ERC Strategic Education Plans

Strategic planning in ERCs focuses primarily on research and membership recruitment and interaction. However, NSF requires that ERCs also develop a strategic plan for the education programs, in conjunction with the overall center plan. Important elements of the education strategic plan include:

• development of an education vision and goals (both short-term and long-term) consistent with the center's strategic plan and objectives;
• development of guidelines for graduate and undergraduate student participation;
• development of a recruitment strategy for undergraduate and graduate students, recognizing that different strategies are required;
• design of an outreach strategy, short-term and long-term, which meets NSF and center goals;
• development of a plan to recruit and retain underrepresented populations in engineering (women, underrepresented minorities, persons with disabilities) in the center's education and research areas;
• development of a strategy to infuse ERC research findings into the curriculum;
• development of mechanisms to integrate students into all aspects of the center;
• development of mechanisms for industrial interaction at all student levels, graduate and undergraduate; and
• development of a schedule of ERC courses, seminars, and other academic requirements early so students can commit to them early in their careers.

Developers of an education strategic plan should begin by defining the particular populations and student groups to be impacted, other groups affected, mechanisms, and the desired outcome. The plan must also indicate resources available or allocated, or indicate how resources are to be sought for each step of the plan. An education plan also should provide for developments over time, as the center matures.

The involvement of undergraduates in significant research experiences is a central feature of ERC education programs, along with the development of team skills and leadership abilities for both undergraduate and graduate students.

Examples of strategic education plans of some ERCs are given below. For further description of the strategic education planning process, see the "ERC Best Practices Manual," Chapter 4, Education Programs (section 4.2.4) using the navigation bar above or this link.

ERC for Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Manufacturing
ERC for Particle Science and Technology
Center for the Engineering of Living Tissues
Biotechnology Process Engineering Center
ERC for Reconfigurable Machining Systems (Power Point Download)
University of Washington Engineered Biomaterials
Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Research
Mid-America Earthquake Center

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