14 SEPTEMBER 2015 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG The questionnaire included 36 questions, divided among major sections on institutional profile, overall faculty profile, teaching/instruction, student training, and job placement prospects. To establish benchmark information with some forecasting insight, data were collected retrospectively for 2000, 2010 and prospectively for 2015. The online questionnaire was initially open for submissions in October 2011 and follow-up efforts continued through 2013 as more institutions were discovered and others required more time to complete the survey. Project Results The response rate of surveyed institutions to the questionnaire was 77 percent (88 of 115 institutions). Seventy-nine institutions reported some level of training and education related to aquaculture and nine reported no activity. The questionnaire was detailed and the accuracy of the information supplied depended on the institution having good records for the years selected. Tracking and maintaining records of post-graduate employment, for example, requires dedicated resources, time and effort. Not all institutions were equally able to provide this information. Much of the input depended on quantitative institutional knowledge that varied among institutions. Consequently some of the input was semi-quantitative or more qualitative because of the lack of information, difficulty in defining terms and the wide variety of instructional activities. Some institutions did not respond to all queries in the questionnaire. More than 20 percent of responding institutions never had an aquaculture-specific program (Fig. 1). Aquaculture programs at the majority of institutions were initiated in the 1970s and relatively few were initiated in the current or previous decade. A majority of responding institutions reported offering some type of degree, particularly at the graduate level (Fig. 2); few institutions offered certifications only. The number of aquaculture courses taught over the project years was relatively stable, ranging from 51 to 59 courses. There was considerable interest among institutions to broaden or modify existing aquaculture curricula with new courses focused on more diversified job opportunities in the aquatic sciences. Thirty-one institutions reported new courses, including economics, engineering, genetics, aquaponics, business management, recirculation technology and online courses. Institutions are increasingly offering online courses for credit. This type of education is expected to continue expanding as students can be reached anywhere in the world and can take only courses of specific interest. In 2010, institutions reported offering a variety of online courses related to aquaculture (Fig. 3). Responding institutions also provided information regarding trends in undergraduate and graduate enrollment and earned degrees/ certificates in aquaculture programs over the project years for U.S. and international students (Fig. 4). Thirtyeight percent of responding institutions anticipated student enrollment in aquaculture programs to increase in 2015, 13 percent forecasted a decrease and 36 percent anticipated no change in enrollment. There was no differentiation in the level of instruction. Of the 56 institutions that responded to a question about the institutional cost of offering an undergraduate program in aquaculture and related budgetary issues, 11 reported that costs exceeded the demand for the program and nine expressed uncertainty. Only 10 institutions indicated the institutional costs covered the demand for the undergraduate program. There was a strong indication (74 percent of institutions) that undergraduate students participated directly in research projects as a component of training. Undergraduate student research provides another opportunity to develop the next generation of aquaculture scientists. Enrollment of U.S. students at the B.S. level increased 2.5 TOP, FIGURE 3. Number of institutions reporting online courses in subjects related to aquaculture in 2010. Each computer icon represents an institution. BOTTOM, FIGURE 4. Number of students completing aquaculture-related degree/certification programs in 2000 (completed), 2010 (enrolled), and 2015 (projected). Each person icon represents 100 individuals, and both U.S. (light shading) and international students (dark shading) are represented. Although international students represent only 3-6 percent of undergraduate students, they represent 18-25 percent of M.S. graduate students and 35-47 percent of Ph.D. graduate students.
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