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Summary
America is driven by innovation—advances in ideas, products, and
processes that create new industries and jobs, spur economic growth and
support a high standard of living, and achieve national goals for defense,
health, and energy. In the last half-century, innovation in turn has been
increasingly driven by educated people and the knowledge they produce.
Our nation’s primary source of both new knowledge and graduates with
advanced skills continues to be its research universities.
These institutions, with the strong and sustained support of govern-
ment and working in partnership with American industry, are widely
recognized as the best in the world, admired for both their research and
their education. They are, however, confronted by many pressures: the
economic challenges faced by the nation and the states, the emergence of
global competitors, changing demographics, and rapidly evolving tech-
nologies. Even as other nations around the world have emulated the
United States in building research universities to drive economic growth,
America’s commitment to sustaining the research partnership that built a
great industrial nation has weakened under these pressures.
Expressing concern that the nation’s universities are at risk, U.S.
Senators Lamar Alexander and Barbara Mikulski and U.S. Representa-
tives Bart Gordon and Ralph Hall in 2009 asked the National Academies
to assess the competitive position of American research universities, both
public and private, and to respond to the following question: “What are
the top ten actions that Congress, state governments, research universi-
ties, and others can take to maintain the excellence in research and doc-
toral education needed to help the United States compete, prosper, and
1
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2 RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES AND THE FUTURE OF AMERICA
achieve national goals for health, energy, the environment, and security
in the global community of the 21st century?”
In response, the National Research Council (NRC) convened a com-
mittee of individuals who are leaders in academia, industry, government,
and national laboratories. In selecting the committee, the NRC sought not
only balance across sectors, but also diversity among academic institu-
tions, balance across fields, and wide geographic distribution, including
individuals with significant international experience. This report is the
committee’s response to its charge.
We believe that America’s research universities are, today, a key asset
for our nation’s future. They are so because of the considered and deliber-
ate decisions made in the past by policy makers, even in difficult times.
Our future now depends on the willingness of our current policy makers
to follow their example and make the decisions that will allow us to con-
tinue to compete, prosper, and shape our destiny. It is essential that we as a
nation reaffirm, revitalize, and strengthen substantially the unique partnership
that has long existed among the nation’s research universities, the federal gov-
ernment, the states, and philanthropy by enhancing their roles and linkages and
also providing incentives for stronger partnership with business and industry.
In doing so, we will encourage the ideas and innovations that will lead
to more high-end jobs, increasing middle-class incomes, and the security,
health, and prosperity we expect.
FINDINGS
In the course of our history, America has set and accomplished grand
goals that have defined us as a nation. Our national assets strongly posi-
tion the United States to accomplish our current goals and lead the world
in the 21st century. However, the relative rankings of the United States in
the global knowledge economy at a time when new knowledge and tech-
nological innovation are critical to economic growth and other national
goals have shown that other countries increasingly are investing in their
own competitiveness.
As America pursues economic growth and other national goals, its
research universities have emerged as a major national asset―perhaps
even its most potent one. This did not happen by accident; it is the result
of prescient and deliberate federal and state policies. These began with
the Morrill Act of 1862 and subsequent land-grant acts that established
a partnership between the federal government and the states in build-
ing universities that would address the challenges of creating a modern
agricultural and industrial economy for the twentieth century. They were
amplified as the partnership was powerfully rebuilt in the decades fol-
lowing World War II. The importance of government-sponsored univer-
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SUMMARY 3
sity research intensified during the World War II partnership that led to
breakthrough discoveries that helped win the war, including radar, the
proximity fuse, penicillin, DDT, the computer, jet propulsion, and the
atomic bomb.1 Drawing on this experience, the government-university
partnership was expanded in the 1950s and 1960s to contribute to national
security, public health, and economic growth. Through this expanded
partnership, basic research as the source of new ideas for the long term
would be increasingly funded by the federal government and largely
concentrated in the nation’s research universities.
The results of this federal-state-university partnership have had great
impact on our nation’s economy, health, and other national achievements.
Talented graduates of these institutions have created and populated many
new businesses that go on to employ millions of Americans. As Jonathan
Cole, former provost of Columbia University, relates, “The laser, mag-
netic-resonance imaging, FM radio, the algorithm for Google searches,
global-positioning systems, DNA fingerprinting, fetal monitoring, bar
codes, transistors, improved weather forecasting, mainframe computers,
scientific cattle breeding, advanced methods of surveying public opinion,
even Viagra had their origins in America’s research universities. Those
are only a few of the tens of thousands of advances, originating on those
campuses that have transformed the world.”2
In addition to their high productivity, the exceptional stature of Amer-
ican research universities globally can be measured in several additional
ways. In global rankings, U.S. research universities typically account
for 35 to 40 of the top 50 such institutions in the world. Since the 1930s,
roughly 60 percent of Nobel Prizes have been awarded to scholars at
American institutions. More international students enroll in U.S. research
universities than their counterparts elsewhere.
Despite their current global leadership, American research universi-
ties are facing critical challenges. First, their financial health is endan-
gered as each of their major sources of revenue has been undermined
or contested. Federal funding for research has flattened or declined; in
the face of economic pressures and changing policy priorities, states are
either unwilling or unable to continue support for their public research
universities at world-class levels; endowments have deteriorated signifi-
cantly in the recent recession; and tuition has risen beyond the reach of
many American families. At the same time, research universities also face
1 Hugh Davis Graham and Nancy Diamond, The Rise of American Research Universities:
Elites and Challengers in the Postwar Era. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University
Press, 1997, p. 28.
2 Jonathan Cole, Can American research universities remain the best in the world? The
Chronicle of Higher Education, January 3, 2010.
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4 RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES AND THE FUTURE OF AMERICA
strong forces of change that present both challenges and opportunities:
demographic shifts in the U.S. population, transformative technologies,
changes in the organization and scale of research, a global intensification
of research networks, and changing relationships between research uni-
versities and industry.
In addition, U.S. universities face growing competition from their
counterparts abroad, and the nation’s global leadership in higher educa-
tion, unassailable for a generation, is now threatened. Our research uni-
versities have brought to this country the most outstanding students and
scholars from around the world, and these individuals have contributed
substantially to our research and innovative capacity. Now, other nations
recognize the importance of world-class research universities and are rap-
idly strengthening their institutions to compete for the best international
students and for faculty, resources, and reputation. These countries have
developed national strategies for education and research and are also of-
fering attractive opportunities to repatriate their citizens who are gradu-
ates of U.S. universities.
With these developments in mind, we have identified a set of specific
challenges and opportunities that a reasoned set of policies must address
in order to produce the greatest return to our society, our security, and
our economy. The first group identifies issues in the partnership among
the federal government, states, business, and universities:
• Federal funding for university research has been unstable and, in
real terms, declining at a time when other countries have increased fund-
ing for research and development (R&D), both in nominal terms and as a
percentage of gross domestic product.
• State funding for higher education, already eroding in real terms
for more than two decades, has been cut further in the recent recession.
• Business and industry have largely dismantled the large corpo-
rate research laboratories that drove American industrial leadership in
the twentieth century (e.g., Bell Labs), but have not yet fully partnered
with our research universities to fill the gap at a time when we need to
more effectively translate, disseminate, and transfer into society the new
knowledge and ideas that emerge from university research.
• Research universities need to be responsive to stakeholders by
improving management, productivity, and cost efficiency in both admin-
istration and academics.
The second group identifies issues that affect the operations of univer-
sities, the efficient administration of university research, the effectiveness
of doctoral education, and the robustness of the pipeline of new talent:
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SUMMARY 5
• Insufficient opportunities for young faculty to launch academic
careers and research programs;
• Underinvestment in campus infrastructure, particularly in cyber-
infrastructure, that can lead to long-term increases in productivity, cost-
effectiveness, and innovation in research, education, and administration;
• Research sponsors that do not pay the full cost of research they
procure, meaning that universities have to cross-subsidize research from
other sources;
• A burdensome accumulation of federal and state regulatory and
reporting requirements that increases costs and sometimes challenges
academic freedom and integrity;
• Opportunities to improve doctoral and postdoctoral preparation
that increase both its productivity and its effectiveness in providing train-
ing for highly productive careers;
• Demographic change in the U.S. population that necessitates
strategies for increasing the success of female and underrepresented mi-
nority students; and
• Competition for international students, researchers, and scholars.
The principles and recommendations that follow are designed to help
federal and state policy makers, universities, and businesses overcome
these hurdles and capitalize on these opportunities. Strong leadership—
and partnership—will be needed by these parties if our research universi-
ties and our nation are to thrive.
PRINCIPLES
For the past half-century, the research and graduate programs of
America’s research universities have been essential contributors to the
nation’s prosperity, health, and security. Today, our nation faces new
challenges, a time of rapid and profound economic, social, and politi-
cal transformation driven by the growth in knowledge and innovation.
Educated people, the knowledge they produce, and the innovation and
entrepreneurial skills they possess, particularly in the fields of science and
engineering, have become the keys to America’s future.
We have taken stock of the organizational, financial, and intellectual
health of our nation’s research universities today and have envisioned the
role we would like them to play in our nation’s life 10 to 20 years from
now. We can say without reservation that our research universities are,
today, the best in the world and an important resource for our nation, yet
at the same time, they are in grave danger of not only losing their place
of global leadership but of serious erosion in quality due to critical trends
in public support.
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6 RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES AND THE FUTURE OF AMERICA
Our vision for strengthening these institutions so that they may re-
main dynamic assets over the coming decades involves both increasing
their productivity and ensuring their strong support for education and re-
search. Therefore, it is essential that the unique partnership that has long
existed among the nation’s research universities, the federal government,
the states, and business and industry be reaffirmed and strengthened.
This will require
• A balanced set of commitments by each of the partners—federal
government, state governments, research universities, and business and
industry—to provide leadership for the nation in a knowledge-intensive
world and to develop and implement enlightened policies, efficient oper-
ating practices, and necessary investments.
• Use of matching requirements among these commitments that
provide strong incentives for participation at comparable levels by each
partner.
• Sufficient flexibility to accommodate differences among research
universities and the diversity of their various stakeholders. While merit,
impact, and need should continue to be the primary criteria for award-
ing research grants and contracts by federal agencies, investment in in-
frastructure should consider additional criteria such as regional and/or
cross-institutional partnerships, program focus, and opportunities for
building significant research capacity.
• A commitment to a decade-long effort that seeks to both address
challenges and take advantage of opportunities as they emerge.
• A recognition of the importance of supporting the comprehensive
nature of the research university, spanning the full spectrum of academic
and professional disciplines, including the physical, life, social, and be-
havioral sciences; engineering; the arts and humanities; and the profes-
sions, that enable it to provide the broad research and education programs
required by a knowledge- and innovation-driven global economy.
Within this partnership, our research universities—with a historical com-
mitment to excellence, academic freedom, and service to society—must
pledge themselves to a new level of partnership with government and
business; recommit to being the places where the best minds in the world
want to work, think, educate, and create new ideas; and commit to deliv-
ering better outcomes for each dollar spent.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The United States can best leverage research universities for the break-
throughs it needs by ensuring they are properly resourced, increasingly
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SUMMARY 7
productive, agile and innovative, and working creatively in partnership
with business. With that in mind, we recommend that the federal govern-
ment, the states, research universities, and business and industry take the
following actions that reinforce their partnership:
Recommendation 1
Within the broader framework of United States innovation and re-
search and development (R&D) strategies, the federal government should
adopt stable and effective policies, practices, and funding for university-
performed R&D and graduate education so that the nation will have a
stream of new knowledge and educated people to power our future, help-
ing us meet national goals and ensure prosperity and security.
Actors and Actions—Implementing Recommendation 1:
• Federal government: The federal government should review and
modify those research policies and practices governing university re-
search and graduate education that have become burdensome and in-
efficient, such as research cost reimbursement, unnecessary regulation,
and awkward variation and coordination among federal agencies. (See
Recommendations 6 and 7.)
• Federal government—Congress, Administration, federal science
and technology (S&T) agencies: Over the next decade as the economy
improves, Congress and the administration should invest in basic re-
search and graduate education at a level sufficient to produce the new
knowledge and educated citizens necessary to achieve national goals. As
a core component of a national plan to raise total national R&D to 3 per-
cent of gross domestic product (GDP), Congress and the Administration
should provide full funding of the amount authorized by the America
COMPETES Act that would double the level of basic research conducted
by the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute of Stan-
dards and Technology (NIST), and Department of Energy (DOE) Office
of Science as well as sustain our nation’s investment in other key areas of
basic research, including biomedical research. Within this investment, as
recommend by Rising Above the Gathering Storm,3 a portion of the increase
should be directed to high-risk, innovative, and unconventional research.
• Federal government—White House Office of Science and Tech-
nology Policy (OSTP), President’s Council of Advisors on Science and
3 National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of
Medicine, Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a
Bright Economic Future, Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2007.
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8 RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES AND THE FUTURE OF AMERICA
Technology (PCAST), U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB),
National Economic Council (NEC), and Council of Economic Advisors
(CEA): On an annual basis in the President’s annual budget request,
OMB should develop and present, in coordination with OSTP, a federal
science and technology budget that addresses priorities for sustaining a
world-class U.S. science and technology enterprise. On a quadrennial ba-
sis, OSTP, in conjunction with PCAST, and OMB, in conjunction with the
NEC and CEA, should review federal science and technology spending
and outcomes, internationally benchmarked, to ensure that federal S&T
spending is adequate in size to support our economy and appropriately
targeted to meet national goals. We recommend that this process consider
U.S. global leadership, a focus on developing new knowledge, balance in
the science and technology portfolio, reliable and predictable streams of
funding, and a commitment to merit review.
Budget Implications
This recommendation calls for stable and effective federal research
policies and practices, the budget implications of which are outlined
under several recommendations below. The recommendation also aims
to ensure robust financial support for critical federal basic research pro-
grams. It supports funding increases that Congress has already authorized
through the America COMPETES Act for the doubling of funding for the
NSF, NIST, and DOE Office of Science. These increases target stronger in-
vestment in physical sciences and engineering research, but do not imply
any disinvestment in critical fields such as the life sciences and social,
behavioral, and economic sciences. Indeed, we recommend Congressio-
nal action to at least maintain current levels of funding for basic research
across other federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health
(NIH), as adjusted for inflation. Research universities, along with other
research performers (national laboratories, nonprofit research and devel-
opment organizations, and industry), will only benefit from these actions
through their success in competing for federal grants and contracts from
these agencies.
Expected Outcomes
Supportive federal research policies would ensure stable funding
and cost-efficient regulation sufficient to enable corresponding university
investment in research facilities and graduate programs. By completing
the funding of the America COMPETES Act, the nation would achieve
a balanced research portfolio capable of driving innovation necessary
for economic prosperity. As research and education are deliberately in-
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SUMMARY 9
tertwined in our American research universities, such funding will also
ensure that we continue to produce the scientists, engineers, physicians,
teachers, scholars, and other knowledge professionals essential to the na-
tion’s security, health, and prosperity.
Recommendation 2
Provide greater autonomy for public research universities so that
these institutions may leverage local and regional strengths to compete
strategically and respond with agility to new opportunities. At the same
time, restore state appropriations for higher education, including gradu-
ate education and research, to levels that allow public research universi-
ties to operate at world-class levels.
Actors and Actions—Implementing Recommendation 2:
• State governments: States should move rapidly to provide their
public research universities with sufficient autonomy and agility to navi-
gate an extended period with limited state support. (See also regulatory
environment, below.)
• State governments: For states to compete for the prosperity and
welfare of their citizens in a knowledge- and innovation-driven global
economy, the advanced education, research, and innovation programs
provided by their research universities are absolutely essential. Hence, as
state budgets recover from the current recession, states should strive to
restore and maintain per-student funding for higher education, including
public research universities, to the mean level for the 15-year period 1987-
2002, as adjusted for inflation.4
• Federal government: To provide further incentives for state ac-
tions to protect the quality of public research universities as both a state
and a national asset, federal programs designed to stimulate innovation
and workforce development at the state level, including those recom-
mended in this report, should be accompanied by strong incentives to
stimulate and sustain state support for their public universities.
4 A 15-year
period was used so as to ensure the funding recommendation was not unduly
influenced by year-to-year fluctuations in state appropriations. The year 2002 was used as
the endpoint of the period, as that year represents the beginning of a period of significant
decline in appropriations.
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10 RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES AND THE FUTURE OF AMERICA
Budget Implications
This recommendation addresses the alarming erosion in state support
of higher education over the past decade that has put the quality and
capacity of public research universities at great risk. While the committee
urges the states to strive to restore over time appropriation cuts to public
research universities estimated to average 25 percent (and ranging as high
as 50 percent for some universities),5 it acknowledges that current state
budget challenges and shifting state priorities may make this very dif-
ficult in the near term. Hence, the committee views as equally important
a strong recommendation that the states provide their public research
universities with sufficient autonomy and ability to navigate what could
be an extended period with inadequate state funding. The committee
strongly believes that such recommendations are in the long-term inter-
ests of both the states and the nation.
Expected Outcomes
State appropriations per enrolled student have declined by 25 percent
or more over the past two decades, resulting in the need for universities
to increase tuition or reduce activities, or quality. As states strive to com-
pete in a knowledge- and innovation-driven global economy, restoring
state appropriations to levels sufficient to maintain advanced education,
research, and innovation programs provided by research universities is
absolutely essential for the prosperity and welfare of their citizens. In-
creasing the autonomy and agility of public research universities should
increase their efficiency and productivity as well as their ability to re-
spond to changing state and regional needs during an extended period
when states may not be able to restore adequate support.
5 The National Science Board reports, “Over the decade [2002 to 2010], per-student state
support to major research universities dropped by an average of 20 percent in inflation-
adjusted dollars. In 10 states, the decline ranged from 30 percent to 48 percent.” National
Science Board, Science and Engineering Indicators 2012, p. 8-68. Available at: http://www.
nsf.gov/statistics/seind12/pdf/c08.pdf (accessed March 8, 2012). The states have enacted
further and deeper cuts in 2011 and 2012, which suggests an overall decline for 2002-2012 of
at least 25 percent. For example, the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association
(SHEEO) recently reported, “FY 2012 state appropriations [for higher education] (including
a small residual of ARRA funding) were $72.5 billion, a decrease of 7.6 percent from $78.5
billion in FY 2011.” See SHEEO, “Commentary on FY 2012 state appropriations for higher
education,” press release, January 23, 2012. Available at: http://grapevine.illinoisstate.edu/
tables/FY12/SHEEO%20Commentary%20(2).pdf (accessed March 8, 2012).
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SUMMARY 11
Recommendation 3
Strengthen the business role in the research partnership, facilitating
the transfer of knowledge, ideas, and technology to society and accelerate
“time to innovation” in order to achieve our national goals.
Actors and Actions—Implementing Recommendation 3:
• Federal government: Continue to fund and expand research sup-
port mechanisms that promote collaboration and innovation.
• Federal government: Within the context of also making the R&D
tax credit permanent, implement new tax policies that incentivize busi-
ness to develop partnerships with universities (and others as warranted)
for research that results in new U.S.-located economic activities.
• Business, universities: The relationship between business and
higher education should evolve into more of a peer-to-peer nature, stress-
ing collaboration in areas of joint interest rather than the traditional cus-
tomer-supplier relationship in which business procures graduates and
intellectual property from universities.
• Business, universities: Business and universities should work
closely together to develop new graduate degree programs that address
strategic workforce gaps for science-based employers.
• National laboratories, business, universities: Collaboration
among research by the nation’s national laboratories, business, and uni-
versities should also be encouraged, since the latter’s capacity for large-
scale, sustained research projects both supports and depends critically on
both the participation of university faculty and graduate students and the
marketplace.
• Universities: Improve management of intellectual property to
improve technology transfer.
Budget Implications
Tax policies that create incentives for new university-industry re-
search and development partnerships will have a cost to the federal bud-
get as a “tax expenditure.” Although we are not in a position to estimate
what that cost would be, it would be a relatively minor component of the
cost of current proposals to make permanent the R&D tax credit.
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12 RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES AND THE FUTURE OF AMERICA
Expected Outcomes
Effective use of research support mechanisms that promote collabo-
ration will lead to the creation and efficient use of knowledge to achieve
national goals.
The outcomes from the new tax policies would be new research part-
nerships; new knowledge and ideas; new products, processes, and indus-
tries located in the United States; economic growth; and new jobs. The
outcomes from these efforts would be the creation of new partnerships,
new knowledge and ideas, achieving national goals in key policy areas,
and the economic growth and jobs that result from new activity.
Improvements in university management of intellectual property will
result in more effective dissemination of research results, generating eco-
nomic activity and jobs.
Recommendation 4
Increase university cost-effectiveness and productivity in order to
provide a greater return on investment for taxpayers, philanthropists,
corporations, foundations, and other research sponsors.
Actors and Actions—Implementing Recommendation 4:
• Universities: The nation’s research universities should set and
achieve bold goals in cost-containment, efficiency, and productivity in
business operations and academic programs. Universities should strive
to constrain the cost escalation of all ongoing activities—academic and
auxiliary—to the inflation rate or lower through improved efficiency and
productivity. Beyond the implementation of efficient business practices,
universities should review existing academic programs from the per-
spectives of centrality, quality, and cost-effectiveness, adopting modern
instructional methods such as cyberlearning, and encouraging greater
collaboration among research investigators and institutions, particularly
in the acquisition and utilization of expensive research equipment and
facilities.
• University associations: University associations should develop
and implement more powerful and strategic tools for financial manage-
ment and cost accounting that better enable universities to determine the
most effective methods for containing costs and increasing productivity
and efficiency. As part of this effort, they should develop metrics that
allow universities to communicate their cost-effectiveness to the general
public.
• Universities, working together with key stakeholders: Universi-
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SUMMARY 13
ties and key stakeholders should intensify efforts to educate key audi-
ences about the unique character of U.S. research universities and their
importance to state, regional, and national goals, including economic
prosperity, public health, and national security.
Budget Implications
There may be an initial cost to institutions as they examine their
operations in order to identify actions that will increase efficiency and
as they invest in new infrastructure. In the long term, however, research
universities will reap the rewards of these investments through greater
productivity. Many institutions have already demonstrated that signifi-
cant cost efficiencies are attainable. If research universities can take action,
states and the nation will realize greater returns on their investments, and
the savings associated with cost containment and greater productivity can
then be deployed to other priorities such as constraining tuition increases
(a major national concern), increasing student financial aid, or launching
new programs.
Expected Outcomes
By increasing cost-effectiveness and productivity, institutions will
realize significant cost savings in their operations that may be used to
improve performance by shifting resources strategically and/or to reduce
growth in their need for resources (e.g., tuition). There are many ways to
do this, but one of the easiest is to implement a “priority fund” in which
the base funding of ongoing activities is reduced by 1 percent or so each
year (with the “savings” reallocated to new university priorities).
Recommendation 5
Create a “Strategic Investment Program” that funds initiatives at
research universities critical to advancing education and research in areas
of key national priority.
Actors and Actions—Implementing Recommendation 5:
• Federal government: The federal government should create a new
“Strategic Investment Program” supporting initiatives that advance edu-
cation and research at the nation’s research universities. The program is
designed to be a “living” program that responds to changing needs and
opportunities. As such, it will be composed of term-limited initiatives
requiring matching grants in critical areas that will change over time. The
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14 RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES AND THE FUTURE OF AMERICA
committee recommends the program begin with two 10-year initiatives:
(1) an endowed faculty chairs program to facilitate the careers of young
investigators and (2) a research infrastructure program initially focused
on advancement of campus cyberinfrastructure, but perhaps evolving
later to address as well emerging needs for physical research infrastruc-
ture as they arise. The federal investments in human capital and research
infrastructure are intended for both public and private research universi-
ties. They require matching funds that different types of institutions may
obtain from different sources. For example, public research universities
may secure their matching funds from states sources, while private re-
search universities may obtain their matches from private sources. How-
ever, the source that a particular institution taps for matching funds is not
prescribed, so public and private institutions may draw from state sup-
port, philanthropy, business, or other sources for matching funds. While
merit, impact, and need should continue to be important criteria for the
awarding of grants, consideration should also be given to regional and/
or cross-institutional partnerships, program focus, and opportunities for
building significant research capacity, subject, of course, to the matching
requirements for the federal grants.
• Universities in partnership with state governments, business,
philanthropy, and others: Universities should compete for funding un-
der these initiatives, bringing in partners—states, business, philanthropy,
others—that will support projects by providing required matching funds.
Budget Implications
In addition to increases in federal funding for basic research (in Rec-
ommendation 1), the committee recommends federal support for these
first two initiatives in the program that will cost $7 billion per year over
the next decade. These funds will leverage an additional $9 billion per
year through matching grants from other partners.
Expected Outcomes
This program develops and leverages the human-, physical-, and
cyberinfrastructures necessary for cutting-edge research and advanced
education. Of particular importance is the investment in rapidly evolving
cyberinfrastructure that will increase productivity and collaboration in
research, but may also provide opportunities to increase productivity in
administration and education. Also of critical importance is the endow-
ment of chairs, particularly for promising young faculty, during a time of
serious financial stress and limited faculty retirements. This will ensure
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SUMMARY 15
that we are building our research faculty for the future, as we can reap
the rewards of their work over the long term.
Recommendation 6
The federal government and other research sponsors should strive to
cover the full costs of research projects and other activities they procure
from research universities in a consistent and transparent manner.
Actors and Actions—Implementing Recommendation 6:
• Federal government and research sponsors: The federal govern-
ment and other research sponsors should strive to support the full cost,
direct and indirect, of research and other activities they procure from
research universities so that it is no longer necessary to subsidize these
sponsored grants by allocating resources (e.g., undergraduate tuition and
patient fees for clinical care) away from other important university mis-
sions. Both sponsored research policies and cost recovery negotiations
should be developed and applied in a consistent fashion across all federal
agencies and academic institutions, public and private.
Budget Implications
Federal coverage of a higher portion of indirect costs would, at the
margins, shift part of federal research funding from direct to indirect
costs, so there will be no net change in cost to the federal government.
Expected Outcomes
This change will allow our research universities to hold steady or
reduce the amount of their funding from other sources, such as tuition
revenue or patient clinical fees that they have had to provide for research
procured by the federal government, amounts that have increased over
the past two decades. Consequently, they will be able to use the flexibility
this provides to allocate their resources from other sources more strategi-
cally for their intended purpose.
Recommendation 7
Reduce or eliminate regulations that increase administrative costs,
impede research productivity, and deflect creative energy without sub-
stantially improving the research environment.
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16 RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES AND THE FUTURE OF AMERICA
Actors and Actions—Implementing Recommendation 7:
• Federal government (OMB, Congress, agencies), state govern-
ments: Federal and state policy makers and regulators should review the
costs and benefits of federal and state regulations, eliminating those that
are redundant, ineffective, inappropriately applied to the higher educa-
tion sector, or impose costs that outweigh the benefits to society.
• Federal government: The federal government should also harmo-
nize regulations and reporting requirements across federal agencies so
universities can maintain one system for all federal requirements rather
than several, thereby reducing costs.
Budget Implications
While the staff time-to-review regulatory and reporting requirements
has a small, short-term cost, the savings to universities and federal and
state governments over the long term will be substantial. Quantifying the
burdens is difficult, so it is not feasible to estimate the savings in advance
of a review, but we believe they could run into the billions of dollars over
the next decade.
Expected Outcomes
Reducing or eliminating regulations can reduce administrative costs,
enhance productivity, and increase the agility of institutions. We agree
with the conclusion of the Association of American Universities, Asso-
ciation of Public and Land-grant Universities, and Council on Govern-
mental Relations that “minimizing administrative and compliance costs
ultimately will also provide a cost benefit to the federal government
and to university administrators, faculty, and students by freeing up re-
sources and time to directly support educational and research efforts.”6
With greater resources and freedom, they will be better positioned to
respond to the needs of their constituents in an increasingly competitive
environment.
Recommendation 8
Improve the capacity of graduate programs to attract talented stu-
dents by addressing issues such as attrition rates, time to degree, fund-
6 Association
of American Universities, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities,
and Committee on Government Relations, Regulatory and Financial Reform of Federal
Research Policy: Recommendations to the NRC Committee on Research Universities,
January 21, 2011. Available at : http://www.aau.edu/policy/reports_presentations.aspx.
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SUMMARY 17
ing, and alignment with both student career opportunities and national
interests.
Actors and Actions—Implementing Recommendation 8:
• Research universities: Research universities should restructure
doctoral education to enhance pathways for talented undergraduates,
improve completion rates, shorten time-to-degree, and strengthen the
preparation of graduates for careers both in and beyond the academy.
• Research universities, federal agencies: Research universities and
federal agencies should ensure, as they implement the above measures,
that they improve education across the full spectrum of research univer-
sity graduate programs, because of the increasing breadth of academic
and professional disciplines necessary to address the challenges facing
our changing world, including the physical, life, social, and behavioral
sciences; engineering; the arts and humanities; and the professions.
• Federal government: The federal government should significantly
increase its support for graduate education through balanced programs
of fellowships, traineeships, and research assistantships provided by all
science agencies dependent upon individuals with advanced training.
• Employers: Business, government agencies, and nonprofits that
hire master’s- and doctorate-level graduates should more deeply engage
programs in research universities to provide internships, student projects,
advice on curriculum design, and real-time information on employment
opportunities.
Budget Implications
Increasing the number of federal fellowships and traineeships to sup-
port 5,000 new graduate students per year in science and engineering
would amount to $325 million in year one, climbing to a steady state
expenditure of $1.625 billion per year. This funding is not designed to in-
crease the overall numbers of doctoral students per se, but to provide in-
centives for students to pursue areas of national need and to shift support
from the research assistantship to mechanisms that strengthen doctoral
training. At the same time that the committee recommends increased fed-
eral funding for graduate education, the implementation of other aspects
of our recommendation will also save money for the federal government,
universities, and students. Reducing attrition and time-to-degree in doc-
toral programs, for example, will increase the cost-effectiveness of federal
and other investments in this area.
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18 RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES AND THE FUTURE OF AMERICA
Expected Outcomes
Improving pathways will ensure that we draw strongly from among
the “best and brightest” for our nation’s future doctorates in science and
engineering fields that are critical to our nation’s future.
Improving completion rates and shortening time-to-degree to an op-
timal length is the right thing to do for students and also increases cost-
effectiveness, ensuring good stewardship of resources from the federal
government and other sources.
Strengthening preparation of doctorates for a broad range of careers,
not just those in academia, assists the students in their careers, and also
assists employers who need their staff to be productive in the short term.
This benefits new doctorates, employers, and society.
Recommendation 9
Secure for the United States the full benefits of education for all
Americans, including women and underrepresented minorities, in science,
mathematics, engineering, and technology.
Actors and Actions—Implementing Recommendation 9:
• Research universities: Research universities should engage in ef-
forts to improve education for all students at all levels in the United States
by engaging in outreach to K–12 school districts and undertaking efforts
to improve access and completion in their own institutions.
• Research universities: Research universities should assist efforts
to improve teacher education and preparation for K–12 STEM educa-
tion and improve undergraduate education, including persistence and
completion in STEM.
• Federal government, states, local school districts, industry, phi-
lanthropy, universities: All stakeholders should take action—urgent, sus-
tained, comprehensive, intensive, and informed—to successfully increase
the participation and success of women and underrepresented minorities
across all academic and professional disciplines and, especially, in science,
mathematics, and engineering education and careers.
Budget Implications
Increasing federal support for programs that enable the participa-
tion and success of women and underrepresented minorities in STEM
disciplines has already been stated as a priority by both the America
COMPETES Act and the Office of Science and Technology Policy. The
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SUMMARY 19
committee supports the investments recommended for these purposes
by these efforts.
Expected Outcomes
Our people are our greatest asset. Improving the educational success
of our citizens at all levels improves our democracy, culture and society,
social mobility, and both individual and national economic success. As ca-
reer opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math continue
to expand at a rapid pace, recruiting more underrepresented minorities
and women into STEM careers and ensuring that they remain in the pipe-
line is essential and strategic not only for meeting the workforce needs of
an increasingly technological nation but also for obtaining the intellectual
vitality and innovation necessary for economic prosperity, national secu-
rity, and social well-being that such diversity brings.
Recommendation 10
Ensure that the United States will continue to benefit strongly from
the participation of international students and scholars in our research
enterprise.
Actors and Actions—Implementing Recommendation 10:
• Federal government: Federal agencies should ensure that visa
processing for international students and scholars who wish to study or
conduct research in the United States is as efficient and effective as pos-
sible, consistent also with homeland security considerations.
• Federal government: As we benefit from the contributions of
highly skilled, foreign-born researchers, the federal government should
also streamline the processes for non-U.S. doctoral researchers to obtain
permanent residency or U.S. citizenship in order to ensure that a high
proportion remain in the United States. The United States should con-
sider taking the strong step of granting residency (a Green Card) to each
non-U.S. citizen who earns a doctorate in an area of national need from
an accredited research university. The Department of Homeland Security
should set the criteria for and make selections of areas of national need
and of the set of accredited institutions in cooperation with the National
Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.
• Federal government: Engage in the proactive recruitment of inter-
national students and scholars.
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20 RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES AND THE FUTURE OF AMERICA
Budget Implications
There is no additional cost.
Expected Outcomes
The United States has benefited significantly over the last half-century
and more from highly talented individuals who have come to the United
States from abroad to study or conduct research. Today, there is increasing
competition for these individuals as students or researchers both in gen-
eral and from their home countries. It is in the interest of the United States
to attract and keep individuals who will create new knowledge and/or
convert it to new products, industries, and jobs in the United States.
CONCLUSION
During past eras of challenge and change, our national leaders have
acted decisively to create innovative partnerships to enable our universi-
ties to enhance American security and prosperity.
While engaged in the Civil War, Congress passed the Morrill Land-
Grant Act of 1862 to forge a partnership between the federal government,
the states, higher education, and industry aimed at creating universi-
ties capable of extending educational opportunities to the working class
while conducting the applied research to enable American agriculture
and industry to become world leaders. Among the results were the green
revolution in agriculture that fed the world, an American manufacturing
industry that became the economic engine of the 20th century and the
arsenal of democracy in two world wars, and an educated middle class
that would transform the United States into the strongest nation on Earth.
In the 20th century, emerging from the Great Depression and World
War II, Congress acted once again to strengthen this partnership by invest-
ing heavily in basic research and graduate education to build the world’s
finest research universities, capable of providing the steady stream of
well-educated graduates and scientific and technological innovations cen-
tral to our robust economy, vibrant culture, vital health enterprise, and
national security. This expanded research partnership enabled America
to win the Cold War and put a man on the Moon. It also developed new
technologies such as computers, the Internet, global positioning systems,
and new medical procedures and pharmaceuticals that contribute im-
mensely to national prosperity, security, and public health.
Today, our nation faces new challenges, a time of rapid and profound
economic, social, and political transformation driven by an exponential
growth in knowledge and innovation. A decade into the 21st century, a
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SUMMARY 21
resurgent America must stimulate its economy, address new threats, and
position itself in a competitive world transformed by technology, global
competitiveness, and geopolitical change. In this milieu, educated people,
the knowledge they produce, and the innovation and entrepreneurial
skills they possess, particularly in the fields of science and engineering,
are keys to America’s future.
It is essential as a nation to reaffirm and revitalize the unique part-
nership that has long existed among the nation’s research universities,
federal government, states, and business and industry. The actions recom-
mended will require significant policy changes, productivity enhancement,
and investments on the part of each member of the research partnership.
Yet they also comprise a fair and balanced program that will generate
significant returns to a stronger America.
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