Community College Undergraduate Research Initiative (CCURI): Creating a culture of change

美国社区学院协会报告说，估计有1280万学生在社区学院和技术学院注册。这些数字占美国本科生总数的45%，突显出社区大学对大专学生教育的影响越来越大。最近的几份报告就在学生接受高等教育的头两年提供真实的本科生研究经验的重要性提出了建议。尽管关于需要完成的改革的证据不断增加，但人们对如何实现理想的改革知之甚少。现在需要的是一种可以在全国范围内测试、评估、完善、确定和传播的改革模式。社区大学本科生研究计划(CCURI)是一个由社区学院、四年制院校、政府机构和私人组织组成的全国性联盟，致力于开发、实施和评估可持续模式，将本科生的研究经验整合到社区大学STEM项目中。该项目将支持CCURI网络的扩展，以及对该模式的几项增强，并支持与CCURI模式对机构文化变化、教师教学实践和学生在STEM道路上的坚持性的影响相关的研究。两个主要问题将指导该项目的研究和评估工作。1)一个机构如何从“无研究”的文化转变为“研究为规范”的文化，而研究是学生体验中不可或缺的一部分？2)是什么因素促进或制约了文化从“无研究”向“研究为规范”的转变？在回答这些问题时收集的数据将提高STEM本科企业对社区大学STEM项目头两年研究经验的影响的理解。此外，CCURI网络的扩大将导致创建一个由社区大学拉美裔服务机构(HSI)组成的西南区域网络。这一扩大为研究CCURI模式对主要代表人数不足群体提供服务的机构的有效性提供了机会。

The American Association of Community Colleges reports that an estimated 12.8 million students are enrolled at community and technical colleges. These numbers account for 45% of all U.S. undergraduates, and highlight the increasing impact that community colleges are having on the education of post-secondary students. Several recent reports have made recommendations on the importance of providing an authentic undergraduate research experience in the first two years of a student's post-secondary education. While evidence continues to mount regarding what needs to be accomplished, little is known about how to achieve the desired reform. What is needed is a model of reform that can be tested, evaluated, refined, characterized and disseminated nationally. The Community College Undergraduate Research Initiative (CCURI) is a national consortium of community colleges, four-year institutions, government agencies, and private organizations dedicated to the development, implementation, and assessment of sustainable models for integrating an undergraduate research experience into community college STEM programs.This project will support an expansion of the CCURI network, along with the addition of several enhancements to the model, and support research related to the impact of the CCURI model on institutional culture change, faculty instructional practices, and student persistence in STEM pathways. Two main questions will guide the research and evaluation efforts of this project. 1) How does an institution move from a culture of "no research" to a culture of "research as the norm," with research as an integral part of the student experience? 2) What factors promote or constrain culture change from "no research" to "research as the norm?" Data gathered in response to these questions will improve the STEM undergraduate enterprise's understanding of the impact of a research experience during the first two years of a community college STEM program. In addition, the expansion of the CCURI network will lead to the creation of a southwest regional network of community college Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). This expansion provides opportunities for studies to be conducted with respect to the effectiveness of the CCURI model on institutions that serve predominantly underrepresented groups.