Institutionalizing Undergraduate Research Education to Promote Student Engagement and Success

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Research demonstrates that undergraduate research experiences help to develop students' problem-solving skills, connect the classroom to careers, and improve student motivation. Studies focused on students from historically underrepresented groups show that participation in undergraduate research experiences improves their persistence in STEM and helps to validate their identity as scientists. Cuesta College, a two-year institution, will provide undergraduate research experiences in multiple STEM disciplines. As suggested by previous research, it is expected that participating in undergraduate research will increase student engagement, improve their problem-solving skills, increase retention, and improve their success after college. A multi-disciplinary Faculty Inquiry Group will identify best practices and promote the value of undergraduate research to faculty and students.The overarching goal of this project is to create a culture of undergraduate research involving multiple STEM disciplines to increase student engagement and better prepare students to succeed. The project will involve faculty from biology, engineering, astronomy, chemistry, and math, who will incorporate course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) into their courses. A Faculty Inquiry Group will build a knowledge base about how to offer effective undergraduate research experiences and will use that information to recruit other college faculty to incorporate CUREs into their courses. This core group of interdisciplinary faculty innovators will develop and test research experiences using different settings, modes, and methods. A successful CURE in astronomy will serve as a model to other disciplines and faculty involved in the astronomy CURE will assist CURE-developers in other disciplines. Economics will join the team to connect the project to the social sciences. Measures of student success will include scientific knowledge, understanding of research practices, and sense of belonging to the discipline. The project will provide professional development opportunities to all faculty to share knowledge about effective CURES and to encourage participation. The Faculty will be trained to mentor student researchers and to encourage them to publish or present their results. College administration will address policies and procedures, such as articulation agreements and faculty workload, to remove barriers to the implementation of undergraduate research experiences. The concept of a robust, college-wide undergraduate research program at a two-year institution is innovative. The project will monitor changes in faculty perceptions and attitudes about undergraduate research experiences and document challenges and benefits of implementing CUREs, which may include affects on faculty workload, advancement, and job satisfaction. Results of this project can provide insights about the capacity of community colleges to implement and expand CUREs.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.