At their annual meeting last week, Chief Academic Officers representing the member institutions of the Association of American Universities endorsed the following statement:
Numerous high-level reports over the past two decades have identified ways to improve Ph.D. education. One frequently identified barrier to improvement is the lack of transparent data on Ph.D. programs. The Chief Academic Officers of the Association of American Universities call on all Ph.D. granting universities and their respective Ph.D. granting colleges, schools, and departments, to make a commitment to providing prospective and current students with easily accessible information. This should include data on matters such as student demographics, time to degree, financial support, and career paths and outcomes within and outside of academia. AAU institutions should commit to developing the infrastructure and institutional policies required to uniformly capture and make public such data.
Founded in 1900, the Association of American Universities comprises 62 distinguished institutions that continually advance society through education, research, and discovery.
Our universities earn the majority of competitively awarded federal funding for academic research, are improving human life and wellbeing through research, and are educating tomorrow’s visionary leaders and global citizens.
AAU members collectively help shape policy for higher education, science, and innovation; promote best practices in undergraduate and graduate education; and strengthen the contributions of research universities to society.