Education and Human Resources $908,080,000

The FY 2003 Budget Request for the Education and Human Resources (EHR) Activity is $908.08 million, an increase of $33.08 million, or 3.8 percent, over the FY 2002 Current Plan of $875.0 million.

(Millions of Dollars)

¹The Partnerships for Innovation program is funded at $5.0 million in FY 2003 within Integrative Activities in the Research and Related Activities Appropriation.
² Excludes $78.51 million in FY 2001, and estimates of $90 million in FY 2002 and $92.5 million in FY 2003 from H-1B Nonimmigrant Petitioner Receipts.

The EHR Activity defines and implements an investment strategy that advances the goals of NSF's Strategic Plan in areas related to education and human resource development. Its interconnected portfolio of programs is unique within the federal enterprise in its focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education encompassing every educational level and type of learning (formal and informal) in all parts of the country. Its programs develop models and strategies for giving all students access to high-quality educational opportunities, thus producing a well-qualified U.S. scientific and technological workforce, a well-prepared instructional workforce, and a science-literate citizenry. EHR also emphasizes developing human resources to broaden participation in all NSF research and education activities. EHR programs are subject to continuous improvements based on program reviews, internal and external evaluation, dissemination of best practices, and research on learning that produces new knowledge bases that can guide program design and implementation.

At NSF, supporting people and integrating research and learning are two high priorities. The people involved in our projects represent both the focus of our investments and the most important products of them. Across its FY 2003 programs, EHR activities directly engage almost 127,000 people, including teachers, K-16 students, researchers, and graduate students. Support for programs specifically addressing NSF's Strategic Goal of "People - A diverse, internationally competitive and globally-engaged workforce of scientists, engineers, and well-prepared citizens" totals over $730 million in FY 2003, an increase of more than 6 percent over FY 2002. Moreover, funding for research grants and tool development provides substantial support for additional researchers and students.

One strength of EHR STEM programming resides in its ability to integrate research and education, combining the expertise of the research and education communities. Its products include cutting-edge research on learning and teaching that provides a foundation for education practice; standards-based instructional materials, curricula, and student assessments effective in improving K-16 education and providing essential workplace skills; professional development strategies for improving content knowledge and teaching skills of the instructional workforce; and research, development, and implementation of next generation learning technologies.

EHR programs also promote NSF's vision and goals by supporting:

• Development of partnerships among stakeholders in STEM education aimed at improving student achievement;

• PreK-16 systemic reform to achieve inquiry-centered science and mathematics education;

• Advanced training of technicians and professional scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians;

• Increased scientific and technological literacy, and an appreciation for the process and results of research, for all Americans; and

• Broader participation in STEM by individuals and institutions currently underrepresented in the STEM enterprise.

In FY 2003, NSF's highest priorities in the Education and Human Resources (EHR) Activity are increases in funding for the Math and Science Partnership (MSP), graduate student support, and the Centers for Learning and Teaching (CLT). MSP addresses critical concerns of the Administration and the Congress that math and science learning and teaching must be improved for all preK-12 students in the U.S. Graduate stipends are no longer considered to be attractive by many students because they are viewed as inadequate to compensate for the cost of education and mounting student debt, and to offset opportunities for higher salaries offered by employers to STEM baccalaureate degree holders. CLT is designed to meet major national needs to strengthen the human infrastructure for science, technology and math education, to increase the number of well-qualified K-16 educators, and to provide research opportunities in science and math education and education reform.

Within the constraints of the overall EHR Request, it is not possible to accommodate the priority increases while increasing or even maintaining all programs in the existing portfolio at the FY 2002 Current Plan levels. In fact, the increases requested for the three priorities necessitated cuts in other programming. This required difficult decisions on where reductions could be taken while minimizing the adverse impact on program outcomes.

PreK-12 Programs

EHR preK-12 programs are based on the conviction that all students can learn and achieve at much higher levels than are presently attained in science and mathematics. This is the basis for NSF's implementation of the Math and Science Partnership as part of the President's broader agenda to strengthen and reform K-12 education. NSF's systemic reform projects, which treat whole systems and build educational capacity at state, urban, rural, and district levels, as well as more targeted projects in teacher preparation and enhancement, have provided successful models for improving the quality of teaching and the performance of students. They position NSF well for implementing MSP. For example:

The St. Louis Public Schools Urban Systemic Initiative (USI) evidenced improved student achievement on the state Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) tests in mathematics and science, and the District's students improved at a faster rate than the state average. Moreover, the student achievement data demonstrated compelling evidence that the historically underserved minority students progressed at the fastest rate in both math and science. While the gap between majority and minority students persists, it is narrowing at the same time that all students are improving. Simultaneously, increased numbers of students enrolled in and successfully completed gate-keeping science and mathematics courses (i.e., those required for progression to more advanced coursework). Total enrollment in gate-keeping courses increased 96 percent in both mathematics and science over the initial year of the project, while the total number of students completing the courses increased 82 percent in mathematics and 94 percent in science. The increases in the number of African American students enrolling in and completing these courses represented the greatest gains.

A five-year comparison of scores on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) in the nine San Antonio USI participating school districts by grade and ethnicity shows significant increases in student scores in every sub-population. Gains over five years are outpacing statewide increases. Moreover, substantial gains in Hispanic and African American scores narrowed the achievement gap between majority and minority students in this systemic project by as much as 27 percentage points, with an average across all grade/ethnicity combinations of 20 percentage points.

Quality teaching is critical to improved student performance. Sustained Teacher Enhancement (TE) program investment in West Virginia, for example, has recently been credited by State educators as a major factor in West Virginia's students outscoring the southeast region on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in science, grades 4 and 8. The mean score for 4^th graders was 150, compared to 141 for the region; comparable mean statistics for 8^th graders were 150, compared to 143 for the region. Student scores at 4^th and 8^th grades even slightly exceeded national mean scores. Over the last six years, TE, Verizon, and West Virginia higher education institutions have partnered to provide all schools high-speed computer access, on-line resources, courses, and mentors. Today, TE is supporting another model effort to develop middle-school leadership and mentor teachers in each of the State's 55 county school systems to lead the process for the next state/local textbook adoptions in mathematics.

Undergraduate and Graduate Programs

In higher education, EHR programs work to strengthen undergraduate and graduate programs in STEM while encouraging greater participation on the part of members of groups currently underrepresented in these fields. For example:

• U.S. preeminence in today's world demands graduate education in science and engineering that is exemplified in Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeships (IGERT) projects. For example, ongoing IGERT projects have focus areas that are proving critical to national security, areas such as smart sensors/sensing architectures and optical sciences, wireless networking, and computational analysis of social and organizational systems. The work in this last area conducted by an IGERT project at Carnegie-Mellon University was cited in national news reports for its contribution in the nation's response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The work, which involves software development on analyzing how organizations interact and identifying key links in an organization, is being applied to terrorist organizational networks.

• An Advanced Technological Education (ATE) project led by Texas' College of the Mainland, in collaboration with the Gulf Coast Process Technology Alliance, is leading the development of a competency-based curriculum driven by industrial needs that provides a portable national credential for process technicians - in particular, those in the petrochemical and refining industries. Process technology programs also serve other chemical industries as well as pharmaceuticals, pulp and paper, and power generation. In this effort, 29 community colleges and universities in 13 states are collaborating with 22 industrial partners such as ExxonMobil, Chevron, Dupont, Dow Chemical, and Shell Chemical. More than 150 process technicians, supervisors, and trainers are involved in developing the process technology curriculum. Over 10,000 high school students will be served in outreach activities. Pathways are being developed to four-year programs for process technicians. During the first three years of Center operations, they plan to involve more than 5,000 students in associate degree programs in process technology. Activities include curriculum development, professional development, capacity building, dissemination, and evaluation. The industry partners show that hiring an associate degree graduate from these programs results in a 65 percent reduction in basic training time (about $3,400 per hire), a 40 percent reduction in qualification time, and a 37 percent improvement in safety performance.

• A Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI) project at Calvin College is building upon an NSF-supported optics course at the University of Maryland to develop a new optics initiative to provide Calvin College students with marketable technical training in the optical sciences and introduce an optics concentration into the physics curriculum. The project targets students in physics and engineering as well as pre-service high school teachers. The course being adapted is taught in integrated lecture-plus-laboratory format. The laboratories to be integrated into the course were developed by faculty and staff at CalTech, Harvard, Harvey Mudd College, and the National Institutes of Standards and Technology.

• A grant to the University of Tulsa under the Federal Cyber Service: Scholarship for Service program is designed to provide a total of 36 undergraduate and graduate students an exceptional experience in intense information assurance education including research and outreach activities. Students are mentored by faculty of the university and staff of the Federal Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism in Oklahoma City. Using new external matching funds, the actual student cohort is 48 students.

• A STEM Teacher Preparation project at the University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign (UIUC) is responding to the need for highly qualified mathematics and science teachers by recruiting and preparing STEM graduates and mid-career scientists, mathematicians, and industry personnel for teaching careers in secondary schools. The RECRUIT program features collaboration among education faculty, STEM faculty, and K-12 teachers and includes an extended induction, support, and professional development period that continues beyond the initial coursework. The program deepens disciplinary content knowledge, provides mentoring, and exposes prospective teachers to innovative instructional approaches. Faculty from the Colleges of Education, Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Engineering at UIUC and from the Department of Science and Mathematics Education at the Illinois Institute of Technology are collaborating in providing the coursework and support for the alternative certification program. The project is partnering with two rural districts and two urban districts, including the Chicago Public Schools. RECRUIT teachers are expected to impact 4,500 middle and high school students. The project includes research components that are contributing to the knowledge base on science and mathematics teacher education. Evaluation studies include measuring the scalability and reproducibility of the project.

• In its first two years, the University of Alabama at Birmingham Graduate Teaching Fellowships in K-12 Education (GK-12) project directly impacted 285 teachers and over 8,000 K-12 students, helping implement proven curricula and inquiry-based laboratory activities in local schools. The positive impact on the Fellows is evidenced by graduating Fellows assuming positions at a university, in industry, and at a research lab, plus becoming involved in science education outreach activities in their communities.

Research Programs

As part of its mission, EHR promotes broader participation in the research community. In addition, all EHR programs are informed by the research base on learning and education and are strengthened by access to a vital research community that practices the integration of research and education. For example:

One powerful means to stimulate learning new topics is to help learners understand and build models of mathematical and scientific phenomena, using the models themselves to understand how physical, statistical and mathematical systems work, to understand complex causality, and to make testable predictions. This contrasts with the more incremental or serialized form of concept introduction that dominates textbooks. The value of modeling is exemplified in NSF-supported work in the Chicago and Detroit Public Schools. These projects at the University of Michigan and Northwestern University suggest that students as young as sixth grade can build and analyze models of complex systems that without technology would require differential equations. This work involves extensive use of specialized software to promote the use of authentic inquiry and experimentation in middle and high school science. Building models of complex systems (e.g., stream ecosystems) was not an activity open to 6th graders since they would have had to use undergraduate mathematics in their model building. However, the software tools developed under this funding do provide the necessary frameworks to make it possible for even 6th graders to build rich models of complex systems without first needing to learn differential equations. Other technologies parallel REC's interests and investments in bridging cognitive processes more fully to learning and to education, and involve not only specialized tools to stimulate learning, such as cognitive tutors, but also specialized tools to understand learning, such as use of functional imaging to understand the development of mathematical concepts. The results of projects like these will contribute to the introduction of challenging curricula and experiences in K-12.

Under the Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST), the California State University at Los Angeles (CSULA) Center for Environmental Analysis (CEA-CREST) established a partnership with the NSF National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis at U.C. Santa Barbara (UCSB), which has resulted in formation of a workgroup on spatially structured dynamics involving Stanford, U.C. Berkeley, UCSB and CSULA. This collaboration exposes CEA-CREST students and faculty to the nation's top experts on modeling population dynamics in marine landscapes.

In Oklahoma, Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR)-funded research has contributed to the knowledge about the growth and characterization of new mid-infrared laser materials and to the inventory of related instruments. A high-resolution mid-infrared tunable diode laser spectrometer has been designed to measure numerous chemical compounds with parts per billion sensitivities. The basic science conducted in this project will result in lower cost and better performing laser spectrometers. In addition, a small business called Ekips Technology was spun off as a result of the project's research. Ekips Technology's first commercial success will likely be a machine that can sniff out the locations of illegal methamphetamine laboratories.

Math and Science Partnership

NSF requests $200.0 million for the Math and Science Partnership (MSP) in FY 2003, an increase of $40.0 million over the FY 2002 Current Plan of $160.0 million. NSF and the U.S. Department of Education are planning program linkages to manage their joint investment in math and science education for the greatest effectiveness.

A cornerstone of the President's education reform agenda, the strategic focus of MSP is to engage the nation's higher education institutions, local, regional and state school districts and other partners in preK-12 reform. MSP calls for a significant commitment by colleges and universities to improving the quality of science and mathematics instruction in the schools and to investing in the recruitment and professional development of highly competent science and mathematics teachers. Among the national concerns to be addressed by MSP, three cited in No Child Left Behind, the President's education agenda: 1) too many teachers teaching out-of-field; 2) too few students taking advanced coursework; and 3) too few schools offering a challenging curriculum and textbooks. MSP, as a major national effort, is an investment intended to serve all students so that learning outcomes can no longer be predicted based on race/ethnicity, socio-economic status, gender or disability.

A defining feature of MSP is the development and implementation of productive partnerships among the major stakeholders, with each partnership requiring commitments from one or more local school systems and one or more higher education entities, and including other partners that bring additional assets to preK-12 teaching and learning. These other partners can include industrial organizations, which bring unique insights on workforce needs to the partnerships, state education agencies, and not-for-profit entities with a commitment to science and mathematics education. Institutions of higher education who partner in MSP are expected to tap their disciplinary departments in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) as well as their education departments. The insistence that higher education must play a critical role in preK-12 educational reform, especially in support of professional education throughout the career of preK-12 teachers, distinguishes MSP from prior NSF-supported systemic efforts.

A second distinguishing feature of MSP is that it will not be an isolated set of local partnerships, but will become part of the NSF and national STEM education portfolio of interconnected sites whose experiences will help generate the capacity of the nation to serve all students well. Further, by involving the MSP awardees in a nationwide network of educational researchers and practitioners, the program will contribute to the development of a greater U.S. capacity to analyze and learn from the experience of large-scale change and to apply this knowledge to preK-12 STEM teaching and learning.

MSP seeks to improve student outcomes in high-quality mathematics and science by all students, at all preK-12 levels. The partnerships expect to contribute to increases in student achievement across-the-board, as well as reductions in achievement gaps in mathematics and science among diverse student populations differentiated by race/ethnicity, socio-economic status, gender or disability. Another primary focus of MSP is the development of highly capable teachers who are well-grounded in math and science disciplines. MSP participants will design high learning expectations into all math and science classes, and ensure that educators effectively match local and state standards to curricula, learning technology, instruction and assessment. MSP will have a strong emphasis on research involving the participants in the MSP in a community of researchers and educators, and it is expected that research on learning and the application of math and science education models to a wide range of learning environments will be a key component of MSP and will contribute to the national understanding of how to introduce and sustain successful education reform in math and science.

PRIORITY AREAS

In FY 2003, EHR will continue to address emerging needs and opportunities in selected priority areas. The intent is to use multi-disciplinary approaches where their unique ability to tackle some classes of problems is required, capitalize on synergy across programs with related goals, challenge the field to develop innovative strategies to serve as models for the nation, and aggressively pursue opportunities for collaboration with other NSF programs, as well as with other federal and private organizations.

Learning for the 21^st Century Workforce

NSF regards learning - understanding how people learn as individuals and transferring that knowledge for use in collective learning environments or for development of tools useful for multiple learners - as a key to meeting the challenges of building the 21^st century workforce. EHR's FY 2003 investment in this priority area will rise to $139.91 million, an increase of $16.74 million, or 13.6 percent, over the FY 2002 Current Plan level of $123.17 million. EHR plays a leadership role in activities designed to address Learning for the 21^st Century Workforce by virtue of its extensive programming in:

• Learning Research - Multi-disciplinary research on learning and education forms the EHR contribution to increasing our knowledge base on learning principles and learning environments. Funding will decline slightly to $54.56 million in FY 2003. This includes $15.0 million for the Interagency Education Research Initiative, a joint effort among NSF, the Department of Education, and the National Institutes of Health. The EHR research effort will link to an additional $10.0 million from the Research and Related Activities Appropriation, for total NSF support of $25.0 million.

• Learning Tools - Opportunities for electronic dissemination of information on high-quality education materials and pedagogical practices help enhance instruction and broaden participation in the science and engineering enterprise. Networking may be of particular benefit for learners in regions and institutions where local resources are limited. A key element in this effort is development of the National Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education Digital Library (NSDL), to which EHR will contribute $23.60 million in FY 2003.

• Connections Between Education Levels-The Graduate Teaching Fellowships in K-12 Education (GK-12) program links K-12 and higher education and addresses instructional workforce issues by placing graduate students and advanced undergraduates in K-12 classrooms as content resources for teachers, while the Fellows acquire mathematics and science teaching skills. EHR funding for this program will be $34.75 million in FY 2003, an increase of $11.76 million, or 51 percent, to increase annual stipends for all Fellows to $25,000 and to bring up to 200 new students into the program.

• Centers for Learning and Teaching (CLT) - These Centers involve the diverse groups who educate teachers in research-based collaborations aimed at enhancing teacher content knowledge and increasing teacher understanding of the latest research on learning processes. They also address broader participation of currently underrepresented groups in math and science teaching, and develop a new generation of leaders for math and science education. The Centers also are expected to develop and conduct a strong research program that will contribute to national understanding of learning and teaching. CLTs will be funded at $27.0 million in FY 2003, an increase of $6.86 million, or 34 percent, over FY 2002.

Information Technology Research

EHR will participate in NSF's priority funding for Information Technology Research by enhancing support for research related to the use of information technology in educational settings. Support for such research projects will total $2.48 million in FY 2003, an increase of $480,000 over the FY 2002 Current Plan. The Research, Evaluation and Communication (REC) Subactivity is responsible for EHR's investment in ITR.

Mathematical Sciences

EHR will contribute $2.74 million in FY 2003 to the Mathematical Sciences priority area, to support the Mathematical Science Education component. EHR expects to fund materials development and teacher enhancement in the Elementary, Secondary and Informal Education (ESIE) and Undergraduate Education (DUE) Subactivities, as well as research projects on learning and teaching mathematics in the Research, Evaluation and Communication (REC) Subactivity.

STRATEGIC GOALS

EHR's support for ongoing and new activities contributes to NSF efforts to achieve its strategic goals, as well as to the administration and management of activities necessary to achieve these goals.

SUPPORT BY STRATEGIC GOAL

(Millions of Dollars)

¹ Includes only costs charged to the EHR Appropriation.
² Does not include H-1B estimates of $90 million in FY 2002 or $92.5 million in FY 2003.

People

The EHR Activity contributes two-thirds of all NSF funds intended to achieve the NSF Strategic Goal of "People - A diverse, internationally competitive and globally-engaged workforce of scientists, engineers, and well-prepared citizens." EHR programs aimed at progress toward this goal cover all educational levels and lay the groundwork for increasing the participation of underrepresented groups.

PreK-12 Activities

In FY 2003 EHR requests a total of $359.58 million for preK-12 activities, an increase of $41.84 million from FY 2002. PreK-12 programs are operated within the Educational System Reform; Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education; and Undergraduate Education Subactivities and also includes the Math and Science Partnership effort. Evaluation and monitoring systems within the Research, Evaluation, and Communication Subactivity assess program impact and operational effectiveness.

Math and Science Partnership (MSP) funding increases by $40.0 million to $200.0 million in FY 2003, to add a full complement of partnerships to the projects to begin in FY 2002. This increase is a high priority in the EHR Request.

Centers for Learning and Teaching (CLT) address comprehensive, research-based approaches to improving learning and teaching. CLTs will focus on two components of quality STEM education: strengthening the content knowledge of the diverse science and mathematics teaching corps (preK-12 and higher education); and developing the next generation of experts to guide the development of instructional materials, classroom and large-scale assessments, education research, evaluation, and informal education. The Centers also contain a strong research element. Funding increases by $6.86 million to $27.0 million in FY 2003 to permit the funding of additional CLTs. This increase is one of EHR's highest FY 2003 priorities.

Systemic Reform of PreK-12 funding in FY 2003 covering large-scale systemic reform for states, cities, and rural areas totals $40.25 million, a decrease of $4.94 million from FY 2002. Systemic reform projects provide access to high-quality science and mathematics educational resources for many of the nation's children who are educationally disadvantaged and expand professional development opportunities for the instructional workforce. No new awards will be made in the Urban Systemic Program (USP) or the Rural Systemic Initiatives (RSI) program as this phase of systemic change projects draws to a close.

Teacher Enhancement (TE) funding in EHR increases by $80,000, to total $56.12 million. TE efforts expand the nation's ability to strengthen its K-12 instructional workforce, creating materials for training teachers, and providing leadership training for in-service teachers and school administrators. Many projects creatively involve school systems, universities, informal science performers, and the private sector. Focused FY 2003 efforts will target areas of national need, including enhancing the disciplinary knowledge of teachers teaching out of their field of expertise, and providing mentors for teachers who are in their initial years of teaching. Results from such activities can inform projects supported through the Math and Science Partnership and the Centers for Learning and Teaching.

STEM Teacher Preparation (STEMTP) funding increases to $6.52 million. STEMTP addresses preK-12 teacher preparation through meaningful collaborations between STEM disciplinary and education departments at universities and colleges. Funds will support a mix of continuing activities and new experimental approaches that can inform projects supported through the Math and Science Partnership and the Centers for Learning and Teaching.

Instructional Materials Development (IMD) funding is increased to $28.99 million. IMD projects develop standards-based, comprehensive curricula and instructional materials for K-12 science and mathematics education. Funding is also provided for resource centers that foster awareness and implementation of curriculum models, as well as development of science performance assessments.

Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) provide national career recognition for exemplary elementary and secondary teachers of mathematics and science. In FY 2003, funding is maintained at $4.33 million.

Undergraduate Activities

The FY 2003 Budget Request for undergraduate support is $157.35 million, a decrease of $10.29 million from FY 2002. Support is primarily in the Undergraduate Education (DUE) and Human Resource Development (HRD) Subactivities. Major undergraduate programs include:

Advanced Technological Education (ATE) funding is reduced by $950,000 to $38.16 million. ATE strengthens the science and mathematics preparation of technicians for the high-performance workplace. ATE currently supports 20 Centers and 82 smaller-scale projects. Emphasis is placed on adaptation and implementation of exemplary curricula or programs. Currently, ATE involves over 1,000 faculty and 300 teachers in developmental activities and more than 1,000 large, medium, and small companies.

Scholarship for Service (SfS) is a program to engage students in developing the skills needed to provide high-quality security for the nation's information infrastructure, particularly in the federal sector. This interagency effort increases to $11.18 million.

Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI) funding is $48.63 million, a reduction of $930,000 from FY 2002. CCLI focuses on institution-wide implementation of quality instruction in classrooms and laboratories. The funding level includes $3.0 million for work in assessment of student performance and program quality at the undergraduate level.

The NSF Director's Awards for Distinguished Teaching Scholars (DTS) recognize and reward undergraduate faculty whose integration of research and education enhance the quality of the future workforce and understanding of science by the general public. Funding for DTS is maintained at $1.51 million.

Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) decreases by $1.47 million to a total of $26.53 million. LSAMP is intended to raise the achievement and number of underrepresented minority degree recipients in undergraduate science, mathematics, and engineering. Projects utilize the knowledge, resources and capabilities of the academic, federal, industrial, and private sectors. LSAMP supports 29 alliances of two- and four-year colleges and universities.

The Historically Black Colleges and Universities-Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP), supported at $13.97 million in FY 2003, a reduction of $3.03 million. The reduction in funding for HBCU-UP and LSAMP (above) is partially offset by increases in funding for the CLTs, a major component of which is to improve participation of underrepresented groups in math and science teaching. The HBCU-UP is designed to strengthen research infrastructure and education in participating institutions and contribute to the goal of increasing numbers of minorities obtaining STEM baccalaureate degrees.

The Tribal Colleges and Universities Program, funded at $9.98 million, encourages Native Americans to pursue information technology and other science and technology fields of study, as well as increases the capability of these colleges to offer relevant science and technology courses and enhance K-12 education in feeder school systems.

The Model Institutions of Excellence program, a Foundation-wide effort to support minority institutions that are successful in graduating minority baccalaureate students and encouraging those students to pursue graduate study, is funded at $2.52 million in EHR.

The Robert Noyce Scholarship Program was initiated in FY 2002 to offer scholarships for juniors and seniors who are majoring in mathematics, science or engineering and who wish to become teachers; and stipends for science, mathematics, or engineering professionals seeking to become teachers. Projects help recipients to obtain certification to teach in K-12 schools. Funding for this program is reduced from $5.0 million to $4.0 million in FY 2003.

The Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics Talent Expansion Program (STEP) was initiated in FY 2002 to support initial planning and pilot efforts at colleges and universities to achieve an increase in the number of U.S. citizens and permanent residents pursuing and receiving associates or bachelor's degrees in established or emerging STEM fields. Support for this program is $2.0 million for FY 2003, reduced from $5.0 million in FY 2003.

Graduate and Professional Activities

Increasing graduate stipends to competitive levels for all EHR graduate student support programs is one of NSF's highest priorities for FY 2003. The FY 2003 Budget Request provides support for graduate and professional activities totaling $136.87 million, an increase of $22.86 million. Support is primarily located within the Graduate Education (DGE) and Human Resource Development (HRD) Subactivities. This Request is necessary to increase annual stipend levels from $21,500 to $25,000 and to increase the number of students participating in NSF graduate programs. Programs include:

Graduate Research Fellowships (GRF) funding increases by $6.20 million to a total of $73.45 million. The increase permits NSF to raise the stipends of graduate fellows. Fellowships recognize and support the nation's most promising science, mathematics, and engineering graduate students. Within this program, high priority is placed on maintaining diversity of the applicant and awardee pools.

Graduate Teaching Fellowships in K-12 Education (GK-12) funding in EHR increases by $11.76 million to a total of $34.75 million. GK-12 supports graduate and advanced undergraduate STEM students as content resources for K-12 teachers in the classroom. GK-12 Fellows will assist teachers in the science and mathematics content of their teaching, demonstrate key science and mathematics concepts, and gain necessary pedagogical skills.

Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeships (IGERT) funding increases by $4.92 million to total $20.20 million in EHR. IGERT provides support for universities to engage graduate students in interdisciplinary science and engineering research training programs.

Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) funding totals $11.80 million to refine and implement innovative strategies for substantially increasing the number of minority science, mathematics, and engineering doctorates, and their representation in the professoriate.

Efforts Across Education Levels

Informal Science Education (ISE) funding decreases by $920,000 to $55.0 million. ISE invests in activities across a variety of media including museums, print, film, broadcast, and community-based organizations. These activities increase appreciation and understanding of the science and technology enterprise, its results, and its limitations. ISE continues to increase access to informal learning opportunities in inner cities and rural areas; strengthens linkages between informal (out-of-classroom) and formal learning experiences; and works to disseminate the latest findings from scientific research to the public. NSF's Strategic Plan focuses agency efforts on promoting scientific and technological literacy, to make it possible for citizens to make informed decisions on scientific and technological matters that affect their lives and the nation's future. EHR efforts broadly serve to attract children and young adults into scientific careers and enhance life-long learning opportunities for those entering non-science professions.

Program Evaluation and Accountability efforts in FY 2003 within the Research, Evaluation and Communication (REC) Subactivity are funded at $12.64 million. Growing emphasis is placed on building effective data systems that can fully respond to Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) reporting requirements. Full-scale evaluation activities of major ongoing programs, specialized implementation studies, and development of evaluations for new activities will continue to identify results obtained from EHR-funded efforts. Dissemination of evaluation results is also a priority.

Program for Gender Equity (PGE) supports education and research activities that foster increased participation of women and girls in STEM. Including support of $450,000 for the NSF-wide ADVANCE program, funding for PGE in FY 2003 is $10.96 million.

Program for Persons with Disabilities (PPD) supports efforts to increase the participation and achievement in STEM education and research of individuals with disabilities. Emphasis is placed on projects building and strengthening alliances among higher education, K-12 educational systems, and business and industry. Funding is increased to $5.28 million.

Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM) administered on behalf of the White House by the National Science Foundation, identifies outstanding mentoring efforts/programs designed to enhance the participation of groups underrepresented in science, mathematics, and engineering. Funding is maintained at $290,000.

Environmental Science Education, a proposed transfer program from the Environmental Protection Agency, will be administered in partnership with the Geosciences (GEO) Activity. EHR will contribute $2.0 million to fund research and other environmental science education efforts at the preK-16 levels.

The Partnerships for Innovation program is transferred to the Integrative Activities line of the Research and Related Activities Appropriation.

Ideas

EHR's FY 2003 Budget Request for efforts aimed at expanding participation in the conduct of cutting edge research, in the development of a strong community of education researchers, and in the exploration of learning innovations and service to society includes:

Education Research funding totals $54.56 million in FY 2003, a reduction of $920,000 from FY 2002 made possible by expansion of capacity for learning and education research in MSP and anticipated in the Science of Learning Centers. EHR mounts a comprehensive and integrated agenda covering the spectrum from fundamental cognitive research to large-scale efforts implementing educational technologies. Within this total, the Interagency Education Research Initiative (IERI), an NSF-wide activity in partnership with the Department of Education and the National Institutes of Health, is supported at $15.0 million in EHR, supplemented by $10.0 million in the Research and Related Activities Appropriation.

Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST) increases to $8.88 million. CREST supports ten centers and assists Center faculty to become more competitive in other NSF research programs.

Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) funding is reduced by $5.0 million to $75.0 million in FY 2003. The program continues to strengthen the research infrastructure of participating states through infrastructure awards and co-funding of research projects. Approximately $30.0 million in additional funds will be provided through the Research and Related Activities Appropriation to allow EPSCoR researchers to participate more fully in NSF research activities, bringing total NSF support for EPSCoR in FY 2003 to approximately $105.0 million.

Tools

National Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education Digital Library (NSDL) support decreases by $960,000 to a total of $23.60 million in FY 2003. EHR support for the NSDL lays the foundation for a national resource to increase the quality, quantity, and comprehensiveness of Internet-based STEM educational resources while making possible the creation of virtual learning communities that link students, teachers, and faculty with each other and to a wide array of standards-based educational materials. A collaborative project being conducted by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), Cornell University, and Columbia University is developing the essential technical and organizational infrastructure to support the coordination and management of the Digital Library's distributed collections, and the design and implementation of core services. These members are responsible for overall project management, community building and outreach efforts, technical (software and networking) infrastructure development; and intellectual property and digital rights management. All projects in the NSDL program will be working throughout calendar year 2002 towards an initial "launch" of the digital library in late Fall 2002.

Administration and Management

Administration and Management (A&M) provides for administrative activities necessary to enable NSF to achieve its strategic goals. This includes the cost of Intergovernmental Personnel Act appointments, and contractors performing administrative functions. The FY 2003 Request for A&M increases by $300,000 to a total of $14.57 million.

Number of People Involved in EHR Activities

H-1B Nonimmigrant Petitioner Fees

In addition to EHR appropriated funds in the FY 2002 Current Plan and FY 2003 Request, EHR anticipates receiving H-1B Nonimmigrant Petitioner Fees under Public Law 106-313. It is estimated that $90.0 million derived from H-1B Petitioner Fees will be available to EHR in FY 2002 and $92.50 million in FY 2003. This is a projected increase in H-1B receipts of $2.50 million, or 2.8 percent, from FY 2002 to FY 2003. About $1.0 million will be required for Administration and Management expenses in each of FY 2002 and 2003. As specified by P.L. 106-313, H-1B receipts are used for Computer Science, Engineering and Mathematics Scholarships for disadvantaged students and K-12 private-public partnerships.