The LMRCSC program is evaluated by several rigorous internal and external mechanisms designed to ensure that Center and its students meet high standards and that the research conducted by the Center is of excellent quality and directly relevant to the priorities of NOAA Fisheries. The Center also conducts self-evaluation by its students and scientists who mentor LMRCSC undergraduates during internships.
External Evaluation
The LMRCSC retains an outside agency to provide external evaluation and systems analysis support to the LMRCSC. Leaders of the external evaluation team, are well-experienced and well-regarded nationally for their expertise with large scale and systems-level project evaluation and assessment in STEM areas, having designed and implemented evaluation projects together and separately for more than two decades. The team has national and international recognition and efforts in the area of ocean literacy, systems science and systems analysis research.
Student Evaluation
Core Competencies & Learning Objectives
Competency 1: Stock Assessment Support and Information
- Learning Objective 1.1: :Analyze data from surveys or fisheries with statistical methods such as GLM, GAM, machine learning or geostatistical models, to estimate population abundance, distribution, or catch/bycatch
- Learning Objective 1.2: Apply simple fisheries stock assessment models like logistic models and data limited methods
- Learning Objective 1.3:Apply integrated stock assessment models such as statistical catch at age models or catch at length models
- Learning Objective 1.4. Measure or model fundamental biological processes including growth, recruitment, maturity, movement, diet, mortality, and the factors that influence these processes in ecosystems.
- Learning Objective 1.5: Understand fisheries sustainability reference points and how population dynamics model outputs are used in fishery management
Competency 2: Climate Impacts on Marine Ecosystems
- Learning Objective 2.1: Understand the major impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems, including warming temperatures and ocean acidification. Understand how these impacts can directly and indirectly impact marine populations, including their reproduction, growth, mortality, diseases and contaminants, and sustainability.
- Learning Objective 2.2: Develop the ability to collect, collate, and synthesize physical and biological data from marine and coastal system.
- Learning Objective 2.3: Understand the principles of Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management (EBFM) and how data on living marine resources, such as diet composition and individual and population growth rates, can be incorporated into EBFM.
Competency 3: Habitats and Biological Systems
- Learning Objective 3.1: The characteristics of habitats required for the health and sustainability of fish, invertebrate, and marine mammal populations
- Learning Objective 3.2: The impacts on marine habitats, ecosystems, and populations caused by fishing, bycatch, development, nutrient and sediment overload, anoxia, and HABs.
- Learning Objective 3.3: Conservation and restoration of marine habitats and populations, particularly for fragile habitats such as coral reefs and estuaries.
Competency 4: Seafood, Nutrition, Aquaculture, and Pathology
- Learning Objective 4.1: Understand the diversity of Aquaculture in fisheries science
- Learning Objective 4.2: Aquaculture food safety and product nutrition, biosecurity
- Learning Objective 4.3: Aquaculture animal health and biosecurity, fish nutrition and sanitation, sustainable feeds
- Learning Objective 4.4: Knowledge and technologies for recirculating aquaculture
- Learning Objective 4.5: Aquaculture in the environment, Aquaculture genetics and biosecurity
- Learning Objective 4.6: Aquaculture and seafood regulations, stakeholders, extension
Competency 5: Social Science and Human Dimensions
- Learning Objective 5.1: Examining the connections between social science and decision making.
- Learning Objective 5.2: Identify and connect social science (including economics, policy, culture, etc) to fisheries science and research
- Learning Objective 5.3: Determine the connections between species management, ecosystem valuation and economic value
- Learning Objective 5.4: Understand the cultural connections to fisheries and the communities they serve.
Competency 6: Data Management and Analysis
- Learning Objective 6.1: Clean, format, and organize data for analysis in Excel, R or other data management system
- Learning Objective 6.2: Write and use a data management plan, including producing meta-data and archiving data
- Learning Objective 6.3: Manipulate, analyze and display data with R, Python, or other statistics software
- Learning Objective 6.4: Access and query relational databases such as Oracle using SQL
Competency 7: Technical and Professional Communications
- Learning Objective 7.1: Develop skills and strategies for authoring and delivering poster presentations
- Learning Objective 7.2: Develop skills and strategies for authoring and delivering oral presentations
- Learning Objective 7.3: Develop skills for authoring scientific manuscripts
- Learning Objective 7.4: Develop skills for successful job interviews
- Learning Objective 7.5: Develop skills at resume/cv writing
- Learning Objective 7.6: Develop skills for communicating with the public about scientific results
Competency 8: Other Professional Skills
- Learning Objective 8.1: Develop strategies for professional conflict management
- Learning Objective 8.2: Develop strategies for effective time management
NOAA Living Marine Resources Cooperative Science Center
University of Maryland Eastern Shore (Lead Institution)
(410) 651-7870
Award numbers: FY 2021 Award #NA21SEC4810005
Funding Agency: NOAA Educational Partnership Program (EPP/MSI)
