Abstract:

Participation in mentored undergraduate research experiences at the University of Texas at El Paso has long been associated with student success measures such as graduation and matriculation to strong graduate programs in STEM. In our experience, however, these opportunities best benefit upper division students, while data indicate that it is the first (Freshman) year at university which tends to be the determinant year for individuals to complete STEM degrees (Hayes, 2009).

To expand the number of research opportunities and to extend them preferentially to new, entering students, we established the Freshman Year Research Intensive Sequence (FYRIS) in 2015 with funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the National Institutes of Health (BUILD). The course sequence consists of enrollment in a research foundations course and one or two laboratory courses redesigned by faculty into small, special topic Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) (Bangera, 2014). All modified courses are part of degree requirements for one or more STEM baccalaureate degrees. Since its inception, we have implemented sufficient CURE opportunities to allow for open (non-competitive), voluntary participation of any interested freshman student taking entry-level science lecture courses. In this report, we present three years of assessment of student progress toward degree, as well as retention in the corresponding college of the major, comparing those assessments with the corresponding retention for non-participants in general and for control groups matched for key scholastic characteristics. In addition, we have assessed FYRIS participants on their confidence in conducting fundamental and specific research activities in the foundations and research driven courses, respectively. For this, we have used specific items from a validated survey (Weston, 2015) and items developed for each course based on specific learning objectives. Students complete these surveys at the start and end of the course. Results on retention and confidence vary depending on whether students fully or partially participated in the course-sequence. A significant increase in research self-efficacy (fundamental and specific skills) has also been documented. Results will be presented for three cohorts of students: 2015-16, 2016-17, and 2017-18.

References:
[1] Bangera, G., & Brownell, S. E. (2014). Course-based undergraduate research experiences can make scientific research more inclusive. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 13, 602-606.
[2] Chemers, M. M., Zurbriggen, E. L., Syed, M., Goza, B. K., & Bearman, S. (2011). The role of efficacy and identity in science career commitment among underrepresented minority students. Journal of Social Issues, 67(3), 469-491.
[3] Hayes, R. Q., Whalen, S. K., & Cannon, B. (2009) 2008–2009 CSRDE STEM Retention Report. Center for Institutional Data Exchange and Analysis, University of Oklahoma, Norman
[4] Weston, T. J., & Laursen, S. L. (2015). Undergraduate research student self-assessment (URSSA): Validation for use in program evaluation. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 14, 1-10.

Keywords:

CURE, Undergraduate Research, Retention, Confidence.