UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION $132,600,000

The FY 2002 Budget Request for the Undergraduate Education (DUE) Subactivity is $132.60 million, a decrease of $8.35 million, or 5.9 percent, below the FY 2001 Current Plan of $140.95 million.

(Millions of Dollars)

Totals may not add due to rounding.
*Formerly Teacher and Technician Development.

The Undergraduate Education Subactivity serves as NSF's focal point for the improvement of undergraduate science, mathematics, engineering, and technology (SMET) education. It provides leadership and leveraged project support for activities that promote engagement in inquiry-based learning by all undergraduate students including disciplinary majors, prospective PreK-12 teachers, and prospective technicians. Supported projects are in two-year colleges, four-year colleges, and universities. The objectives are to improve SMET learning through the reform of courses and laboratories, curricula, and instructional materials, and to increase the quality and quantity of the science and engineering workforce. Emphases include integration of learning technologies, faculty development, preparation of prospective teachers, and strengthening the participation of underrepresented populations. The FY 2002 decrease of $8.35 million largely reflects the redirection of funds in support of the President's Math and Science Partnerships Initiative.

Curriculum, Laboratory, and Instructional Development includes:

• National SMETE Digital Library (NSDL) lays the foundation for a national resource to increase the quality, quantity, and comprehensiveness of Internet-based SMET educational resources while enabling virtual learning communities that link students, teachers, and faculty with each other and with a wide array of standards-based educational materials and learning tools. The FY 2002 request will support (1) continued implementation of the NSDL by drawing on the results of previously-funded projects; (2) continued development of technical specifications and user services, and the development of registries and repositories of high quality educational products and services; (3) continued expansion of the collections within the virtual facility so as to increase the usability and comprehensiveness of the NSDL; and (4) limited production of high quality educational materials designed to take maximum advantage of the NSDL's architecture and services. The FY 2002 request is decreased by $350,000 to a level of $24.60 million.

• Assessment of Student Achievement in Undergraduate Education seeks to provide frameworks and measurable indicators for (1) student academic and affective learning outcomes and (2) the quality of departmental and institutional environments in support of student learning. This effort will link with and support undergraduate education programs across the Foundation. The FY 2002 request for this activity is sustained at $3.0 million.

• The Distinguished Teaching Scholars program seeks to engage those faculty who bring the excitement and richness of discovery within science, mathematics, engineering, and technology to all students, including those who do not currently plan scientific and technical careers. The FY 2002 request for this activity in EHR is held constant at $1.51 million.

• Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement strengthens NSF's efforts to assure access to a high quality SMET education for all students by focusing on the identification, development, adaptation and implementation of exemplary curricular and laboratory educational materials and instructional models. The FY 2002 request for this activity remains at $46.63 million.

Workforce Development [formerly Teacher and Technician Development] includes:

• Scholarship for Service seeks to build a cadre of individuals in the federal sector with the skills needed to ensure protection of the nation's critical information infrastructure. FY 2002 funding for this activity is sustained at $11.18 million.

• Advanced Technological Education supports improvement in technician education by supporting, particularly at two-year colleges and secondary schools, the design and implementation of new curricula, courses and laboratories, educational materials, opportunities for faculty and student development, and collaboration among educational institutions and partners from business, industry, and government. Funding for this activity is maintained at $39.16 million. Expanding support for information technology and manufacturing, as well as in-service and pre-service teacher development in related areas, including, as appropriate, attention to articulation programs between two-year and four-year colleges and universities are continuing emphases. For example:

Under the ATE program, Lee College in Baytown, Texas, organizes a unique project in developing curriculum models that interrelate technical programs of computer maintenance and networking, electrical, instrumentation, and process technologies. Training of this nature is important to industries that focus on process and computer network technologies. Joining Lee College are twenty-one industrial partners, including Bayer, Dupont, and Exxon. More than 2,500 students will participate over a five-year period.

• Teacher Preparation is the Foundation's most visible effort to strengthen the SMET content knowledge and pedagogic skills of prospective K-12 teachers in preparation for the delivery of standards-based instruction. In FY 2002, $8.0 million is redirected in support of the President's Math and Science Partnerships initiative. Within the remaining request, emphasis is placed on short-term experiments involving institutions of higher education and local school districts working in partnership to develop model approaches to meeting defined local/regional needs for increased quantity and quality of teachers at various grade levels. The FY 2002 request is $6.52 million.