BHEF Convenes Second STEM Workforce Modeling Workshop with the U.S. Office of Naval Research

Arlington, VA (May 10, 2012) — The Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF) sponsored a workshop Tuesday focused on adapting the BHEF U.S. STEM Education Model® into a powerful system dynamics tool to help the U.S. Navy meet its STEM workforce challenges. This ongoing effort is part of a grant awarded to BHEF by the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) to help the U.S. Navy produce more STEM-proficient graduates.

The workshop, held at QinetiQ in Arlington, VA, was designed to demonstrate further refinements on a systems model that BHEF is tailoring for the Navy. Additionally, BHEF elicited feedback from key Navy experts that will be incorporated into the final product.

BHEF Chief Executive Officer Brian K. Fitzgerald opened the workshop by remarking that the model provides a new understanding of STEM undergraduate education. “The model demonstrates the power of undergraduate education to deal with workforce issues in a relatively short time, it’s about time to impact, which maximizes return on investment”. Fitzgerald also described the impact of BHEF's modeling and data analysis in helping to shape the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) report, “Engage to Excel: Producing One Million Additional College Graduates with Degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics”. The PCAST report states that interventions for improving STEM education during the first two years of college are critical, and BHEF’s STEM Higher Education Workforce Project provides evidence-based strategic solutions that can be utilized during this vulnerable time.

Dr. Michael E. Kassner, Director of the Office of Research (Discovery & Invention), which is part of ONR, made a brief presentation summarizing the scope of the Navy’s STEM portfolio and its work through the “Stem2Stern” initiative. Kassner spoke of the Navy’s interest in developing a civilian workforce with strong STEM skills. In particular, he stressed the need to increase the persistence of students who graduate in STEM fields, and identifying best practices for building the STEM pipeline. Kassner also noted that success in STEM early in college is crucial for the Navy’s goals, and is the principle reason why ONR selected BHEF as its partner in this vital effort.

The panel went on to discuss several high-leverage intervention strategies developed to engage undergraduate students in STEM. Debra Larson, dean of the college of engineering at California Polytechnic State University, described several initiatives at the university which support student success in the STEM areas. One such effort, the Cal Poly Scholars Program, awards grants to outstanding freshmen.

The latter part of the meeting was devoted to a presentation of a new iteration of the BHEF/ONR system dynamics model. Modelers Dan Goldsmith and Dan Sturtevant depicted several simulations designed to help users understand and improve specific interventions that can bolster student progress in the STEM pipeline. Four particular simulations focused on internships, capacity constraints, scholarships for service, and course redesign. The modelers discussed each simulation in depth, including many of the assumptions that went into development of the model. Considerable time was devoted to eliciting feedback from representatives of the Navy and other experts about criteria and inputs that could improve the model, and ultimately lead to better interventions to boost student success in the STEM disciplines.

This work is part of BHEF’s STEM Higher Education and Workforce Project, which aims to identify new forms of collaboration among business and industry, higher education, and government to increase the persistence of students, particularly women and underrepresented minorities, who graduate in STEM fields; deepen STEM knowledge and skills; and strengthen the alignment of undergraduate STEM education to workforce needs.

BHEF’s U.S. STEM Education Model®, a system dynamics model of the U.S. STEM education system, was developed through the leadership of BHEF member William (“Bill”) Swanson, Chairman and CEO of the Raytheon Company, and donated to BHEF for its exclusive use in 2009. The first of its kind, the model helps policymakers, educators, and researchers (1) map the complex structure of the U.S. STEM education system and (2) identify potential solutions that could help strengthen student outcomes in STEM.  The U.S. STEM Undergraduate Model is available to run on Forio.com.