 21^st on those funded through the university, other state agencies, or local government. Our percentage of full-time science and engineering students primarily funded by teaching assistantships ranks only 26 ^th (19% for UF and 26% for the average AAU public university).

Percentage of Full-Time Science & Engineering
Graduate Students Funded by:

Increasing our funding for graduate assistantships and fellowships will help us compete against other research universities for the best students and allows us to keep in graduate school those bright students who might otherwise choose to enter the job market prematurely. Good financial support reduces the total cost of a graduate education, and prevents the creation of high debt levels for our graduates. Moreover, with the continued growth in graduate enrollment among underrepresented minorities-nationally, African-American enrollment grew by 8 percent and Hispanics by 5 percent between 1995 and 1996-these funds become increasingly important as members of these groups often have a high need for financial aid.

As part of its continuing drive to enhance research and graduate education, the University of Florida announces a new Graduate Fellowship Initiative. Recent endowment gifts and increased funding from the Florida legislature afford the University of Florida a unique opportunity to recruit outstanding new graduate students with full support packages. Some fellowships will provide four total years of support including full tuition and fees plus a nationally competitive stipend. Some packages may include up to two years of graduate or research assistantship. For more information on this initiative, please visit our website at http://www.aa.ufl.edu/fellows

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Conclusion

Increasing the number of graduate degrees produced by the state benefits everyone. The university can attract the top students from around the country, hire top researchers and scholars, and provide greater service to the state. Florida companies-and those considering relocating to our state-can find the workers and the technology resources they need. Undergraduates develop mentoring relation-ships as they engage in the expanded opportunities to work with faculty and graduate students on research or scholarly projects. As advanced degree holders, our graduates will enjoy higher salaries and more challenging positions. The state and its citizens reap the economic benefits through lower unemployment, lower crime rates and increased revenues. They will also enjoy the other quality of life benefits that come from a more educated society, from the availability of a wider range of cultural activities, higher participation in community life, and a greater engagement in public issues.

Diane D. Craig

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