Friday Focus: The Carnegie Classification®

July 21, 2023

UAF provost and executive vice chancellor, Anupma Prakash (left), and deputy executive director for the Carnegie Classifications, Sara Gast (right) in front of the UA Museum of the North.

— By Anupma Prakash, provost and executive vice chancellor

The Carnegie Classification® is the nation’s leading framework for classifying the diverse U.S. institutions of higher education into broadly similar groups based on nationally reported and publicly available institutional data. This classification that was first published in the early 70s is now updated every three years. So far, Carnegie offers one basic classification system that is universally applied to nearly 4,000 U.S. colleges and universities. This divides all universities and colleges into seven broad categories: Doctoral, Master’s, Baccalaureate, Baccalaureate and Associate’s, Associate’s, Tribal, and Special Focus. Each broad category is further subdivided. For example, the Doctoral Universities are grouped into three classes: Very High Research (R1), High Research Activity (R2) and Doctoral/Professional Universities (D/PU).

Based on our 2020 Institutional data, UAF is classified as a Doctoral University with High Research Activity (R2). Close examination of the data reveals that UAF is on the very high end of the R2 class, and with some change in our institutional profile, we can be classified as a Doctoral University with Very High Research (R1). In fact, achieving this R1 status is one of the six visionary and aspirational goals outlined in UAF’s Strategic Plan 2027. Chancellor White’s recent communication on UAF’s progress toward achieving R1 research status clearly outlined how well UAF is doing in research, the benefits of being an R1 research Institute and what it would take for us to reach that point.

The basic classification methodology that Carnegie uses to determine the rankings always felt like a black box as it was not well explained or clearly published. Last week we invited Sara Gast, the deputy executive director for the Carnegie Classifications, who explained the basic classification methodology to an engaged UAF audience that filled the Murie Auditorium. Many in the audience remarked how Sara’s presentation reduced anxiety and generated enthusiasm about R1 as the presentation of UAF data alongside peer institute data made the journey to R1 feel achievable. Sara explained how the methodology uses a principal component analysis (PCA) on 7 measures (research expenditures in science and engineering, non- science and engineering, number of research staff, and number of doctorates in social sciences, humanities, STEM, and other fields) to calculate an aggregate index score. It then uses PCA to calculate a per-capita analysis of the three measures of research expenditures to generate a second per capita index score. The index pairs for all universities under consideration are mapped and a threshold is applied. The Research Activity Index results in a relative ranking with roughly half of the institutions in R1 and half in the R2 category. If you love data, analytics, and would like to dive into this, check out more details in Sara’s talk at about 23 minute mark* (Zoom login with UA credentials required). Sara’s presentation also talks about Carnegie’s plan to roll out a second universal “Social Economic Mobility” classification in the near future, though details of this classification are not yet released.

One key takeaway from the presentation was that the current basic classification method requires the university to provide a comprehensive portfolio of Ph.D. programs to be R1. UAF is really high in research expenditures for our size, and it needs to grow in Ph.D. numbers. Several efforts are underway to grow support for our graduate programs and to support the success of our graduate students. As an example, in 2022-23, the UAF Graduate School revamped its interdisciplinary graduate application review processes, resulting in doubling the rate for admissions into the interdisciplinary Ph.D. program. The staff at the graduate school now also provide hands-on individual support to applicants aspiring to start an Interdisciplinary degree. If you or someone you know wishes to explore the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. option, please reach out to the Graduate School at (907) 474-7464 or visit their website. Watch out for other updates from the Graduate School in early fall in the Cornerstone’s Academic Tuesday column. We are also advocating for additional funding from the State to support graduate students and our journey to R1, and we will be sure to share these updates with you through our budget column as we have more information.

Achieving R1 status is a journey where everyone has a role. The pursuit for R1 represents our commitment to a world-class University for all Alaskans.

Friday Focus is written by a different member of UAF’s leadership team every week.