Student Outcomes from Undergraduate Research Programs: Comparing Models of Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs)

This article discusses a set of projects that build on the following concepts: the private sector has the ability to fund undergraduate research projects, the private sector is hungry for projects that focus on the scholarship of application and engagement, and students can be empowered beyond a particular research project in this funding model. Through a student-run organization, several departments came together for consulting research projects. Although formal research projects are not the sole activity of the organization, many have been accomplished and presented at academic meetings, highlighting a “theory-to-practice” approach. Most of the client work scaffolds students’ learning of research methods, support students’ ability to participate in other research experiences, and provide real examples of completed projects that assist students in applying to graduate school or seeking work in the professional world.

As music programs at colleges and universities join the undergraduate research movement, many faculty and administrators may be unsure of terminology, educational practices, or ways to combine some of the creative aspects of music degree requirements into compelling undergraduate research projects. One of the biggest challenges is embedding undergraduate research and creative activity (URSCA) into the curriculum so that more students experience it without placing additional burdens on faculty. This article offers examples within the music degree and general education requirements at two universities that might serve as models. They range from freshman year to senior capstone projects, offering students inspiring and active learning experiences that will enhance their engagement with the subject matter and link their learning with the discovery of knowledge and art.

A theory of action outlining undergraduate research program inputs and desired outcomes was developed and used to guide implementation of Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) sections and to create assessment tools to measure attainment of program goals in both apprentice-model undergraduate research and CURE. Student survey results for these two research programs were compared and suggest that many aspects of the academic goals such as designing an experiment, using equipment, collecting and analyzing data, and collaborating with others were achieved in both groups. Regarding the relationship with mentors, both groups reported receiving academic advisement in course selection and career options. Students in the apprenticemodel program were more likely to discuss managing time, establishing career goals, networking, applying to graduate school, and building professionalism with their mentors. Students in the apprentice-model program also reported more time working with their research mentor, a higher quality research experience with their mentor, greater gains in communicating research findings, and more confidence in their research ability and future career path, at a statistically significant level. This approach and information may be useful to faculty mentors in improving the undergraduate researcher experience.

Undergraduate research and inquiry and student-staff partnerships in teaching and learning have much in common, although their connections are not often discussed explicitly. Partnership initiatives—particularly those that engage students in collaborating with faculty/staff on disciplinary research or the scholarship of teaching and learning—share many features with undergraduate research efforts, including the potential to help students develop as active and engaged producers and scholars. Building on these connections, this article describes a unique ‘student partners program’ housed within the teaching and learning institute at McMaster University (Canada) considering its role in the development of outcomes desired by scholars and practitioners of undergraduate research and student-staff partnership. This assessment can assist in further consideration of the place of partnership within undergraduate research.

Faculty participation in mentoring undergraduate research can be limited by the time demands involved and the relatively low compensation typically offered at most institutions. The system designed by Chapman University’s Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (OURCA) facilitates independent research by undergraduate students who wish to receive academic credit and awards teaching credit to faculty members who mentor this research. This faculty-student research banking (FSRB) program counts student research credits toward faculty teaching loads, allowing 24 credits to be exchanged for a one-course reduced teaching load in a future academic term. The financial and structural parameters of the FSRB program and data from the first three years of its operation are provided, including guidelines developed and lessons learned, which may assist other institutions in applying and creating similar systems.

The liberal arts of evidence-based inquiry are necessities for knowledgeable participation in a self-governing democracy and equally important in an innovation-dependent economy. Higher education’s role in fostering these capacities has always been one of its most important contributions to the greater good. The current political environment calls for a new sense of urgency about preparing graduates to apply evidence-based reasoning to complex questions and competing claims. Yet a new study of students’ course-based assignments suggests that large numbers of college seniors are leaving college with a very weak grasp of how to use evidence or build a well-supported argument. Calling on educators to make the shift from “my course” to new intentionality about “our curriculum,” the author provides practical suggestions for fostering the skills foundational to inquiry learning from first to final year.

On behalf of the SPUR Editorial Board as well as the Council on Undergraduate Research, we are very excited to share with our readers the inaugural issue of the Scholarship and Practice of Undergraduate Research. SPUR, the acronym for the new title of the journal, captures the powerful action of undergraduate research to encourage, stimulate, hasten, and prompt. Our hope is that SPUR will encourage best practices and models of undergraduate research. Another goal for SPUR is to stimulate the rigorous assessment of undergraduate research initiatives and programs. We also hope to hasten the spread of undergraduate research at colleges and universities across the globe. With the rising competition and growing challenges for funding higher education, our wish for SPUR is to prompt important theoretical discussions about undergraduate research and the future of higher education in the twenty-first century.

Given that science and science education are undergoing a climate change, the author suggests a re-envisioning of undergraduate research assessment. He argues that continuation of research into the processes and benefits of undergraduate research opportunities for undergraduates will need to decrease focus on student dispositions and increase attention to the external validity of programs. Common dispositional terms such as persistence and identity should give way to the study of student decision making, judgment, and communication. Student adaptability to diverse academic and personal pressures will aid in the understanding of student success.