Classification Boost

Eastern’s new RCU status will open doors for grants, research collaborations.

For decades, innovations and discoveries from EWU faculty researchers have brought big benefits to our state and region. Now, for the first time, those contributions have earned Eastern’s inclusion in the Carnegie Foundation’s classification of research-intensive colleges and universities.

Since its introduction in 1973, the Carnegie Classification has become “foundational in a variety of research and policy uses nationwide,” according to a recent report by the American Council on Education.

But even as its prominence has risen, the report continued, so have concerns that the classification was failing to account for the important work done at regional institutions — particularly those, like EWU, that do not award doctoral degrees.

A classification line-up change aims to fix this. Instead of just including colleges and universities with “high” and “very high,” levels of research and PhDs awarded, this year a third category has been introduced: Research Colleges and Universities, or RCUs.

Eastern qualified for RCU status after its annual research and development activities exceeded the $2.5 million spending threshold required by Carnegie. University research administrators say the recognition is a big step forward.

“It’s so huge,” said David Bowman, dean of Eastern’s College of STEM. “In one sense, it’s an acknowledgement of what we already do — student-centered research that is based on the teacher-scholar model. But more importantly, it opens up opportunities for us to obtain new resources, new grant possibilities, and new collaborations and research opportunities for our students.”

Eastern was notified of its RCU designation earlier this year. The official announcement came in April.

“We’re just so pleased,” Bowman added. “Eastern is an institution that has long prized quality teaching. And in our STEM fields especially, we teach through doing research with our students: hands-on, engaged research.

“That’s what the RCU classification means to us, an acknowledgement and endorsement of that work. It’s fantastic.”