Why We Need Data on Our Profession
Keith Crank, ASA Research and Graduate education Manager
According to the Conference
Board of the Mathematical
Sciences (CBMS), undergradu-
ate course enrollment in statistics
courses taught by statistics depart-
ment faculty increased almost 80%
between 1990 and 2005. More
than two-thirds of that increase
was in elementary-level courses. Crank
Most of these courses would still
need to be taught, even if the sta-
tistics department was eliminated.
So, any financial benefit obtained
by eliminating a statistics faculty
position would be offset by the
need to hire other faculty.
When I talk about faculty
data, I mean the non-teaching
contribution of statistics faculty
D
ue to the economic How do we convince univer-
downturn, many (most?) sity administrators of the impor-
to the rest of the university. This
colleges and universities tance of statistics? Obviously, we
would primarily be consulting-
are looking to cut costs. At the provide them with data. (And we
type activities through a depart-
University of Central Florida, this interpret it for them.) There are
ment consulting lab, service on
means eliminating the Department three types of important data:
student dissertation committees,
of Statistics (among others). At student, faculty, and community.
or less formal consulting with
other universities, it could mean Let me explain.
students or faculty from other
merging a statistics department By student data, I mean data
disciplines. Data of this type
with another discipline. Even on the number of courses and
from a consulting lab should be
worse, it could mean breaking students taught each year. This
collected routinely. Some effort
up a statistics department and has probably increased over
may be required to compile data
sending individual faculty to dif- the past 5–10 years, and that
on faculty service on dissertation
ferent departments. should be pointed out. Student
committees, but this information
I’m sure most of you agree data should also include infor-
is presumably provided at least
that for our profession to remain mation about how many other
yearly for faculty performance
strong and grow, we need statis- disciplines require at least one
reviews. The less-formal consult-
tics and biostatistics departments statistics course for their majors.
ing may be difficult or impossible
at our major colleges and universi- (When a statistics course is one of
to track. For faculty data, inter-
ties, and these departments cannot multiple options, interpretation
pretation is important. If there
be subsumed under another disci- of the data would include show-
are no statistics faculty members,
pline. Unfortunately, administra- ing that the number of students
the quality of the theses stu-
tors are not always aware of the who choose a statistics course is
dents write and the quality of the
importance of the statistics disci- increasing and explaining why
research being produced by other
pline to the welfare of the univer- the statistics course is more rel-
faculty members will decline.
sity. So, it is important for us to evant to the chosen major than
This, in turn, will affect the repu-
educate them and our students. other options.)
tation of the university.
AUGUST 2009 AmstAt News 13
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