PUBLIC AWARENESS, NPS SOCIAL MEDIA, "STEALTH EDUCATION," AND UNDERGRADUATE ENROLLMENTS - WHAT MIGHT WORK?

Recent articles and fact sheets have noted declining enrollments in undergraduate geoscience degree programs and geology classes. Various methods to address these dropping enrollments have been discussed – ranging from "waiting it out" while attributing drops to the Covid pandemic to either active or passive campaigns to bolster perception of the geology profession. This presentation reviews current enrollment data, implications for university programs, some of the public awareness efforts, and will suggest a path forward. Lessons learned after a GeoCorps project (and arising happenstance from that project) along with more recent interactions involving various units of the NPS, along with a 10-year (2010-2020) pre-Covid review of departmental enrollments were also included in the evaluation.

The proposed path forward will include discussion of best terminology to use for public awareness, popular media to reach the public, and awareness of K-12 educational systems and their role in recruiting the next generation of STEM professionals. Ways in which individuals and organizations can support some portions of the path forward will be identified along with examples from Grand Canyon National Park, George Washington Carver National Monument, and others.