Abstract:

The potential for positive impact on student personal, academic, and professional development from participation in Undergraduate Research (UR) is well documented. However, participation is not enough: quality and comprehensive programming - and active participation - are indispensable for achieving significant student gains. Implementation quality should not be the sole responsibility of UR research mentors or UR course instructors. Rather, a combination of unit, college, and institution-wide efforts to support student and faculty in UR can best help maximize the benefits of undergraduate research.

The University of Georgia defines for-credit UR experiences as those that require at least
1) individualized, independent, faculty-mentored research;
2) 45 hours of research per credit hour earned;
3) a significant written assignment and public (oral) presentation of results; and
4) substantial feedback from the faculty mentor on the students’ research progress and presentations. In the Fiscal Year 2020, the “University” had almost 30,000 students. That year, there were 895 unique undergraduate students who participated in at least one independent, for-credit experience in UR, and 110 completed a research thesis. These students were mentored by 375 unique faculty from 93 different departments/units. The students represented 13 colleges and 103 majors.

The University of Georgia has a central office that provides institution-wide UR programming, works with individual students and faculty requesting assistance, and also promotes and collaborates with a wide-range of initiatives at the faculty, research team, department, or college levels. Some of the co-curricular programming offered to students included workshops to support them before, during, and after the UR experience; large and small Symposia; social peer interactions; non-research mentor interaction; peer-to-peer mentoring; group discussions; and funding. The workshops addressed issues of interest such as presentation and writing skills; innovative ways to present data; reflection on their own academic, personal and professional gains; guidance to articulate broader impacts of their research and impacts on society; addressing conflict and working with teams; communicating and building relationships with mentors; informal opportunities to practice presentations of their work and demonstrate competence; and preparation of resumes and letters of interest.

Through student evaluations, interviews, and focus groups, the UR central office explored the impact of participation on UR, and assessed successes, failures, and shortcomings of their programs. This presentation details the experience and lessons learned at the University of Georgia regarding co-curricular programming to support, normalize, and enhance UR experiences, and provides a conceptual framework for other universities and colleges interested in heightening their UR student outcomes.

Keywords:

Undergraduate Research, High Impact Practices, co-curricular offerings, student learning outcomes, workshops.