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Successes that we enjoy. Faults we suffer. Goals we must attain.

Achievements and Challenges of Puerto Rican Institutions of Higher Education By Francisco A. Tomei Torres, Ph.D. Successes that we enjoy. Faults we suffer. Goals we must attain. Activities that we have to carry out. Population levels. PR: Ranked 27 th by population among U.S. jurisdictions

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Successes that we enjoy. Faults we suffer. Goals we must attain.

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  1. Achievements and Challenges of Puerto Rican Institutions of Higher Education By Francisco A. Tomei Torres, Ph.D. • Successes that we enjoy. • Faults we suffer. • Goals we must attain. • Activities that we have to carry out.

  2. Population levels • PR: Ranked 27th by population among U.S. jurisdictions • PR: 1.3 % of the U.S. population

  3. Persons Living Under the Poverty Level PR: The poorest U.S. jurisdiction, by far.

  4. Pell Grant Distribution (2003-2004) • PR: Ranked 5th among jurisdictions receiving Pell Grants. • PR: 1.3 % of the U.S. population • PR: 3.8% of Pell Grant recipients. • PR: 4.7% of awarded Pell grant funds.

  5. Effects of Pell Grants on Island Education • Tripled the college population. • Contributed to the expansion of the regional colleges of the University of Puerto Rico. • Converted the private institutions into the main providers of higher education in the Island. • Encouraged the establishment of schools of medicine, engineering and nursing, among others. • The impact and (qualified) success of Pell Grants for higher education in the Island are a model for the Nation.

  6. Let us compare ourselves with Hispanics on the Mainland

  7. U.S. Hispanic Population • PR: 8.6% of the U.S. Hispanic population • PR: proportion declines rapidly due to accelerated growth of the Hispanic population on the Mainland.

  8. Source: Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) • PR: Less than 10% of the Hispanic population. • PR: produces around a quarter of Hispanic physicians in the U.S.

  9. Source: Interamerican College of Physicians and Surgeons • PR: Less than 10% of the Hispanic population in the U.S. • PR: The Island has 18% of all Hispanic physicians in the U.S. • PR: Ratio even higher when Island graduates who reside in the Mainland are taken into account.

  10. Engineering graduates of institutions on the Island • The Island’s economy needs several hundred engineers. • The engineering schools on the Island graduate over 1,000. • Most get job offers on the Mainland. • The island produces more than half of Hispanic engineers in some fields.

  11. Internships – Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities (HACU) PR: A disproportionate number of HACU interns are students on the Island.

  12. In a Nutshell • We are experts at producing professionals in excess of our needs. • We produce professionals in excess of our proportion in the U.S. Hispanic population. • We excel in programs aimed at Hispanics.

  13. Let us compare the consequences of receiving resources against the consequences of having to search for them.

  14. Funds and Proposals Awarded by NSF to Universities on the Island (2004) • PR: Few research proposals submitted by the faculty of universities on the Island

  15. Prestigious Scholarships Awarded to Island Residents (2005) • PR: A jurisdiction with a population greater than 200,000 college students is unable to nominate a single student to prestigious programs.

  16. Goals to Achieve in Graduate Programs • Equating the achievements of undergraduate and professional programs. • Joining the national university community on an equal footing, not as a minority attachment . • Elimination of intellectual insularism. • Geographic desegregation of the student body. • Geographic desegregation of the faculty. • Achieving that the power and initiative arise from within each faculty member; not from above.

  17. Nature of the Problem • It is not a not a problem of lack of talent – there is an excess of first-rate students and, hence, of faculty. • It is not a problem of lack of funds– the Federal government is (relatively) magnanimous. • It is a problem of initiative. • It is a problem of outstanding faculty recruitment. • It is a problem of making responsible and recognize each faculty members for its shortcomings and achievements, respectively.

  18. Foundation for Success • The success of academic programs rests on the shoulders of every member of the faculty; • not on those of the departmental chairs, deans, chancellors, presidents or members of the board of trustees.

  19. Action Plan • Infrastructure • Proposals to federal agencies. • Faculty recruitment incentives. • Students • Prestigious scholarships and fellowships. • Internship programs on the Mainland. • Recruitment in Latin America. • Retention and career track. • Faculty evaluation based on outstanding work. • Proposals. • Research. • Publications. • Graduate students. • Student evaluation of the faculty.

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