R1 Our Way Task Force

R1 Our Way

In 2015, UNT was designated by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education as a Very High Research Activity (R1) university. This standing was reaffirmed in 2018 and again in January 2022. We estimate that UNT ranked #86 of 141 in the 2022 cycle, rising from #117 of 131 in the 2018 cycle. As part of our R1 Our Way plan, our aspiration is to move from the bottom quartile of R1 to the top half of R1 universities and become of similar quality to Association of American Universities (AAU) universities. This goal is aligned with the Texas National Research University initiative, codified in the Texas Education Code 62.141-62.149. The State of Texas has designated UNT as an emerging research university with the aim of aiding UNT in becoming an American Association of Universities (AAU)-quality institution. The AAU includes 63 research universities who are among the most research intensive in the nation. These universities make up most of the top half of the Carnegie R1 universities. In this cycle, UNT successfully moved from the bottom quartile of R1 to the third quartile, and we are well on our way to reaching our goal of reaching the middle of R1 universities.

The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education analysis maintained the same methodology that was used in the 2018 evaluation for the 2022 evaluation; however, the weighting of each variable changed. The evaluation was based on the following data:

1. Doctoral degree completions, 2019-2020
2. Postdoctoral and research staff, 2018-2019 (FY19)
3. University enrollment, Fall 2020
4. Faculty count, Fall of 2020
5. Research expenditures, 2019-2020 (FY20)

This webpage serves as a report on our progress. Highlights include:

1. 12% increase in doctoral graduates
2. 8% increase in tenured/tenure-track faculty
3. 20% increase in postdocs/research staff and 17% increase in per capita research staff
4. 93% increase in research expenditures

In addition to the data below, we have made a number of strategic investments that will support our progress as an R1 university. We currently have plans underway for the renovation of the second floor of the Science Research Building, planning is underway for a new vivarium, and we recently announced plans for a state-funded $113M Science and Technology Research Building. We have invested in the tuition benefit plan, generated resources for endowed chairs/professorships, and enacted a range of other research-enabling measures.

FINAL DATA

Doctoral Degree Completions: During the 2019-20 academic year, UNT had 2,119 doctoral students enrolled, of which 15.3% graduated. Doctoral degree completions are measured from Summer 2019 through Spring 2020. It is important to understand that Carnegie categorizes doctoral students based on data UNT reports to iPEDS. This includes all doctoral graduates, including PhDs, DMAs, and EdDs. The degrees are listed in the CIP code category used by iPEDS. In the 2016-17 measurement cycle, UNT had 279 doctoral graduates. For the 2019-20 measurement cycle this increased 11.8% to 312 doctoral graduates. The table below illustrates the change in the two measurement cycles and the potential change in rank, showing that UNT made progress in every doctoral category—which include Humanities, Social Sciences, STEM, Other Research Doctorates, and Other Professional Doctorates. Note that UNT's Audiology program is considered a professional health doctorate and is not included for the purposes of the Carnegie analysis.

Each doctoral variable is weighted differently and bringing up our standing in one category could more significantly impact our overall standing than progress in another category. In the short term, a positive change in social science graduates has the highest degree of impact on our overall Carnegie rank due to the relative weight, our position in terms of number of graduates, and the competitive landscape of universities clustered around us. Our gains in each variable will positively impact our overall position. The addition of the 100 doctoral lines, combined with the addition of the new PhD in Biomedical Engineering, planned DBA, and other research doctorates, will aid in our progress in doctoral graduates in the next cycle.

Table 1. UNT Doctoral Graduates in Carnegie Measurement Cycles

*Gerontology was phased out as a degree and reorganized as the PhD in Health Services Research degree, which has growing enrollment and will produce more doctoral graduates in coming years. It currently falls under the Gerontology CIP code. THECB asked UNT to change the CIP code which will begin to be reported starting next year. This change will result in this doctorate likely moving from a research doctorate in social sciences to the Other Research Doctorate variable. We are seeking to verify with Carnegie the CIP code under which this doctorate will fall in future cycles. This change results in placement in a category with a lower weight, but on the plus side moves the doctorate into a category in which we perform particularly strongly.

**The Applied Technology and Performance Improvement PhD program is being phased out and is expected to close in 2024.

Faculty Count: The faculty count is based on the number of tenured and tenure-track faculty at the university. In the fall of 2017, UNT had a total tenured/tenure-track faculty count of 737 faculty, ranking UNT #107 among R1 universities and #122 among all research universities. UNT has experienced a growth in faculty over the last few years, with a focus on increasing tenure-track faculty to support our research mission. We are projecting that the full growth in tenured/tenure-track faculty for the fall of 2020 won't be shown due to the hiring freeze, hiring delays, and faculty who accepted the voluntary separation agreement due to COVID-19. The Fall 2020 faculty count is 788 faculty, an 8% increase. The faculty count is used to calculate research expenditures per faculty member in STEM/non-STEM and the per capita research staff number. UNT generally performs poorly in research expenditures per capita because Carnegie uses the total faculty count as the denominator and divides that into STEM research expenditures, non-STEM research expenditures, and STEM postdocs/research staff. This method hurts UNT because the distribution of our faculty is more heavily weighted in non-grant/non-STEM areas than land-grant or STEM-focused universities. A smaller denominator in faculty count would improve our per capita measures. All this said, we know that all research universities' headcounts will likely be impacted for the fall due to COVID-19, so this change may impact all universities. 

PostDoc/Research Staff: In 2016, we had 55 postdocs/research staff. This included 31 postdocs and 24 research staff that held doctorates. For the fall of 2018, this variable grew to 42 postdocs and 20 research staff for a total of 66 postdocs/research staff, an increase of 20%. This variable measures the number of postdocs/research staff in science, engineering, and health fields. We have continued efforts to improve in this area by appropriately classifying research staff. UNT ranks #151 among R1/R2s for this cycle, up from #152. While we gained in research staff, our peers were adding at a rate that was the same or faster than UNT. 

Per Capita PostDoc/Research Staff: In FY20, our ratio was 0.8, up from 0.7 in the prior cycle—a 16.8% increase. This places us at #168 among R1/R2s. This is a slight improvement from FY16 when UNT was #170 among R1/R2 universities. This variable is calculated by dividing the number of postdocs/research staff by the number of tenured/tenure-track faculty. Because of the growth in the number of postdocs/research staff, this positively impacts the ratio. However, we added faculty at a faster rate, limiting our overall per capita ratio relative to peers.  

Research Expenditures: UNT's HERD Research Expenditures were $84.2M for FY20, up from $43.7M in FY17—an increase of 92.7%.UNT, like other research universities, had some impacts in FY20 as a result of COVID-19 research shutdowns, which dampened our research expenditures in FY20. All universities were impacted by shutdowns and so likely would see similar effects.

Science & Engineering (S&E) Research Expenditures: In FY20, STEM research expenditures rose to $57.8M, from $35M, an increase of 65.1%. It is important to know that NSF's definition of STEM is broad and includes the following: 

• Computer and Information Sciences 
• Engineering 
• Geosciences, Atmospheric Sciences and Ocean Sciences 
• Life Sciences 
• Math and Statistics 
• Physical Sciences 
• Psychology 
• Social Sciences 

Per Capita S&E Research Expenditures: In FY 20, UNT had S&E research expenditures of $73 per capita, up from $46 in the last cycle. This variable is calculated by taking the S&E expenditures and dividing by the university-wide count of tenured/tenure-track faculty. Given that our university has a smaller proportion of STEM faculty, the result is lower per capita expenditures.

Non-Science and Engineering Research Expenditures: In FY20, UNT had $26.5M in non-S&E research expenditures, up from $8.3M in the last measurement cycle. It is important to know that NSF's definition of non-STEM is narrow and includes the following:

• Business Management and Business Administration 
• Communication and Communications Technologies 
• Education 
• Humanities 
• Law 
• Social Work 
• Visual and Performing Arts

Per Capita Non-Science and Engineering Research Expenditures: In FY20, UNT had non-S&E research expenditures of $33 per capita, up from $11 in the last cycle. This variable is calculated by taking the non-S&E expenditures and dividing by the university-wide count of tenured/tenure-track faculty.

Table 2. UNT Research Expenditures in Carnegie Measurement Cycles

*Presumes all R1s were static. Compares FY Expenditures to the FY 17 Expenditures data nationally. The number reported would be our rank if all universities do not change their position in the current Carnegie cycle. While we know universities will change position, this data is intended to show relative progress by research expenditures variable.

University Enrollment: Fall 2020 enrollment was 40,953. University enrollment is not a variable that will be critical in our Carnegie evaluation as it is not used in the direct determination of R1/R2 universities. We know that every university nationally saw enrollment impacts as a result of COVID-19. Fortunately, this will have no impact on our standing as a research university.