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The following three articles are the results of papers presented and discussed at a symposium entitled "Improving the Workforce of the Future: Opportunities in Undergraduate Education," held August 12-13, 2000, in Indianapolis, IN. This symposium was sponsored by the American Statistical Association through its Undergraduate Statistics Education Initiative. The first article was the keynote address at the symposium. The latter two articles are position papers that were developed in part through discussions among representatives from liberal arts colleges, research universities, industry, and government at a May 1999 meeting at the ASA Headquarters and a subsequent April 2000 workshop in Alexandria, VA. This workshop was partially supported by the National Science Foundation. Other position papers based on symposium discussions are being developed and are scheduled to appear in the Journal of Statistical Education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deals with a study which discussed the curriculum guidelines for the Bachelor of Science degrees in statistical science in the United States. Historical background of the study; State of undergraduate programs in statistics; Recommendations for the statistics curriculum.

The Advanced Placement Statistics course, first offered in 1997 after more than 12 years of planning, allows high school students who pass an examination to receive college credit for a statistics course taken at their high school. In its third year 25,240 students took this examination, and 57% "passed." The three-hour exam consists of both multiple choice and free response questions, which cover the four sections of the AP Statistics syllabus: data exploration, study design, probability distributions through simulation, and inference. Although some problems remain, both students and teachers find the course to be challenging and valuable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights results of a survey conducted by the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences on undergraduate programs in the United States. Enrollment in statistics courses; Number of bachelor's degrees with a major in statistics; Breakdown of full-time and part-time faculty members.

Presents several classroom demonstrations that have encouraged student involvement in the undergraduate course in decision theory and Bayesian statistics at the Columbia University in New York City. Principles of decision analysis; Subjective probability intervals and calibration; Utility of money and risk-aversion.

Attempts to imagine plausible futures on the state of statistics teaching at the university level at the end of the 20th century. Responses of the authors on the effect of technology on statistics; Ways of helping students learn more about statistics; Criticism directed at higher education.

Focuses on the challenges in teaching short statistics courses by the Department of Statistics at the University of Florida from 1991 to 1994. Reduced state funding for education; Necessity of coming up with external sources of funding; Development of a program called `Week of Short Courses' which was used to generate additional revenue.

Suggests issues and explores problems that must be considered in any substantial overhaul of statistics curricula in graduate programs. Introduction of cross-disciplinary training; Renewed emphasis on the undergraduate education; Example of an ideal statistics curricula.

Focuses on the graduate-level course in statistics for quality and productivity (SQP) in the United States. Comparison between the SQP and the statistics quality control course; Impact of economic arguments on industrial statistics practice; List of lecture material for the SQP course.

The article examines the trends in undergraduate economics degrees awarded in the United States, for the time-span 1996 to 1997. Subsequently available data on undergraduate degrees awarded in 1995 and 1996 revealed a third consecutive decline of almost 10 percent in 1995. In just three years, a sample of 172 colleges and universities had lost 32 percent of their economics majors. The 1996 data suggested that self-correcting mechanisms were taking hold, however, as the slide finally moderated, to about 2 percent that year. Economics degrees at public colleges and universities were hit much harder than at private institutions, the former falling 38 percent compared with a 14 percent decline at the latter from 1991 to 1997. Although the downward trend at public institutions is also moderating, the reversal of fortunes at state-supported institutions seems to be lagging private institutions by a year or so. Whereas the decline in economics degrees at private institutions slowed to 3 percent in 1995, followed by increases of 4 percent in 1996 and 5 percent in 1997, public institutions continued their slide through 1995 and 1996, losing 15 and 8 percent, in those years.

Focuses on the evaluation of the University of Chicago Department of Statistics by the American Statistics Association. Changes in the character of statistical science; Comments on the balance, space, atmosphere of the department of statistics; Teaching program of the department.

Focuses on the observations of undergraduate programs for statistics majors in the United States. Academic programs of the Department of Statistics for the years 1967-68; Importance of presenting exciting aspects of probability and statistics; Impact of the core of mathematics on the study of probability and statistics.

Comments on the efforts of academicians to change the statistics curricula in graduate programs from the point of view of an educational psychologist. Need for the faculty to be aware of teaching and learning techniques; Course work and experience on teaching as requisites for graduate students in statistics.

Comments on the efforts of academicians to change the statistics curricula in graduate programs. Faculty selection as the biggest step in making good curriculum decisions; Necessity of changes in the statistic profession.

Summarizes the report of the Committee of the Section of Training of the American Statistical Association on the teaching of Statistics in business schools in the United States. Description of the work of the committee; Introduction of statistical concepts into the Mathematics course; Response of business students to statistics.

Proposes a graduate curriculum for the ideal statistics department. Includes computing; Data analysis; Data collection; Design of experiments; Inferences; Probability theory; Statistical consulting.

Presents the proceedings of the workshop on the teaching of statistics in New York, New York. Portions of the proceedings; Types of the statistical problems; Ideas relating to introductory statistics courses.