[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 57 (Friday, March 24, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15609-15610]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-7275]



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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Collection of Information Submitted for OMB Review

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act and OMB Guidelines, 
the National Science Foundation is posting an expedited notice of 
information collection that will affect the public. Interested persons 
are invited to submit comments by April 7, 1995. Copies of materials 
may be obtained at the NSF address or telephone number shown below.
    (A) Agency Clearance Officer. Herman G. Fleming, Division of 
Contracts, Policy, and Oversight, National Science Foundation, 4201 
Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22230, or by telephone (703) 306-1243. 
Comments may also be submitted to:
    (B) OMB Desk Officer. Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
ATTN: Dan Chenok, Desk Officer, OMB, 722 Jackson Place, Room 3208, 
NEOB, Washington, DC 20503.

Title: NSF Review of Undergraduate Education in Science, Mathematics, 
Engineering, and Technology.
Affected Public: Individuals, state or local governments, nonprofit 
institutions.
Respondents/Reporting Burden: 100 respondents: average two hours per 
response.
Abstract: The NSF Organic Act as amended requires the NSF to oversee 
the health of the Nation's undergraduate education in science, 
mathematics, engineering, and technology, and to provide leadership 
education in these areas. This planed up-to-date collection of 
information from national leaders will help us to identify important 
improvements and critical problems that NSF can help to address.

    Dated: March 20, 1995.
Herman G. Fleming,
Reports Clearance Officer.

National Science Foundation,
4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22230

Office of the Assistant Director for Education and Human Resources

NSF Review of Undergraduate Education

    The Education and Human Resources (EHR) Directorate of the 
National Science Foundation (NSF) is undertaking a general review of 
the condition and needs of undergraduate education in the United 
States in the areas of science, mathematics, engineering, and 
technology (SMET). The project will consult widely with students, 
educators, and employers. It is planned to take about a year to 
complete the review, which will produce a set of recommendations for 
accelerating the process of improving undergraduate education. 
Acting in an advisory capacity to Luther S. Williams, Assistant 
Director of NSF, for EHR, are members of the EHR Advisory Committee, 
Subcommittee for Undergraduate Education:

Sadie Bragg, Borough of Manhattan Community College,
Federick P. Brooks, Jr., University of North Carolina, (Ex Officio)
Melvin George, University of Minnesota, (Chair)
James Rosser, California State University at Los Angeles,
David Sanchez, Texas A&M University, and
Carolyn Meyers, Georgia Institute of Technology, (Consultant)

    The Foundation undertakes this review of the central enterprise 
of undergraduate education at a critical moment. The national 
efforts, including those of the NSF, to improve precollege education 
in SMET have been extensive and have involved efforts to create both 
innovative local improvement and larger systemic changes. The 
support of undergraduate educational improvement is more recent and 
has emphasized innovative improvement projects at single sites. The 
necessity for and possibility of larger-scale changes in 
undergraduate education is the primary question that the study will 
investigate. The Foundation recognizes that it raises this question 
at a time that the nation's colleges and universities are facing 
unprecedented financial and programmatic challenges. It is expected 
that the review will reveal ways of strengthening the effectiveness 
of these institutions in undergraduate education. The provision of 
excellent educational services requires a robust infrastructure 
whose components at all institutions include faculty, curriculum, 
and capabilities for teaching and scholarship. The condition of 
these components will be examined.
    The goals of improved undergraduate education in SMET are:
     Citizens who are empowered to be full participants in a 
scientific and technological society;
     A technically well-prepared workforce who can both 
participate and lead in the high performance workplace of advanced 
technologies;
     Teachers who are both scientifically and pedagogically 
well-prepared, and scientists and engineers who are well-prepared 
for their occupations;
     Young people with diverse backgrounds successfully 
involved in SMET in numbers that reflect their representation in the 
population.
    Consistent with its chartered responsibility to ``initiate and 
support * * * science education programs at all levels * * *'', the 
NSF seeks to ascertain the extent of effective innovation in 
undergraduate education in SMET, and what next steps, if any, should 
be taken to cause large-scale improvements to take place. The 
specific areas of inquiry listed below are designed to provide 
guidance on the question of how the nation should capitalize on its 
recent investment in the improvement of undergraduate education:
     What are the innovations and what is the evidence that 
a significant number of them represent superior practice of 
undergraduate education? The areas of inquiry regarding superior 
practice will involve: curriculum of all types and levels, faculty 
maintenance and development, pedagogy, instructional technology, 
instrumentation and facilities, research opportunities for students 
and faculty, and connections of instructional programs to the world 
of work.
     What are the unmet needs of those who are receiving and 
have received undergraduate SMET instruction?
     What are the infrastructural needs across the diverse 
providers of undergraduate instruction in order to implement the 
best instructional practice and meet the needs of students and 
employers?
     What are the problems in the context of an 
institution's entire undergraduate enterprise that need to be 
addressed to achieve the goals of undergraduate SMET education?
    The effort through which the Foundation plans to address these 
questions will consist of three phases. Phase I will involve direct, 
systematic investigation of the considered points of view of 
Americans across a broad spectrum who might be considered the 
``customers'' of the diverse educational programs and settings that 
deliver undergraduate education. It will also involve 
[[Page 15610]] intensive study of existing reports and data on the 
subject, and open-ended inquiry to experienced providers of 
undergraduate education. Phase II of the project will rely upon a 
preliminary summary of the findings from Phase I prepared by NSF 
staff that will be presented for comment and elaboration to a large 
number of persons experienced in undergraduate education, 
particularly to those faculty and administrators attending key 
professional society meetings. In Phase III, the NSF will seek to 
publicize and encourage implementation of those practices that will 
achieve improved science and engineering literacy; a technically 
capable workforce; well-prepared teachers, scientists and engineers; 
and greater participation in SMET careers by women and minorities.
    For further information contact the Division of Undergraduate 
Education (DUE) of EHR, Robert F. Watson, Division Director.

[FR Doc. 95-7275 Filed 3-23-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-M