Professional Science Master’s
Degree Programs: A Systems Approach
Dr. David King
Director, SUNY PSM Consortium Dean of Graduate Studies and Research
SUNY Oswego
NPSMA National Conference Georgia Tech Conference Center
Atlanta, GA November 14, 2014
Value of the SUNY PSM Degree
“Best and Brightest”: Helps retain some of the “best and brightest” graduates
Cross-Trained: PSM graduates are cross-trained in interdisciplinary programs Partnerships: PSM programs build partnerships between universities,
business and industry
Business Advisory Committees: PSM degrees developed in collaboration with Business Advisory Committees
Bridges: PSM programs build bridges between STEM students, faculty and employees
Experiential Learning: PSM internships, co-ops and research projects provide experiential opportunities for all students
Workforce Development: PSM- contributes to economic and workforce development
21st Century MBA: The 21st century MBA - Sheila Tobias
Value of the SUNY PSM Degree (cont’d.)
.
Added Benefits of the SUNY PSM Degree
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Supports SUNY’s strategic plan- “The Power of SUNY”
Promotes university/business partnerships in 10 Economic Development Regions of New York State
Enhances economic and workforce development Encourages regional partnerships among campuses Stimulates technology transfer
The PSM Initiative: Purpose/Goals
Strengthen master’s level education across SUNY system
Help to solve the national shortage of domestic students in graduate programs in STEM disciplines
Refocus or repurpose the mission of master’s degrees in STEM fields Develop new professional career options for students who do not
wish to pursue the doctorate
Produce PSM degrees = a professional STEM career pathway (not a consolation prize)
Major Benefits of System-Wide PSM Initiatives
Economies of scale Shared Resources More in-kind services Strength in numbers Reduce redundancy
Greater impact from supportive system leaders Facilitate intra and inter campus collaboration
Use state legislative leaderships to partner with campuses Advantages branding and name recognition
Reduces risk from go-if-alone efforts
PSM infrastructure more pervasive and sustainable
Produce greater visibility for PSM graduates with employers Facilitates recruitment
State, Regional & Local Economic & Work Force Dev.
Groups
Governor’s 10 Regional Economic Development
Councils
SUNY Professional Science Master’s Program
Original Organizational Chart
Western Regional Cluster Eastern Regional
Cluster
University at Albany Empire State College
SUNY IT SUNY Potsdam SUNY Plattsburgh
The College at Brockport University at Buffalo Buffalo State College
SUNY Fredonia SUNY Provost SUNY PSM Executive Committee SUNY PSM Director Central Regional Cluster Binghamton University Cornell University SUNY Cortland SUNY ESF SUNY IT SUNY Oneonta SUNY Oswego PSM Advisory Committees PSM Programs National Professional Science Masters Association (NPSMA) National Governors Association (NGA) National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) Sloan Foundation Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) SUNY Chancellor Regional Economic Development Councils PSM Advisory Committees PSM Programs PSM Advisory Committees PSM Programs Downstate Regional Cluster
Stony Brook Univ. SUNY New Paltz SUNY Old Westbury
PSM Advisory Committees PSM
SUNY PSM Brochure & Website
SUNY PSM Consortium Campuses
University at Albany
Forensic Biology- enrolling students
Biodiversity, Conservation & Policy- enrolling students Computer Science- enrolling students
Binghamton University
Geographic Information Systems- enrolling students Material Science & Engineering- enrolling students Biomedical Anthropology- enrolling students
Integrated Watershed Studies- in development
The College at Brockport
Biology- enrolling students
University at Buffalo
Biophysics- enrolling students
Natural & Biomedical Sciences- enrolling students Computational Chemistry- enrolling students Molecular Chemical Biology- enrolling students Environmental Geographic Information Systems- enrolling students
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Buffalo State College
Professional Applied and Computational Mathematics- enrolling students
Great Lakes Ecosystems Science- in development
Cornell University Graduate School
Applied Statistics- enrolling students
Food Science and Technology- in development
SUNY Cortland
Sustainable Energy Systems- enrolling students Biomedical Sciences- in development
Advanced Materials- in development Environmental Biology- in development
Empire State College
“Plus” Certification in Technology Transfer- in development
SUNY PSM Consortium Campuses
SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry
Sustainable Engineering Management- in development Bioprocess Engineering (track)- enrolling students Paper Engineering (track)- enrolling students
SUNY Fredonia
Green Business- in development
SUNY Institute of Technology
Applied Mathematics- in development
Health Information Systems- in development
SUNY New Paltz
Computer Science/ Data Analytics- in development
SUNY Old Westbury
Programs to be identified
SUNY Oneonta
Lake Management- in development
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SUNY Oswego
Professional Chemistry- enrolling students
Human Computer Interaction- enrolling students Health Information Technology- in development Technology Management- in development
SUNY Plattsburgh
Environmental Policy- enrolling students
SUNY Potsdam
Programs to be identified
Stony Brook University
PSM Program Development – Best Practices
Market Study: Do a market study regarding workforce needs and encourage faculty to “listen” to business partners.
Business Advisory Board: Organize a Business Advisory Board to collaborate with your PSM program faculty in designing the PSM curriculum, particularly the “PLUS” component.
Adaptation: Early PSM development should focus on adapting existing MS degree programs.
PSM Affiliation: Encourage campuses to build PSM affiliation into program development process.
Timeline: Establish a timeline for PSM development and create metrics to benchmark progress.
PSM Program Development – Best Practices (cont’d.)
Sustainable Infrastructure: Build a “sustainable” infrastructure to maintain PSM programs for the long term.
Assessment: Develop an assessment regime to monitor program outcomes.
Internship: Solicit internship placements from employers.
System-Wide PSM – Summary
• Vertical Integration: need support from top down and bottom up • Communication: lateral and vertical communication is essential • Infrastructure: needs to be sustainable
• Scaling Up: advantage of system wide initiatives
• Buy-In: essential from faculty, business leaders and administrators • Pioneers: focus on engaging a few receptive faculty, administrators
and employers who are enthusiastic about a PSM start-up
Impediments to System-Wide Collaboration
Bureaucratic Challenges: Complex bureaucratic structures and
poor communication lines may result in loss of stakeholder support.
Resource Constraints: The scarcity of institutional resources and
competition among various initiatives can place the PSM on the “backburner”.
Procedural Delays: Even small delays on the system-level can
result in severe delays on the campus level.
Pushback from Traditionalists: Potential for “pushback” from
traditional research oriented science and MBA faculty.
Resistance: Risk taking vs. risk averse.
PSM Internships Are Vital to
Sustaining PSM Programs
Internships provide benefits to each of the parties involved.
First, COMPANIES get to “test drive” some of the highest caliber students available for possible future employment.
Second, STUDENTS get to receive real world, hands-on experience in a career field related to their specific program to get an idea of what types of responsibilities and duties will be expected of them upon graduation. Third, the INSTITUTION and PROGRAM have a great opportunity to
highlight the best and brightest of their students and create collaboration opportunities.
Fourth, the STATE/REGION is provided an boost to economic and workforce development.
Conclusions: State-wide and Regional PSM
initiatives can have unique benefits
Facilitates:
Interdisciplinary collaboration Intra-campus collaboration Inter-campus collaboration
University/business partnerships
Necessitates top-down, bottom-up and lateral cooperation and communication
Established system infrastructure enables faster scale up Early adopters serve as internal nodes for rest of the system
Conclusions: State-wide and Regional PSM
initiatives can have unique benefits cont’d.
Creates a community of purpose
System provides opportunities for shared assets and services Builds a stronger “brand” and name recognition
Benefits from economics of scale
Potential for broader impact on regional and state-wide economic + workforce development.
Appeals to STEM related businesses
