2009 Performance Accountability Report Vol. 2 - Maryland Higher ...

1970s are now reaching retirement age, and in some departments a majority of the faculty is over 60 years
of age. Thus, even maintaining the current number of tenured and tenure-track faculty is proving to be a
challenge. We must continue to balance expenditures on recruitment of new faculty, including
competitive salaries and start-up funds, with expenditures in support of current faculty and other
university needs.
Resources and Economic Development
Facilities Renewal. UMBC has made progress under the BOR initiative to increase state funding
for Facilities Renewal by .2% per year until the 2% target is achieved. After a slight decline in FY 2006,
our percent of replacement cost expended in facility renewal and renovation increased to .4% in FY 2008
(Objective 7.1).
Economic Development. The expertise of UMBC’s faculty and students leads to economic
growth as measured in a number of ways. Through our Technology Center and Research Park, we have
created 1000 jobs in FY 2009 (Objective 3.2). Construction of three new buildings has dramatically
expanded our research park, bwtech@umbc: The U.S. Geological Survey’s Maryland-Delaware-DC
Water Science Center opened in September 2007; Corporate Office Properties Trust is completing
construction of a four-story multi-tenant office building; and Erickson Retirement Communities will
move its information technology (IT) department, its adult living national broadcast network (Retirement
Living TV), and its private charitable foundation to a 110,000 square-foot building. These projects are
reflected in our estimates for FY 2008 and 2009. We also graduated four companies from our incubator
programs (Objective 3.1).
An indicator of UMBC faculty members’ contributions to technology development is the number
of invention disclosures relative to federal R&D expenditures. This measure has consistently placed
UMBC in the top 20% of its peer institutions, although there was a decline last year attributable to several
factors, including changing peer institutions and the nature of increases in federal R&D expenditures not
being in areas that generate a great number of invention disclosures. However, UMBC has rebounded
and again places in the top 20% of its peer institutions (see Objective 3.3).
Response to the Commission’s Questions/Issues
UMBC’s Objective 2.2 is to “Increase the estimated number of UMBC bachelor’s degree recipients in IT
programs employed in Maryland from 351 in Survey Year 2002 to 375 in Survey year 2008.” After
rising to 396 in Survey Year 2005, as the Commission notes, the estimated value fell to 277 in Survey
Year 2008. This change is consistent with state and national trends in IT enrollments, which have begun
to show marginal increases in the past few years following a steady decline beginning in 2002. The
downward trend in enrollments has impacted IT degrees awarded (see output indicator for Objective 2.2)
and, subsequently, the number of IT graduates employed in Maryland (see outcome indicator for
Objective 2.2). As stated previously, we have started to see a reversal of this trend in the past two years,
with IT enrollments constituting a slightly higher percentage of total undergraduate enrollments (15.3% in
fall 2009 vs. 15.1% in fall 2007). Undergraduate enrollments in Information Systems and Business
Technology Administration increased 7.3% between fall 2008 and fall 2009 and enrollments in Computer
Science increased 8.8% over the same period. It will take time, however, for enrollment increases to
translate into degrees awarded and participation in the Maryland workforce.
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