Alaska Undergraduate Research Experience: Partnering for Alaska Students by Growing Recruitment and Retention through Undergraduate Research

专注于区域问题的本科生研究经验是提高全国 STEM 领域代表性不足的学生保留率的有效方法。阿拉斯加提供丰富多样的实地和实验室研究经验，其中大部分工作是由学术环境之外的机构领导的。然而，事实证明，将有兴趣在阿拉斯加从事 STEM 领域职业的大学生与这些机会联系起来具有挑战性。阿拉斯加本科生研究体验的主要目标是将阿拉斯加学生与当地生物科学研究机会联系起来，以提高保留率并更好地为学生进入阿拉斯加特有的研究做好准备。该项目将把阿拉斯加的研究社区聚集在一起，与当地的研究项目（例如阿拉斯加的当地部落理事会、非营利组织、州和联邦机构）建立社区合作伙伴关系，并为未来的本科生研究机会创造途径。为了维持网络处于起步阶段，合作者将参加培训研讨会，以加强建立和维持社区、指导和跨文化关系的技能。将开发一个网站，将本科生与研究机会联系起来，并提供一个信息中心，将偏远地区的社区与学生可以访问的研究联系起来。阿拉斯加在研究和人民方面的多样性提供了独特的机会，将国家生物研究行业的人们与他们正在探索的地区社区联系起来。该项目将确定与当地研究项目的社区合作伙伴关系，为合作者提供基于课程的本科生研究经验（CURE）开发和基于地方的教育研讨会，在科学教育资源中心（SERC）网站内开发一个网络信息中心，并对网络进行评估。阿拉斯加大学安克雷奇分校和阿拉斯加太平洋大学为非传统学生群体提供服务，并招收多元化的学生群体，其中包括很大比例的阿拉斯加原住民学生。来自这些机构的学生将连接到网络合作者，从事定向生物学研究以获得课程学分。为了确保该网络的可持续发展，SERC 网站将作为一个永久平台，将当地研究项目与感兴趣的学生联系起来。这个初始网络建设项目的成果将指导区域网络的未来扩展，并将为全国生物科学领域代表性不足的本科生的保留工作提供信息。该项目由生物科学局生物基础设施司以及教育和人力资源局本科教育司联合资助，作为其努力解决“本科生物教育的愿景和变革：行动呼吁”(http://visionandchange/finalreport) 中提出的挑战的一部分，并得到刺激竞争性研究既定计划 (EPSCoR) 的额外支持。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过评估被认为值得支持利用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准。

Undergraduate research experiences focused on regional issues are an effective way to increase retention of underrepresented students in STEM fields nationally. Alaska offers a rich diversity of field- and lab-based research experiences, with much of this work being led by institutions outside of the academic setting. However, it has proven to be challenging to connect university students interested in pursuing careers in STEM fields in Alaska with those opportunities. The main goal of the Alaska Undergraduate Research Experience is to connect Alaskan students to local research opportunities in biological sciences to increase retention and better prepare students to enter research endemic to Alaska. This project will bring the Alaskan research community together to develop community partnerships with local research projects (e.g. local tribal councils, non-profits, state and federal agencies across Alaska) and create pathways for future undergraduate research opportunities. To sustain the network in its infancy, collaborators will participate in training workshops that strengthen skills in building and sustaining community, mentoring, and cross-cultural relationships. A website will be developed to connect undergraduates to research opportunities and to provide an information hub to tie communities in remote locations to research that is accessible to their students. Alaska’s diversity, both in research, in its people, provide a unique opportunity to connect people in national biological research industries to the regional communities that they are exploring. This project will identify community partnerships with local research projects, provide workshops on Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CURE) development and place-based education for collaborators, develop a network informational hub within the Science Education Resource Center (SERC) website, and evaluate the network. The University of Alaska - Anchorage and Alaska Pacific University serve non-traditional student populations and enroll a diverse student body, including a large percentage of Alaska Native students. Students from these institutions will be connected to the network collaborators to engage in directed biological research for course credit. To ensure that the network is sustainable, the SERC website will serve as a permanent platform to connect local research projects with interested students. The outcomes of this initial network-building project will guide future expansions of the regional network and will inform retention efforts of underrepresented undergraduates in the biological sciences nationally. This project is being jointly funded by the Directorate for Biological Sciences, Division of Biological Infrastructure, and the Directorate for Education and Human Resources, Division of Undergraduate Education as part of their efforts to address the challenges posed in "Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action" (http://visionandchange/finalreport) with additional support provided by the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).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.