TY - JOUR
T1 - The Rapid Model
T2 - 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference, ASEE 2021
AU - Acker, Thomas L.
AU - Bloom, Nena E.
N1 - Funding Information:
Driven by the need for a graduate-educated workforce in wind energy, the need for universities to establish or enhance wind energy programs but without new resources to do so, and the desire to diversify the wind-energy workforce, the National Science Foundation (NSF) Innovations in Graduate Education division funded the WindU project. Building upon the published literature, the project team is piloting and testing a new, replicable model for rapidly creating an expandable, multi-university, multi-disciplinary consortium in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) graduate education. The STEM discipline in which the model is being tested is wind energy graduate education, with the goal that the model can be useful in other fields as well. The results of the pilot are intended to add to the knowledge base concerning establishment of an expandable university consortium in graduate STEM education, strategies for improving diversity of the student population, and for effectively incorporating international experiences. The purpose of this paper is to describe the structure of the consortium and the “Rapid” model that is being tested, and to report on the initial findings of the research related to piloting the model.
Funding Information:
Addressing emerging issues, future growth, and sustainability Participants identified several topics that the consortium developers will need to work through in the future. For instance, several faculty members questioned how to determine whether students from other universities had the necessary content background to take a course, and they suggested either a placement test or defined prerequisites. Several interview participants mentioned that identifying who counts as a consortium student, which has financial implications, still needs to be confirmed by all partners. A number of interview participants identified that criteria for future growth and direction of the consortium should be determined in the near future, such as what criteria should be used to add new courses, certificates, or partners, and how to confirm course rigor and quality. Sustaining the consortium beyond grant funding was also mentioned by several as a future issue.
Publisher Copyright:
© American Society for Engineering Education, 2021
PY - 2021/7/26
Y1 - 2021/7/26
N2 - Skilled candidates with graduate training are in critical need in the wind energy industry. To prepare for employment in the industry requires both general training (e.g., an engineering degree, a business degree, etc.) and specialized training (e.g., wind energy resource assessment, wind turbine design, environmental impacts training, etc.). Consequently, it is challenging for one educational institution to provide the depth and breadth of course offerings and educational opportunities required. This challenge exists in many multidisciplinary and rapidly evolving fields. WindU is a collaborative National Science Foundation funded effort to respond to this need, by developing and testing a model to establish an expandable, multi-university, multidisciplinary consortium in STEM graduate education. The consortium consists of multiple universities across the United States who have expertise in wind energy and share distance learning courses. The goal is to both broaden learning opportunities for current students, and to open up the pool of possible students interested in this field. Expanding educational opportunities by developing online delivery of wind energy graduate courses is one strategy to address much needed diversity in the field. Building upon the literature of previous successful consortium development, a new replicable model for setting up a consortium was created, called the Rapid model, with the name reflecting the goal to implement a new consortium within one year. Researchers conducted a study to determine the effectiveness of the model, through observing program meetings, interviewing faculty, staff and administrators engaged in the consortium development work, and examining course sharing outcomes. Researchers identified a number of aspects of the model most important for establishing the consortium, including the importance of external facilitation, committed faculty, staff and administrators, and useful tools and procedures. The research also identified some areas for model modification. This replicable model adds to the knowledge base concerning establishment of an expandable university consortium in graduate STEM education.
AB - Skilled candidates with graduate training are in critical need in the wind energy industry. To prepare for employment in the industry requires both general training (e.g., an engineering degree, a business degree, etc.) and specialized training (e.g., wind energy resource assessment, wind turbine design, environmental impacts training, etc.). Consequently, it is challenging for one educational institution to provide the depth and breadth of course offerings and educational opportunities required. This challenge exists in many multidisciplinary and rapidly evolving fields. WindU is a collaborative National Science Foundation funded effort to respond to this need, by developing and testing a model to establish an expandable, multi-university, multidisciplinary consortium in STEM graduate education. The consortium consists of multiple universities across the United States who have expertise in wind energy and share distance learning courses. The goal is to both broaden learning opportunities for current students, and to open up the pool of possible students interested in this field. Expanding educational opportunities by developing online delivery of wind energy graduate courses is one strategy to address much needed diversity in the field. Building upon the literature of previous successful consortium development, a new replicable model for setting up a consortium was created, called the Rapid model, with the name reflecting the goal to implement a new consortium within one year. Researchers conducted a study to determine the effectiveness of the model, through observing program meetings, interviewing faculty, staff and administrators engaged in the consortium development work, and examining course sharing outcomes. Researchers identified a number of aspects of the model most important for establishing the consortium, including the importance of external facilitation, committed faculty, staff and administrators, and useful tools and procedures. The research also identified some areas for model modification. This replicable model adds to the knowledge base concerning establishment of an expandable university consortium in graduate STEM education.
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M3 - Conference article
AN - SCOPUS:85124566568
SN - 2153-5965
JO - ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings
JF - ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings
Y2 - 26 July 2021 through 29 July 2021
ER -