Some of the initiatives we try in our underrepresented minority student programs appear to work very well with respect to guiding them to completion of the degree and moving them to success graduate school. Since the programs are for underrepresented students we do not invite the traditional students to participatge. In terms of demonstrating success, and getting future funding, we are encouraged to show that the URM students are doing better than in the past. One way to do this is to show better numbers than the with traditional students, as if our goal is have the URMs catchup. If we were to transfer what works to all students (even if we had the money) we would hurt our bottom line since we might backslide in the percentage, although not the number, of URM students graduating from our program.
The thing that bother me is that it seems to many of my traditionally represented students that the only support available goes to underrepresented students. All those grad school prep workshops are not for them. I have begun to see signs that students in the groups that traditionally sought sciences degrees are feeling unwanted in the field. At a time when overall numbers of science trained graduates is not keeping pace with the need we can not afford to be perceived as chasing any interested individuals from the field of play.
If we believe in the power of science to move all people forward, we must encourage all people to pursue the scientific way of thinking. Yes, we must make special efforts to bring those that have not embraced the life of science into the community, but we must not discourage others in the process. Following up on what works should require that funding agencies support efforts to apply successful methods to all groups.
T.S. Hall
This is a very difficult subject to address. "Traditional" students I have met have generally developed increasing disdain for these programs. Though not voiced often I find that it is there.
ReplyDeleteIt is mostly seen as money wasted in their eyes, since they don't feel the students receiving it are qualified. I've even been told that the students do not have any merit and don't deserve it.
You bring up a good point about supporting these types of programs. Science should reach out to everyone it can, not just those with a head start or who are following a traditional path. Giving more money to those already able to pursue a scientific career leaves out those that could but are intimidated or unknowing.
This subject is so complicated it's impossible to discuss in a comments section, but I think it's good that you have blogged on this topic since it tends to sit beneath the surface most of the time.
Felix, Thank you for the comment. This was one of those posts that I started some time ago, but struggled to get the right tone.
ReplyDeleteT.S. Hall
I find it unfortunate that many traditional students feel unwanted in the sciences. They are badly wanted from what I can see. Though it may seem like a lot of money is there for minorities, it's not as big as it looks and it is continually shrinking.
ReplyDeleteAs a graduate student I can definitely say that a lot of money is available to all students, not just minorities. The minority money has become more of a focus as grant competition gets tougher.
The rules set by NSF/NIH give extra points to groups that support minorities or try to recruit them. Increasingly people are putting "minority" somewhere in their renewal, though it was not a part of their original mission.