| Presentation:
There is growing national attention on the importance and potential
of undergraduate research opportunities to enhance the undergraduate
educational experience. In North Carolina, a variety of activities
and collaborations are underway to promote undergraduate research
opportunities at all of the institutions of higher education. The
state is very diverse geographically and economically, with 111
educational institutions serving all 100 counties. Like many states,
in recent years there has been a shift from a manufacturing and
agriculturally-based economy to a more knowledge-based economy.
This presents a challenge to educational institutions, which must
meet the demands of this new economy with graduates who are prepared
to participate in the workforce and provide future leadership. One
approach to addressing this issue in North Carolina is bringing
together partners from institutions of higher education, government,
and industry to broadly support initiatives such as undergraduate
research.
Background
In 2001 the University of North Carolina General Administration
formed the UNC Undergraduate Research Consortium (UNC-URC), which
brought together representatives from all sixteen campuses of the
UNC system to share best practices in promoting undergraduate research
and to pool the scarce resources available in this arena. See Website:
http://www.northcarolina.edu/content.php/aa/departments/research/initiatives/urc.htm
The representatives included both administrators and faculty from
an array of disciplines, all of whom brought their institution’s
unique assets and perspective to the discussion. Their perspectives
were reflective of the composition of the institution’s student
body (eg, PUIs vs R1) and the distinct regions of the state that
they serve (eg, rural, urban).
The first challenge of the UNC-URC was to define “undergraduate
research” in a way that was inclusive of all fields of study
and all levels of undergraduate education. The inclusion of the
arts and humanities, as well as an emphasis on the key role of mentoring,
was particularly important. UNC-URC members wanted mentors involved
and recognized for the work they did in shaping undergraduate experiences.
They also wanted to be careful with unqualified use of the term
“research,” which many see as too narrow to
recognize the creativity that takes place in all disciplines. This
has been an on-going challenge, but the group has adopted the following
definition:
Investigation, scholarship, experimentation, or creative
work in any field of study, carried out independently or in
small teams and assisted by faculty or other mentors.
In its first five years, the Consortium has initiated a number
of activities and events. The group meets quarterly via videoconferences
and holds an annual workshop to share best practices. The videoconferences
allow participation by representatives from all institutions, as
the state spans more than 500 miles east to west. The additional
in-person meeting is important as a means of keeping in contact,
given some of the technical challenges to communicating in a videoconference
setting (delay, reception, sounds quality, etc.). UNC-URC discussions
center around identifying priorities and challenges, vetting common
issues, and determining future directions.
The initial event of the UNC-URC was the 2001 Research in the Capital
Symposium. Now a biennial event, the Symposium brings 100 UNC undergraduate
student researchers to Raleigh, the state capital, to showcase their
research and meet with legislators. This event, which gives visibility
to the quality scholarship of our undergraduates, has been extremely
successful. Additionally, many of the students have never been to
the Capital, so this in itself is a positive experience. Event coordinators
put much effort into matching students to legislators from their
home district, and the students visit each legislator in their office
that morning to deliver an abstract book and to invite them to the
event. Several students are also introduced on the floor of the
legislative building the night before the Symposium as a way of
reminding legislators to attend. Legislators often comment that
this event is a rare time when constituents come to them not asking
for money and the UNC-URC is careful to foster this event as a positive,
one-on-one interaction.
In 2003, the UNC-URC decided to pursue funding under the newly
established National Science Foundation (NSF) Undergraduate Research
Center program. The RFP cited interest in creating large-scale centers
that would bring students into undergraduate research early in their
undergraduate years. Though its application was not successful,
the Consortium was successful in stimulating the formation of new
and lasting partnerships. Throughout the proposal preparation process,
the UNC institutions solidified their common goals and identified
external partners from other institutions of higher education, including
NC Community Colleges, and industry. When the grant was not funded,
UNC-URC members determined that they were nevertheless well positioned
to go forward with the partnership and plans outlined in the proposal.
The group has since focused on crafting an agenda of priorities
and pursuing appropriate potential funding (rather than allowing
the funding “carrot” to influence the group’s
priorities).
Current Activities
In 2005, the first State of North Carolina Undergraduate Research
and Creativity Symposium (SNCURCS) was held at NC State University
in Raleigh. The event showcased students not only from UNC campuses,
but also from all 111 institutions of higher education across the
state. This one-day symposium enabled the next generation of scholars
and knowledge builders to showcase their talent.
In its first year (November 12, 2005), the SNCURCS featured 218
oral, poster, and visual and performing art presentations that included
three from business areas, 171 from science, technology, engineering
or mathematics (STEM) areas, 12 from the performing and visual arts,
32 within the social sciences, and 39 mentoring affiliations. There
were seven 50-minute lunchbox sessions that helped position students
for (1) admission to graduate and professional schools, (2) national
fellowships, (3) understanding patents and property rights, (4)
considerations of women to enter STEM careers, and (5) activities
related to the new statewide undergraduate research journal, EXPLORATIONS.
National fellows, advisers, community lawyers, deans, and undergraduate
students led these sessions. The second SNCURCS was on November
18, 2006; details about the event are provided at: http://www.ncsu.edu/sncurcs
The poster sessions included only STEM presenters (78% of all Symposium
participants) while ten concurrent sessions consisted of five oral
presentations per room presented by students in the social science,
humanities, business, and the visual and performing arts. Eighty-seven
high school teachers and students from predominately black schools
were invited to attend the Symposium and a subsequent workshop at
the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. The goal was to introduce the
teachers and students to a breadth of research and scholarship possibilities
and provide an opportunity for them to ask questions of the student
researchers and scientists.
The Symposium in now an annual event that has broad support and
receives significant funding from UNC System President Erskine Bowles,
as well as from 26 other sponsors and grantors. Industry and governmental
sponsors recognize that the undergraduate researchers and creative
artists who participate in the Symposium are the talent needed for
the State’s future. The event attracts recruiters from graduate
and professional schools, North Carolina government agencies, corporations
and small businesses, as well as from participating universities.
By attending the Symposium they are able to truly "see these
students in action."
Suggestions/Lessons Learned from SNCURCS
- Writing grants, in addition to contacting potential corporate
and government sponsors, is critical to attracting funding and
building partnerships. As corporations are inundated with various
funding requests, it is best to ask many for a little money ($300-$1,000)
than a few for much more. Remember: “The chickens get to
eat while the hogs go to slaughter.” Also, indicate that
the donors’ ’ logo and company/agency name will be
featured on your Web site and in publications and that the dollar
amount they provide will not be advertised. Thus the pressure
to provide large sums in removed. This works! Use your early but
largest sponsors as leverage to gain smaller gifts. The SNCURCS
for November 2006 raised $80,000 for its one-day event.
- The SNCURCS coordinator wrote grants to the (1) NC Biotechnology
Center, (2) NC Sea Grant, (3) NC Space Grant, (4) NC Board of
Science and Technology, (5) NC Department of the Secretary of
State, (6) Kenan Institute for Engineering, Technology and Science,
(5) Duke University’s Howard Hughes Medical Institute Grant,
and (6) the Burroughs Wellcome Fund that supported the high school
visitations. Funding came from a variety of other sources, such
as the national and campus Chapters of Phi Kappa Phi, NC State’s
Chapter of Sigma Xi, several industry partners within the Research
Triangle area, and many of the participating colleges and universities
attending the symposium.
- The Symposium offers employers and post-baccalaureate schools
an opportunity to meet and recruit talented students who bring
hands-on experience to the workplace. Emphasize this workforce/economic
development aspect of the event in every grant application, welcome
letter, abstract, and flyer. Also realize that some of these recruiters
may even volunteer to provide sponsorship dollars.
- Go where the interest is. Seek it out. Sigma Xi is very interested
right now in this effort and we are hoping to use North Carolina
as a model for the other 49 states.
- Forge partnerships in not-so-obvious places. The SNCURCS has
formed alliances with caterers, printers, publishers, and small
businesses that were willing to give discount services to the
Symposium’s general costs or to the participants (a store
for dancers provided a 15% discount to any participant).
- Find those government agencies whose mission is to cultivate
future economic development. They may surprise you with their
interest and support. If not money, they may be able to provide
contacts, mailing lists and other information to help you bridge
partnerships. The NC Museum of Natural Sciences hosted the entire
high school teacher program this year at its Prairie Ridge Outdoor
Teaching Laboratory. Teachers arrived with coats and boots and
were prepared to collect data out in the field and to develop
journals. This program complemented the Symposium by helping the
teachers to find ways that they could incorporate research-based
learning opportunities into their English and science classrooms.
- Involve the community college system. The central office of
a consolidated system may be able to assist in getting the word
out. Early undergraduate research experiences can be critical
to bridging students from community colleges to four-year institutions
and allowing them to smoothly transition onto research projects.
Discussion:
The discussion was organized around several issues that are central
to SNCURCS and to engaging undergraduates in research.
Increasing involvement of students from non-experimental social
sciences, humanities, business, and the arts in research/creative
projects. Scholarly work across disciplines varies greatly,
as do opportunities to engage students and showcase their work.
Within the arts, for example, it is particularly difficult to attract
students to the SNCURCS since they have many other outlets for their
work. Moreover, even in disciplines that have a tradition of undergraduate
research, some faculty do not see the local or campus research symposium
as the best venue for their students, but prefer instead that the
student attendance and participation at national or regional disciplinary
meetings. One university has its performing arts students give presentations
after poster sessions. Other institutions use their distinguished
faculty awards day to showcase their performing artists. The SNCURCS
features some of its performing artists at the beginning of the
Symposium for all to see. These students show the science and structure
of their music or choreography. The intent is to show all the STEM
participants that research takes many forms across disciplinary
lines. Session participants indicated that research in the humanities
is often one-on-one and is usually not done in the summer, when
humanities faculty are frequently away.
Quality control of research abstracts and journal articles.
The SNCURCS started an Undergraduate Research Journal, EXPLORATIONS,
that was funded by Symposium sponsors this year and organized and
published by East Carolina University. In an effort to maintain
quality control while easing the responsibility for editing submitted
papers, EXPLORATIONS plans to publish photograph and short biographies
of the student and the mentor, along with the paper; the assumption
is that mentors will not wants their pictures associated in a book
with an abstract or article that is not excellent. To ensure the
quality of the Symposia abstracts, SNCURUS requires that --as with
many other symposia-- the abstracts be approved by the student’s
research mentor. There was some discussion about whether graduate
students should be permitted to mentor undergraduates in research.
While some institutions do not allow graduate students to serve
as mentors, it was generally agreed that these opportunities are
important because graduate students represent the next generation
of mentors.
Student/mentor funding for campus research. At NC State
University funding for about 100 students is available through a
competition in which the students’ proposals are evaluated
by reviewers from all participating institutions. The students’
grants range from $500 to $1000; they can be used in the spring
and/or summer periods as stipends. The research mentors are given
up to $300 to help cover defray operating costs relating to their
mentorship. All students who receive grants must give a presentation
on their work at the campus symposia or at a disciplinary meeting
before they graduate.
Annual report metrics for SNCURCS. Reports must be submitted
to all grantors and sponsors. Although some are identical (usually
with corporate sponsors) many are unique because of the stipulations
regarding the way funds were to be spent. For the 2006 Symposium,
28 reports will be prepared, including: (a) attendance numbers by
school, disciplinary participation, gender and race; (b) mentoring
institutions with some outside of North Carolina; (c) a copy of
the book of abstracts and the first issue of EXPLORATIONS, the new
journal.
Judging. There is no judging for the SNCURCS. Early input
indicated that community college students (first and second year
students) should not have to compete with seniors from four-year
institutions. The honor of participation itself is viewed as the
reward. If institutions do judge presentations, is feedback provided?
Presentations at NC State University’s own symposia are judged
by discipline. Should there be awards for best mentors? At one institution
this award is dependent on the caliber of the student nomination.
If a student writes well, then that mentor will rise above others.
Another institution’s mentor award is done within the college.
Poster presentations or oral presentations? Should symposia
have poster presentations, oral presentations, or both? Poster presentations
give the student multiple opportunities to go through their work
and to be interrupted with questions; time is not an issue. Oral
presentations represent a one-time opportunity, usually of no more
than 20-minute duration. In addition, often only give presentations
can be given in a two-hour session. Poster sessions are dynamic
and intellectually social by nature. Further, a poster presentation
usually arises out of Power Point slides that can be easily pieced
together for the poster or taken apart for an oral slide presentation.
UCLA has Undergraduate Research Month in which students do poster,
oral, and performing art presentations throughout the month. More
and more students invite their families to their presentations.
Some institutions have a rolling buffet to serve students and their
families.
Economic development potential of undergraduate research
initiatives, which can be pitched as workforce development initiatives.
There was a consensus that employers seek graduates who have had
hands-on experience, rather than having only acquired textbook knowledge.
Not only does participation in research give students this type
of direct experience, but symposia provide opportunities for the
employers to meet these students and recruit them to their organizations.
In order to make this apparent, we need to frame undergraduate research
initiatives as a value proposition. A key to this approach will
be establishing consistent and substantive assessment metrics.
Recommendations:
For Individual Campuses
- Undergraduate research initiatives should be couched in terms
of value rather than cost when soliciting support and building
external partnerships. These initiatives have great potential
to contribute to economic and community development. This case
should be made broadly. Industry is eager to assist in developing
their next generation of talented employees, as are state and
local government agencies and branches.
- Partnerships within a system of universities, among ‘sister’
institutions, or simply among divisions in a single institution
can be an invaluable way to leverage scarce resources and pool
efforts. Frequent and open communication is key to successfully
overcoming barriers and potential ‘turf wars.’ Collaborations
with community colleges can also be effective and help bridge
to four-year institutions via undergraduate research and creative
projects that occur during the summer.
- In searching for grants and sponsors to support events such
as research and creativity symposia, many small dollar requests
work better than submitting a few large requests. Negotiate bargains
for recurring costs such as printing, catering, building rentals,
hotel accommodation, etc. Also try to obtain some sponsorship
interest on the part of these providers, as reduced cost for services
or outright funding.
For The Reinvention Center
- Assessment is essential to making the case for growing and
sustaining undergraduate research activities. It should be our
priority to establish common metrics and to generate and share
data for assessment purposes. The Reinvention Center can help
with this.
References/Resources:
Websites
- North Carolina Undergraduate Research Consortium: http://www.northcarolina.edu/content.php/aa/departments/research/initiatives/urc.htm
- SNCURCS: http://www.ncsu.edu/sncurcs
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