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4
PROGRAM DESIGN
(STRUCTURE)
NATIONAL SCHOLARS CONSORTIA
We see many advantages to a
consortium approach. The most obvious is
that it is amenable to the development of the
vertical integration necessary to establish a
program continuum from high school through
doctoral study. High schools? colleges, uni-
versities, agencies, and organizations working
together can support student development
through all levels of the educational system.
More generally, a consortium can marshal a
wider range of resources and expertise to
target the stated needs than a single institution
or organization. Each partner can participate
according to its individual capabilities.
Faculty leadership and participation
are essential. Because faculty interactions are
the operational linkages of the consortia?
faculty should be involved in developing
program guidelines; establishing linkages with
other consortium members; and selecting,
advising, and teaching students. The program
should have genuine and visible support from
the academic leadership of the college or
university, including the president.
THE CONSORTIUM PARTNERS
The core of a National Scholars
consortium is the undergraduate program. It
will be the responsibility of the undergraduate
institution to select highly motivated and
talented students to be National Scholars and
to provide the kinds of support that will
produce exceptionally well-prepared and
dedicated science graduates. The under-
graduate component of a National Scholars
Program should have the following
educational elements: recruitment and selec-
tion procedures, prefreshman summer bridge
programs, research participation, academic
advising, mentoring, structured teaching. and
enrichment activities.
~... . . ..
_,
Institutions ranging
trom operas arts colleges to state universities
to research-intensive universities are eligible
to provide the undergraduate component of
the program, although diversity among the
consortia! partners is likely to produce the
strongest result.
At the graduate level the notion of a
self-contained program gives way to a wide
range of activities focused on fostering the
development of graduate students in the
National Scholars Program into filet doctoral
scholars. The academic departments are the
loci of decision making and activities for the
graduate component of the program. An
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16
individual faculty member should assume
overall responsibility for the program.
Functions that need to be carried out include
communication with the national organization
and undergraduate faculty; participation in the
admissions process; explicit commitment to
student financial support; oversight of
teaching assignments; arranging a visiting
scholars seminar series; data collection and
evaluation; and "shepherding" of the
individual scholars.
VERTICAL LINKAGES
A consortium may choose to have
many or only a few partners, but it must
establish two essential vertical linkages. The
first is a linkage between the precollege and
undergraduate levels. The second is between
undergraduate and graduate programs. A
· · · · -
consort~um may connect wit ~ existing science
and mathematics precollege programs in the
immediate region? and' with their cooperation,
the consortium could tap into a talent pool of
secondary school students for the National
Scholars Program.
Early identification of minority youth
who demonstrate promise is key. High school
students who show special talent and interest
. . . · · .
can be Invites to participate In a summer
research activity or in consortium activities on
campus in the summer or during the school
year' while giving scholars the opportunity to
serve as mentors and role models. Intensive
academic advising can assure that students
enroll in the appropriate college preparatory
courses.
There are several highly regarded
precollege science initiatives that seek to
attract and prepare minority students for
careers in science. They offer hands-on
· · . .
science experiences and exposure to scientists
in order to excite students about science and
provide academic support, counseling, and
career awareness activities. A National
Scholars Program could be a major
contributor to precollege initiatives by
providing summer research experiences to
students in these programs.
A primary purpose of establishing
linkages between the undergraduate and
graduate levels is to enable undergraduate
scholars to move smoothly into graduate
study. First-hand knowledge of a graduate
department, whether gained through a
research experience or through the advice of
a graduate mentor? is strong encouragement
for a college student. At the same time,
graduate faculty can become acquainted with
students by discussing their research in formal
seminars or by meeting informally with
undergraduate students and other faculty.
Linkages with professional societies
should be established both at the national
level and with individual consortia. Societies
over many benefits, including honorary
memberships to students, free registration at
national meetings, publicity about the
program in society newsletters and at national
meetings? travel funds to national and/or
regional meetings, and opportunities for
scholars to make research presentations. In
addition' business and industry have a long
history of supporting initiatives to promote
diversity in the scientific and engineering
work force.
NATIONAL SCHOLARS
COORDINATING COUNCIL
NASA should provide leadership and
oversight for a National Scholars Program,
but the operational responsibility for the
National Scholars Program should be assigned
to a separate entity with strong credibility in
the scientific community. The operational
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entity would be known as the National
Scholars Coordinating Council ant! could be
administered by an existing organization or a
new independent entity.
The responsibilities of the National
Scholars Coordinating Council would include
establishing guidelines for the design of
consortia; developing the Request for
Proposals REP) for the competitive consortia
awards process; evaluating proposals;
publicizing the program; serving in an
entrepreneurial role to establish relationships
with other agencies and organizations in orcler
to bring in other partners; developing linkages
with relevant national organizations, such as
disciplinary societies and precollege science
programs; fundraising; facilitating the ~nove-
ment of students among consortia; providing
technical assistance; overseeing the perfor-
mance of consortium sites; disseminating
"best practices"; maintaining a national
database; sponsoring an electronic network;
and organizing an annual national conference.
DISCUSSION ISSUES
High School Programs
The committee deliberated at length
about what role the National Scholars
Program should play at the high school level.
The original intent of the program was to
identifier promising high school students who
were likely to pursue the Ph.D., but at what
point in a student's high school career could
that be done? And what role should this
program play in increasing the pool of high
school students eligible to apply to the
National Scholars Program?
There are many programs for minority
students already working at the pre-college
level which involve thousands of students,
including MESA, NASA's SHARP, the NTH
Minority High School Research Apprentice-
ships' NSF ACCESS' and others. Rather than
duplicate or compete with these programs, the
committee concluded that the National
Scholars Program should begin formally at the
point of selection of talented high school
seniors applying to college. The existing pre-
college programs will form the foundation for
the NSP' since it is through these programs
that the majority of National Scholars will be
identified.
Student Choice
To be a National Scholar, the student
must attend a college or university that
participates in a National Scholars consor-
tium. The committee has thought extensively
about this requirement. Although it places a
significant constraint on the individual
student's choice' especially at the graduate
level, we believe it is essential to the success
of the program.
The intent ofthe program is to provide
a supportive and continuous educational
pathway frown college entry through Ph.D.
attainment in order to maximize the prospects
for student success. To accomplish this,
students need to enroll in departments and
institutions that are responsive to their
individual needs and academic aspirations, in
places where they will benefit from the kinds
of support available to National Scholars.
Although excellent academic training can be
found at any number of institutions, a much
smaller number provide the environment of
support needed for many minority students to
complete their degrees. If this were not the
case, the National Scholars Program would
not be needed. We do not believe that the
program can meet its ambitious goal of
doubling the number of minority Ph.D.s by
building an elaborate support structure
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through college and then abandoning that
structure in graduate school.
If a student does enroll elsewhere, the
National Scholars Program will not sever all
ties with the student. It will maintain
communication with the student by inviting
and giving the student support to attend the
annual National Scholars Program Conference
and by tracking the student's academic and
career progress. In order to maintain the
momentum of the program and keep it on
target towards its numerical goal, students
who leave the program to enroll in non-
consortium schools could be replaced by new
Ph.D. students who were not previously
National Scholars.
Legal Issues
From the celebrated DeFunis v.
Odegoard, 94 S. Ct. 1704 (1974) and Regents
of the University of California v. Bakke, 438
U.S. 265 (1978) decisions involving admis-
sion to professional schools to the more recent
Banneker fellowship case-Podberesky v.
Kirwan, 38 F.3d 147 (4th Cir. 1994),
questions have surfaced about the legality of
educational initiatives for underparticipating
minorities. More recently, differences in
opinion about the desirability and
constitutionality of programs that consider
race or ethnicity in decisions about eligibility
have intensified. In Adarand Constructor*,
Inc. v. Pena, Secretary of Transportation, ~ ~ 5
S. Ct. 2097 (1995~' the U.S. Supreme
Court, in a major 5-4 decision, ruled that
federal programs that use racial or ethnic
criteria as a basis for decision making are
subject to "strict scrutiny."
In a recent Memorandum to General
Counsels the U.S. Department of Justice
offered guidance to agencies on the legal
implications of the decision for federal af-
firmative action programs. "Under Aclaranci,
federal programs that use race or ethnicity as
a basis for decisionmaking must be strictly
scrutinized to ensure that they promote
'compelling' governmental interests, and that
they are 'narrowly tailored' to serve those
interests" (Schmidt 1996, 5~. Examples of
compelling governmental interests are (~)
cases where the federal government is
attempting to remedy past discrimination of
its own (not general societal discrimination),
based either on historical or statistical
evidence, or (2) cases where a federal agency
may need to use racial considerations to meet
its operational needs, e.g., to obtain a diverse
work force.
Although the Adc~ranc! decision makes
it necessary to evaluate federal programs
against the "strict scrutiny" standard, the
Department of Justice memorandum
emphasized that "the federal government is
firmly co~n~nitted to fair employment
practices that open opportunities for all
Americans. It is also committed to ensuring
that its work force draws on the full range of
the nation's talent. Affirmative action efforts
can advance those vital objectives. Thus, to
the extent that they comport with Adarc~ncl,
such efforts should be continued" (p. I).
Representative terms from entire chapter:
scholars program
