The Association of American Universities announced a five-year initiative last week to improve methods of undergraduate education in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. The University is one of the 61 research institutions comprising AAU, a nonprofit organization.
The initiative "will lead to increased retention of students in STEM fields and improved completion rates for STEM majors, as well as a more science-literate workforce," AAU President Hunter Rawlings said in a statement.
The plan seeks to develop methods to assess the quality of STEM education, explore new ways to work with STEM professors and collaborate with federal research agencies to promote efforts to improve undergraduate education.
Asst. Engineering School Dean James Groves said the University has already been working on efforts to further STEM undergraduate education. The engineering department stresses the importance of "high impact experiences," which is "the idea of an education moving beyond the classroom," including international study abroad experiences, engineering internships, community service projects and co-ops, he said.
Groves said the AAU initiative could encourage these goals further. "It's always important for us to calibrate against what else is going on across the country," he said.
The initiative will add to the number of programs currently supporting STEM education programs at the University, said Glen Bull, professor in mathematics and education.
"So far we've gotten grants by the MacArthur Foundation, the Motorola Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, the National Science Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation," he said. "[This initiative is] another piece of the mosaic"
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