State of Power Engineering Education in the U.S. and Canada Preliminary Results of the 2014 PEEC Survey Presentation at PEEC-NSF Workshop, Washington D.C., July 26-27, 2014 PEEC Survey Team: Sukumar Brahma, New Mexico State University Henry Louie, Seattle University Dennis Ray, PSERC
Overview Objective: Describe the state of power engineering programs in the U.S. and Canada – Students – Faculty and staff – Courses, research, etc. Data source: 2014 PEEC Survey – Online survey – With revised and new questions from previous surveys Preliminary analysis: These results should be considered as tentative. The survey data are still being collected and examined. Survey website: development/education/peec-survey development/education/peec-survey 2
Uses of Survey Data Website for parents, students, recruiters, faculty, others looking for university program information – Organized by University – On PES website: development/education/university-power-programs development/education/university-power-programs State of Power Engineering Education Publications – Report, Transactions paper, etc. 3
Universities Responding to PEEC Surveys (as of 7/15/2014) Year of Survey U.S. Responses Canadian Responses 2005/
Faculty and Staff Delivering Course Instruction 5 CanadaUS Rank/TitleN%N% Professor2253.7% % Associate Professor819.5%7518.8% Assistant Professor819.5%8320.8% Adjunct Professor00.0%328.0% Emeritus Professor12.4%164.0% Instructor/Lecturer24.9%205.0% Total % % In the 2005/6 Survey, 380 faculty and staff were reported for the U.S. and Canada combined. 339 were faculty (full, associate, assistant).
Historical Professorial Title Trends (% of all Reported Faculty and Staff) US and Canada combined. Comparables for 2014 Survey: 6 Rank/Title Professor % Associate Professor8318.9% Assistant Professor9120.7% Total %
Highest Degree for Faculty/Staff 7 CanadaUS Highest DegreeN%N% PhD3995.1% % Masters24.9%143.5% Bachelors00.0%41.0% Other00.0% % % In 2005/6 Survey, 95.8% of faculty and staff has received PhD’s.
Faculty/Staff who are IEEE PES Members and/or IEEE Fellows 8 CanadaUS N%N% IEEE PES Member3380.5% % IEEE Fellow1024.4% % In 2005/6 Survey, 91.8% of faculty and staff were PES members.
Years in Academia 9 CanadaUS Years in AcademiaN%N% % % %7719.3% %9022.6% %4912.3% %174.3% >5012.4%51.3% Total % % Average Median Average reported power industry experience was 2.9 years in Canada and 3.9 years in the US. Due to survey response inconsistencies, these are only estimates by the Survey Team. In 2005/6 Survey, the average reported academic experience was 20.5 years and the average power industry experience was 4.14 years.
Full-time Personnel Changes in Reporting Year and their Current Retirement Eligibility Status 10 CanadaUS N%N% Faculty/Staff Left24.9%4812.0% Faculty/Staff Hired37.3%6616.5% Retirement Eligible Now24.9%4310.8% In 1-5 years614.6%4411.0% In 6-10 years819.5%8421.1% In 10 years, up to 42.9% of faculty/staff in the U.S. and 39.0% in Canada may need to be replaced due to retirements alone.
Education Statistics 11 Canada US N%N% Schools Offering Masters9100%8578.0% Schools Offering PhD9100%7165.1% Reported Graduate Rates No. of Undergrads No. of Masters No. of PhD67282 Average Undergraduate % who are Domestic 78%81%
Undergraduate Program Options 12 Canada US N%N% Mandatory courses for all students555.6%4242.0% Mandatory course for all students in a special track, minor, certificate, etc %3838.0% Elective courses9100.0%9292.0% Special track444.4%2525.0% Minor111.1%44.0% Certificate00.0%99.0% Coop Available (optional)777.8%6969.0% Available (mandatory)222.2%11.0% Not available00.0%3030.0%
Number of Reported Undergraduate Course Offerings (based on words in course titles) Electronics (84 occurrences) Renewable (17), Sustainable (8), Wind (7), Solar (5), Green (1) Smart (13) {e.g., smart “grid”, smart “power system”} Communication (1) 13 Notes: (1) Total courses reported: 564 undergraduate (courses offered in past academic years were reported in some cases) (2) 4 faculty/staff reported to have taught power electronics in Canada in the last two years (undergrad and/or grad) (3) 43 faculty/staff reported to have taught power electronics in the U.S. in the last two years (undergrad and/or grad)
Number of Reported Graduate Course Offerings (based on words in course titles) Electronics (72 occurrences) Renewable (19), Sustainable (9), Wind (11), Solar (2), Green (0) Smart (27) {e.g., smart “grid”, smart “power system”} Communication (3) 14 Total courses reported: 631 graduate (courses offered in past academic years were reported in some cases)
Graduate Degree Delivery Options 15 Number of Degrees Offered by: In Class 166 Distance Education 10 Both 39 Courses with distance education students: Graduate: 31.7% of all reported courses Undergraduate: 13.3% of all reported courses
Full-Time (FT) and Part-time (PT) Graduate Student Enrollments 16 CanadaUS Masters FT Domestic8550.3% % Masters FT International8449.7% % Total Masters FT % % Masters PT Domestic % % Masters PT International54.0%9020.4% Total Masters PT % % PhD FT Domestic4032.0% % PhD FT International8568.0% % Total PhD FT % % PhD PT Domestic2100.0%8373.5% PhD PT International00.0%3026.5% Total PhD PT2100.0% %
Average Number of Enrolled Graduate Students per Institution – Masters and PhD Survey Average Number of Masters: 22.5 Average Number of PhD: 11.9
Average Number of Domestic and International Grad Students per Institution Survey Average Number. of Domestic: 13.5 Average Number of International: 20.9
Research Expenditures ($) 19 CanadaUS Government - Non-Equipment $6,120, % $82,200, % Domestic Utility - Non-Equipment $1,923, % $8,047,5508.1% Other Dom. Industry - Non-Equipment $1,266, % $9,003,3219.1% Total Non-Equipment $9,309, % $99,251, % Median Non-Equipment* $570,000 $600,000 Government - Equipment $2,262, % $15,436, % Domestic Utility - Equipment $340, % $1,649,2007.5% Other Dom. Industry - Non-Equipment $192,5006.9% $4,965, % Total Equipment $2,795, % $22,051, % Median Equipment* $267,500 $70,000 *A number of universities reported zero research expenditures. 16 universities reported zero non- equipment research expenditures and 37 universities reported zero equipment research expenditures. These responses may be valid or they may indicate missing data. The median values reported above ignore zero responses; thus, they are the median values for universities reporting non-zero expenditures. If zero responses are included, the median total research expenditures are $930,000 for Canada and $530,500 for the U.S.
Reported Research Funding Outlook for Next 3 Years 20 All Institutions 47 Institutions Above $600K in Non-equipment Expenditures Funding OutlookN% Rising1429.8% Stable2553.2% Declining817.0% % Canada US Funding OutlookN%N% Rising555.6%3333.0% Stable444.4%5353.0% Declining00.0%1414.0% % %
Number of universities at which faculty participated in events designed to attract K-12 students to power engineering or to help K-12 teachers. 21 CanadaUS 5(56%)72(66%)
Some Preliminary Conclusions Strong growth in student interest Healthier balance within faculty ranks with more assistant professor hires High potential for faculty/staff retirements in next 10 years More diverse course topics, but traditional topics seem to dominate (may be more diversity of material in the traditional courses) Distance/online education options exist Generally positive outlook for research $ 22