Presentation Transcript

1. Not As Easy As You Think! C S I
2. Dr. Diane VanceDirector, Forensic Science ProgramEastern Kentucky UniversityORAU Council of Sponsoring InstitutionsResearch and Education Partnership Opportunities in Security and IntelligenceMarch 8, 2011
3. This session: Focus on the conflicting drivers that academia faces in addressing the research and educational needs of the security and intelligence community and forensic It’s Arlene’s fault This presentation will discuss problems and promise related to forensic academic programs Mainly at the undergraduate level Chemistry and biology Not training issues Not continuing education
4. My Background and Perspective High school teacher Radioanalyticalgraduate degree Worked at Savannah River and Y-12 Now forensic science program director “Outsider” perspectivefor forensic science No working experience in forensic setting Not uncommon situation for program directors
5. Topics Brief history about Forensic Science programs Current numbers of programs FEPAC Accreditation Information overload for potential students Disconnects between academic culture and practices and those of bench forensic scientists Future
6. Academic Forensic Science Programs 2000’s program numbers increase rapidly Maybe 150 – 200 programs called “forensic science” 1970’s 25 programs at peak 1980’s and 90’s program numbers decline About 12 programs in 1999
7. Academic Forensic Science Programs: 2000 - 2011 Content, emphasis, and coursework truly related to forensic science varies widely
8. Problem for Potential Students:TM(M)I !! Too Much (Mis)Information Searches for “forensic science education” bring up mostly for-profit school programs Further search of these links shows they are actually criminal justice Many are completely online with no laboratory component
9. Some Examples of Fun “Factoids” from a Google Search “Jobs for forensic science technicians are expected to increase much faster than average” “Median annual earnings for forensic science technicians range from $45-48,000” “The Bachelors degrees for forensic science technicians at universities whose programs are accredited by the American Academy of Forensic Science all take 5 years to complete instead of the usual 4 years due the the amount of information they need to learn to be effective in their careers.”
10. More fun “factoids” to mislead students “You can study forensic science online and easily find a course accredited by the American Academy of Forensic Science” “Degree programs include associates degrees, bachelors, masters, certificates or even PHds. Each one will open a different career for you.” In very small print off the main page for a program: “Students may need additional coursework to work in forensic jobs” “There is no standard certification or registration for forensic scientists, but those entering a government or private industry may be asked to pass an exam. The American College of Forensic Examiners lists all of its certification tests online.”
11. TWGED and FEPAC NIJ formed Technical Working Group on Education in Forensic Science (TWGED) Final report issued in 2004 Forensic Science Educational Programs Accreditation Commission (FEPAC) formed Now a standing committee of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) First accreditation round in 2003 5 schools accredited
12. FEPAC-Accredited Master’s Degree Programs (2/20/2011)13 fully accredited (5 ORAU-member Schools) University of Alabama Birmingham University at Albany (SUNY at Albany) Arcadia University Boston University School of Medicine University of California at Davis Duquesne University Florida International University University of Illinois at Chicago Marshall University, Huntington Michigan State University Oklahoma State University Sam Houston State University Virginia Commonwealth University
13. FEPAC-Accredited Bachelor’s Degree Programs (2/20/2011) 17 fully Accredited (7 ORAU-member Schools) Albany State University University at Albany (SUNY) Cedar Crest College Eastern Kentucky University Florida International University Indiana University Purdue University, Indianapolis John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY) Laurentian University Metropolitan State College of Denver University of Mississippi University of New Haven University of North Texas Ohio University The Pennsylvania State University Virginia Commonwealth University West Chester University West Virginia University
14. Why do universities start forensic science programs?
15. Questions that might be asked by university administrators or state higher education councils How much is this going to cost? Is there external funding available? Is there a demand for the program? Is there a market for graduates? Is there a faculty member currently on staff to direct the formation of the program? Is there a sufficient pool of qualified faculty to staff the program?
16. Questions that might be asked by professional organizations Who will be considered as “qualified” to teach in the program? Will the program contribute to the advancement of the profession? If internships are required, are there sufficient opportunities for these? Will faculty use FEPAC standards, and/or ABC KSA to help prepare curriculum?
17. What is (are) the Driver(s)? For many programs: get students Most chemists, university administrators, and state boards on higher education don’t know much about the status of the field or its needs Examples from proposals to state higher education councils There are 4000 forensic labs in the U.S. There will be a need for 10,000 forensic scientists Starting salaries are in the $40,000 - $50,000 range
18. U.S. Publicly-Funded Forensic Laboratories About 350 forensic labs Most are state, regional, and metropolitan Fewer federal FBI lab is largest with 600 employees Median for all labs is 16 employees About 12,000 employees in all forensic labs Half in state labs About 7000 analysts in these labs Census of Publicly Funded Forensic Crime Laboratories, 2005, NCJ 222181, Bureau of Justice Statistics’ (BJS) Census of Publicly Funded Forensic Crime Laboratories
19. What are the Problems? Faculty Program directors Practitioners vs traditional academics Funding Publications Curriculum Respect
20. Staffing IssuesThe Limiting Reagent
21. Educational/Experience Qualifications Academic PhD typically required Post-doctoral / research experience preferred Working laboratory experience not valued Forensic Bench Scientist Mainly B.S. and M.S. in a natural science M.S. for supervisory positions PhD not necessarily a plus
22. Typical Job Requirements Academic Research Publication Teaching Service Forensic Bench Scientist Case Work Generation of Reports Testifying in Court
23. Research and Publication Requirements Academic Research required basic research frequently preferred Publications required Forensic Bench Scientist Little or no time devoted to research due to case load Research mainly aimed at improving methods Little time to write peer-reviewed journal papers
24. Other Factors Academic New PhD salary often modest Often look down on B.S. and M.S. personnel Forensic Bench Scientist Experienced scientists often earning more than new PhD salary (median maximum salary about $70,000 for experienced analyst)
25. What does this lead to? Forensic Bench Scientist Limited opportunity to use extensive experience to help educate the next generation Few or no publications are seen as a problem by academics Lack of respect even for highly accomplished and experienced B.S. and M.S. personnel Academic Very small pool of PhD candidates with experience working in forensic labs Hires of personnel with no professional network or real commitment to forensic science Sometimessubsequent “defection” of the hire out of forensic area
26. Publication Issues Forensic Bench Scientist Little or no time devoted to research due to case load Little time to publish Academic Publications required Can be a problem if work can’t be published due to sensitive nature of information university needs to find a way to place value on the this work for P&T Journal prestige
27. Funding Academic Little funding for forensic science research (less than 0.1% of federal research went to forensic) University funding for instructional forensic program may be limited Forensic Bench Scientist Little or no time devoted to research due to case load Little time to publish Not experienced in proposal writing
28. Issues for Program Directors Academic Required to do teaching, research, service Also significant administrative work May be no mechanism to give credit for this Time needed to become professionally networked Forensic Bench Scientist Experienced scientists often have supervisory experience so good for director position But – don’t qualify for faculty position Often feel that regular faculty look down on them
29. Curriculum Issues Core of natural science required for accredited programs Upper division courses in chemistry or biology Some applied to forensic problems Does coursework cultivate the approaches and “mind-set” to prepare for forensic work? Pattern evidence is unconventional topic for university courses Questions from colleagues about legitimacy of some courses
30. Common Curriculum “Holes” Interface with law enforcement community Expert Witness Testimony Microscopy Trace Pattern Evidence Fingerprint Toolmark, shoeprint, etc
31. Attitude of Other Faculty / Forensic Science Practitioners / law enforcement “So we fall between two stools. We are regarded by our fellow academics almost as common laborers with dirty hands, who traffic in mundane, workaday police matters, instead of devoting ourselves to pure research. On the other hand the police tend to regard us as woolgatherers and cloud-dwellers from the ivory tower, with no experience of the dark side of life. . “ William R. Maples, forensic anthropologist in “Dead Men Do Tell Tales”
32. Ideal Model Blend of PhD scientists and forensic practitioners with professional respect of each for the knowledge and skills of the other
33. What next? My thoughts Staffing an issue for new several years Strong programs will get stronger Total number of forensic programs will decrease Accredited programs will continue to draw more students NAS report will help the needs of the forensic science community to be recognized and (hopefully) addressed with funding Leahy legislation TVC forensic initiative