Undergraduate Student Research Research Articles

Breaking News! Writing University Newspaper Articles to Build UX Skills and HF/E Awareness

Hundreds of colleges and universities in the United States produce newspapers for the campus community and general public. This paper discusses how a university user experience (UX) research lab has utilized their campus newspaper to regularly publish student research findings. Publishing through this medium promotes the visibility of the human factors and ergonomics (HF/E) and UX fields, while affording undergraduate and graduate student researchers opportunities to gain practical experience using HF/E and UX methods, improve their science communication skills by presenting findings to a layperson audience, and obtain exposure to a fast-paced, collaborative environment that is common in industry. This paper also reports interview results of current and alumni HF/E student researchers who have published HF/E and UX articles through the campus newspaper. Results indicate that publishing articles effectively complements students' academic coursework that helps them apply skills learned in class and makes them more marketable job candidates.

The Misalignment of the FT50 with the Achievement of the UN’s SDGs: A Call for Responsible Research Assessment by Business Schools

Publication in the list of 50 journals endorsed by the Financial Times (i.e., the FT50) has become ‘institutionalized’ as a primary measure of research quality and prestige by business schools and faculty. This study investigated the extent to which this closed publication system is (mis)aligned with societal imperatives, in particular the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Research methods included both inductive and deductive analysis. Undergraduate and graduate student research assistants, enrolled in business-related programs, read all 4522 articles published by FT50 journals in 2019 and assessed their relevance to explicit and implicit concepts in the SDG framework. Additionally, potential biases that might stifle research innovation in support of the SDGs were explored. Findings included that 90% of articles were found to have no ‘explicit’ relationship to the SDGs, while only 17% were interpreted as having an implicit relationship. SDG-related articles were disproportionately from one journal-the Journal of Business Ethics (48.1%). There was also an over-representation of observed white male primary authors, who used North American (NA) data sets from NA institutions. A logistic regression model determined that the predicted probability of an SDG-related article increased with observed female primary authors, who used non-NA data sets and institutions. The next steps include comparing this methodological approach with machine learning techniques to find a more efficient and robust method for analyzing an article’s SDG content. Business Schools with sustainability as a core value are encouraged to move beyond FT50 publications for assessing research quality, including for tenure and promotion purposes, and place more focus on assessing research relevance and impact.

Implementation of a Student Research Group with Undergraduate Preservice Teachers

The purpose of this paper is to describe the implementation of an undergraduate student research group with preservice teachers at a university in the Northeastern United States. Following the guidelines of Shanahan et al. (2015), university faculty provided intensive mentoring, scaffolded support, and instruction related to research evaluation and methodology. Undergraduate students completed literature reviews of a specific topic related to education and conducted their own research studies. This article describes a model of undergraduate research the authors developed for elementary and special education preservice teachers.

“It’s exciting and rewarding!”: structured mini writing retreats as a tool for undergraduate researchers

ABSTRACT A good research base exists on the benefits of structured writing retreats and similar provision for academic staff and postgraduate researchers, but to date little has been published about the worth of such events for undergraduate students. This is despite the fact that undergraduate student researchers also experience external pressures, distractions and ambivalent or negative feelings towards writing just as academic staff and postgraduate students do. This paper reports on a mixed methods study of a structured writing retreat programme with third year undergraduate students over four academic years. The resulting data confirmed that one of the biggest challenges for students was finding time and space to write, which mirrors the findings of studies focused on more experienced researchers. The group of writing retreat participants had a very different experience and data revealed the power of these events for this group of students. The data presented here suggest that retreats should much more widely offered for undergraduate students in the latter stages of their degree programmes.

Comparative Genre Analysis of Research Abstracts: Philippine Versus International Colloquia

Abstract is the gateway to whether the intended audience reads the rest of the research article or not. This is one of the many reasons why, across disciplines and cultures, the rhetorical structure of research article abstracts has been explored. Taking a different approach, this comparative genre-based study, which employed a hybrid method, investigated the rhetorical structure of research abstracts of non-native English-speaking undergraduate students in Philippine and international research colloquia. A corpus of 116 research abstracts, 58 from each group, in the field of education was purposively selected and explored using Hyland’s model of five-move abstracts. Categories of move occurrence along with the frequencies were utilized to compare the move use of the two groups. Findings indicated that the three moves which are purpose, method, and product frequently occurred in local and international writers’ research conference abstracts. The number of words was also recorded through frequency and average. The local conference abstracts were lengthier than the international ones. The findings can have some pedagogical implications for the academic writing professors and assist novice writers or undergraduate students, primarily those in the field of teacher education in organizing their abstracts for the international audiences.

A US National Study of Barriers to Science Training Experienced by Undergraduate Students during COVID-19.

Undergraduate research is a high-impact practice on college campuses. How the COVID-19 pandemic has affected undergraduate researchers’ progress is poorly understood. We examine how demographics, academic characteristics, research disruptions and faculty mentorship are associated with four barriers to research progress. Data are drawn from a survey of over 1000 undergraduate student researchers across the US. We examine students who actively continued to conduct faculty-mentored research during mid-March/April 2020 (n = 485). Using generalized estimating equations that control clustering by institution, we found economic hardship, discomfort teleconferencing, lower quality mentors, sexual minority status and higher grade point averages were associated with motivation problems. Economic hardship, serious illness, Internet connection issues, a lack of face-to-face meetings and lower a frequency of mentor–mentee communication were associated with a time crunch with regard to conducting research. Discomfort teleconferencing, Internet connection issues, a lack of face-to-face meetings and decrease in research workload were associated with task uncertainty. Economic hardship, serious illness and being an engineering major were associated with lacking needed tools for the research. In sum, economic hardship was an important correlate of research barriers, as were communication challenges and sexual minority status. Results can inform practical actions by research program directors and faculty undergraduate research mentors.

Examining the Impact of Cadaver‐Based Anatomy Laboratory Experiences on Medical Students Through a Thematic Analysis of their Written Reflections

Cadaver dissection has long been considered the gold standard pedagogical approach in anatomical education for its ability to teach students not only anatomy knowledge, but also non‐traditional discipline‐independent skills that are pertinent to professional training programs in healthcare. With the onset of the COVID‐19 pandemic in 2020, many medical schools were forced to adopt remote or blended teaching formats, reducing students’ dissection time in the anatomy laboratory. Some have raised concerns about how having limited interaction with body donors in anatomical education may dehumanize medical students’ learning experiences and alter their learning outcomes, but there is a paucity of research in this area. To examine how reduced exposure to cadavers during the COVID‐19 pandemic may impact the student experience, a pre‐pandemic assessment must first be made. Halfway through the first year of medical school, McGill University medical students consider the meaning of their anatomy laboratory experience and how it has contributed to their future career through a written reflective assignment. The present study aimed to describe how students reflected on their laboratory experience and its importance in their training as both individuals and future healthcare professionals, prior to the onset of COVID‐19. Reflections written by the McGill University medical class of 2023, whose time in the anatomy laboratory was not limited by the pandemic, were analyzed through the six‐step framework to thematic analysis by Braun and Clarke (2006). Three undergraduate research students (BB, MR, IG) inductively coded students’ reflections (n = 134) using NVivo software to identify preliminary themes. Themes were reviewed, defined, and named through discussion with the entire research team (all listed authors). Three central themes were identified: (1) philosophical reflections, (2) perceived outcomes of the anatomy laboratory and (3) reflections on the body donor or body donation. Notable sub‐themes included: (1.1) reflections on the body and soul, (2.1) reflections on the current medical curriculum and (3.1) the dichotomy of objectification and personification during student‐donor interaction. The presence of these themes and example quotes drawn from the reflections confirm that donor‐dissection not only teaches students anatomical knowledge but enables them to realize the importance of dissection to the medical curriculum, consider the gift that is body donation, and explore philosophical ideas of life and death. A thematic analysis of the reflections written by McGill University’s 2024 medical class, who were subject to a blended learning format during the COVID‐19 pandemic, is currently underway to determine the degree to which decreased laboratory exposure influenced the students’ reflections on their laboratory experience.

Exploring Protein Structures of SARS‐CoV‐2 Variants of Concern within an Undergraduate Research Course

Lane College is a Historically Black College with a legacy of educating underserved minority students. As a primarily undergraduate teaching college, faculty and students have limited opportunities to engage in undergraduate research. To address this concern, the biology department created the undergraduate research course sequence (Undergraduate Research I and II) to provide course‐based undergraduate research experiences for students. During the Spring 2021 semester, to limit the spread of COVID‐19, the College began the first few weeks with complete online instruction before switching to hybrid or face‐to‐face modality. For the biology undergraduate research students, the projects were redesigned based on input from the students to explore the viral protein structural changes in newly emerging SARS‐CoV‐2 variants of concern (VOC). First, students explored the virology of SARS‐CoV‐2 and structures of key viral proteins using curriculum available from Rutgers University on the Protein Data Bank during the online instruction period. Then the students selected a variant of concern, B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), or P.1 (Gamma), and a specific viral protein containing at least one mutation for further study. During the hybrid instruction period, using open‐source bioinformatics tools, including NCBI SARS‐CoV‐2 genome sequences, PANGO Lineage VOC data, UCSC Genome Browser and SNAP Gene, the students mapped the location of the VOC mutation on their chosen protein’s known structure. They then modeled the effect of the mutation on the protein structure using Chimera or iCN3D, since Chimera is not compatible with Chromebooks. Students determined that the mutations found in nsp3 in Alpha variant and ORF8 in Gamma variant did not have a large impact on the overall structure of the proteins and predicted that there would not be significant effects on protein function. In contrast, several mutations found in Beta variant spike protein likely impact receptor binding domain interactions with angiotensin converting enzyme 2 receptor. The methods developed here will be useful for further investigations of protein structures from emerging variants of concern. This experience demonstrates the utility of bioinformatics research projects in online and hybrid courses and the importance of consideration of compatibility of various open‐source tools with student devices.

Research involvement among undergraduate health profession students in a resource-limited setting: awareness, attitude, motivators and barriers

BackgroundInvolvement of undergraduate health professions students (HPS) in research will facilitate evidence-based clinical practice among future healthcare practitioners. This study aimed to assess research involvement among undergraduate HPS students and associated factors in Uganda.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted using an online assessment tool sent through WhatsApp groups and E-mail addresses of HPS in 12 medical schools in Uganda between 20th September and 5th October 2021.ResultsWe enrolled 398 participants with a mean age of 23.9 ± 3.7 years. Of this, 267 (67.1%) were male. One hundred twenty (30.2%) participants previously participated in a research activity: 90 (58.4%) as research assistants, 39 (25.3%) published as first authors, and 25 (16.2%) as co-authors. Training on the conduct of research was received by 242 (65.8%) participants, and 326 (81.9%) had intentions of conducting research in the future. Factors influencing participation in research activities were, age ≥ 25 years (adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 1.9, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.2–3.2, p = 0.012), being male (aOR: 2.1, 95%CI: 1.2–3.6, p = 0.008), and being in a clinical year i.e., year 3 (aOR: 3.2, 95% CI: 1.1–9.3, p = 0.033), year 4 (aOR: 3.3, 95% CI: 1.1–9.5, p = 0.028) and year 5(aOR: 11.6, 95% CI: 3.2–42.1, p < 0.001). Lack of funds (79.6%), and mentorship (63.3%) were reported as major barriers to research.ConclusionsDespite a high proportion of HPS showing interest in getting involved in research, less than one-third reported previous involvement. Addressing barriers such as funding could potentially improve research involvement and output among undergraduate HPS in resource-limited settings.

Twitter: More than Tweets for Undergraduate Student Researchers.

ABSTRACTDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, biology educators were forced to think of ways to communicate with their students, engaging them in science and with the scientific community. For educators using course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs), the challenge to have students perform real science, analyze their work, and present their results to a larger scientific audience was difficult as the world moved online. Many instructors were able to adapt CUREs utilizing online data analysis and virtual meeting software for class discussions and synchronous learning. However, interaction with the larger scientific community, an integral component of making science relevant for students and allowing them to network with other young scientists and experts in their fields, was still missing. Even before COVID-19, a subset of students would travel to regional or national meetings to present their work, but most did not have these opportunities. With over 300 million active users, Twitter provided a unique platform for students to present their work to a large and varied audience. The Cell Biology Education Consortium hosted an innovative scientific poster session entirely on Twitter to engage undergraduate researchers with one another and with the much broader community. The format for posting on this popular social media platform challenged students to simplify their science and make their points using only a few words and slides. Nineteen institutions and over one hundred students participated in this event. Even though these practices emerged as a necessity during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Twitter presentation strategy shared in this paper can be used widely.

494 A Flexible and Transformational Approach for Learning Research and Communication Skills: The Center for Research Education and Science Communications Opportunities (CRESCO) of the Title V Cooperative Project between the University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus and the Universidad Central del Caribe (Title V Coop)

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: The Title V Coop developed CRESCO, a physical and virtual space in the libraries of the two cooperating institutions. Adopting a flexible and transformational approach, it offers services to support the development of research and information skills of undergraduate students and faculty who receive clinical-translational research (CTR) training. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Since 2016, CRESCO has been staffed by a multidisciplinary team composed of three librarians, a statistician, an instructional designer, and an IT specialist. The physical facilities of the two libraries were remodeled and equipped, and a central portal was created to provide services and access to resources on a 7/24 basis. Online tutorials, workshops, and mentoring services have been offered that address topics in statistics, literature search, plagiarism, and the use of several research software. Services statistics are collected, and a questionnaire is administered to evaluate the workshops. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: The main results include 12 online tutorials created in CTR areas and available in the CRESCO hub portal; 14,660 mentoring/consultations offered in statistics, the use of research-related software, and the search for scientific literature search; and 6 online workshops created in CTR areas, with 463 attendees. When evaluating online workshops, participants considered that their acquired learning was high or extremely high on the following topics: use of Intellectus Statistics (88%, n = 96); selection of statistical tests (81%, n = 92); use of Turnitin (85%, n = 76); literature search (91%, n = 58); and citations and references in Mendeley (90%, n = 67). DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: These results suggest that the flexible, multidisciplinary, and transformational approach of CRESCO has been successful in helping undergraduate students and faculty develop the skills necessary to conduct CTR projects.

PetSavers interview

Dr Penny Watson has been the recipient of several BSAVA PetSavers grants for undergraduate student projects and clinical research projects. Her most recent funds a Master’s student in a project entitled An investigation of novel immunohistochemical markers and serum auto-antibodies in cats with chronic biliary tract disease.

Traumatic brain injury in precariously housed persons: Incidence and risks.

SummaryBackgroundHomeless and precarious housed persons are particularly prone to traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), but existent incidence rates are hampered by poor case acquisition. We rigorously documented TBIs in precariously housed persons transitioning in and out of homelessness.MethodsBetween December 2016 and May 2018, 326 precariously housed participants enrolled in a longitudinal study in Vancouver, Canada were assessed monthly for TBI occurrences after education on sequelae. Over one participant-year, 2433 TBI screenings were acquired for 326 person-years and variables associated with odds of incident TBI were evaluated.FindingsOne hundred participants acquired 175 TBIs, yielding an observed incidence proportion of 30·7% and event proportion of 53·7%. Of the injured, 61% reported one TBI and 39% reported multiple injuries. Acute intoxication was present for more than half of the TBI events assessed. Additionally, 9·7% of TBI events occurred in the context of a drug overdose. Common injury mechanisms were falls (45·1%), assaults (25·1%), and hitting one's head on an object (13·1%). In this community-based but non-randomly recruited sample, exploratory analyses identified factors associated with odds of an incident TBI over one year of follow-up, including: schizophrenia disorders (odds ratio (OR) = 0·43, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0·19, 0·94), role functioning (OR = 0·69, 95% CI 0·52, 0·91), opioid dependence (OR = 2·17, 95% CI 1·27, 3·72) and those reporting past TBIs (OR = 1·99, 95% CI 1·13, 3·52).InterpretationGiven the ubiquity of TBIs revealed in this precariously housed sample, we identify an underappreciated and urgent healthcare priority. Several factors modified the odds of incident TBI, which can facilitate investigations into targeted prevention efforts.FundingCanadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, William and Ada Isabelle Steel Research Fund, Simon Fraser University Vice-President Research Undergraduate Student Research Award and Simon Fraser University Psychology Department Research Grant.

Introducing the Remote Mentoring of Undergraduate Research Students (ReMentURS) Workshop Series: Initial Evaluation and Plans for Wider Implementation

The primary objective of the Remote Mentoring of Undergraduate Research Students (ReMentURS) workshop series is to design a remotely available professional development training that will provide rigorous research concept and skills introduction to incoming undergraduate research students. This pilot run eight-week remote learning workshop series includes digital presentations, informational videos, virtual demonstrations, and aligned comprehension checks to foster student mindsets towards becoming independent research scientists. Preliminary assessment of the of ReMentURS program reveals that participants self-report gaining a variety of skills through the series and are likely to use the content in their future course and research laboratories. ReMentURS material can be shared with any undergraduate student who is interested in joining a research group to familiarize them with basic research techniques. Student learning gains will continue to be evaluated throughout the series and this initial assessment will be used towards the betterment of the future workshops.

Students as Researchers and Participants: A Model of Iterative Member-Checking for Inclusive, Equity-Centered Assessment Research

Previous research on student learning outcomes has begun to advocate for the inclusion of student researchers. To fully grasp undergraduate student perspectives of learning objectives, this study was co-created and conducted by undergraduate student researchers, allowing for an inclusive, equity-centered research model to guide our findings. We argue that the intentional choice to involve students as participant-researchers and enact an iterative member checking process throughout the research allowed us to discover more nuanced findings on the topic of student learning outcomes. Specifically, not only are clear and transparent student learning outcomes necessary for academic success, as previous literature suggests, but we also found confusion around learning outcome causes emotional responses that negatively impact student perceptions of themselves and college, a finding which was elucidated through our methodological approach.

Knowledge, attitudes, practices and perceived barriers towards research in undergraduate medical students of six Arab countries

BackgroundThe involvement of the undergraduates in the research field requires a better view of their potential and the anticipated barriers facing them. This study aims to assess the undergraduates' knowledge, attitudes, practices and perceived barriers towards research in six Arab countries.MethodsA cross sectional study included medical students from six Arab countries, where a self-administered five-section questionnaire was used to assess the students' demographics, knowledge, attitudes, practices and perceived barriers. The questionnaire was distributed in the online educational platforms of the participating medical schools in the six included countries.ResultsThe total sample of recruited students was 2989, the majority of students (91.6%) showed poor level of knowledge regarding research. Generally high levels of positive attitudes towards research, research relevance and usefulness were found, with moderate levels of perception of research anxiety and difficulty. 33.7% (n = 1006) participated in an actual research project before with a mean of .5 publications per student. Cross-sectional studies were the most common type of studies conducted by students (38.6%), followed by case reports (23.9%). Lack of access to lab equipment for lab research (68.1%), the priority of education over research (66.8%), and lack of time because of educational tasks (66.1%) were generally the top perceived barriers towards research practice.ConclusionIn the current study, the participants showed a poor knowledge level with associated positive attitudes towards research. One third of the students participated in research projects that mostly were cross-sectional studies and case reports. Educational tasks and lack of support were the most prevalent barriers. The students' positive attitudes towards research need to be translated into better knowledge and appropriate practice, which can be done by development of better training systems and more structured mentoring.

Foreword by Guest Editors COL Paul F. Evangelista &amp; LTC James H. Schreiner

This special issue of the Industrial and Systems Engineering Review once again showcases the top papers from the annual General Donald R. Keith memorial capstone conference at the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY. Despite continued COVID restrictions, the truly innovative conference included a mix of in-person presentations with over 50 live and remote judges from across academia and industry to create a high-quality event highlighting the undergraduate student team research. After consideration of over 50 academic papers, the eight listed in this issue were selected for publication in this special issue of the journal. The topics discussed are broad and diverse, however decision support within an uncertain and complex environment emerges as a theme. Much of the work completed by industrial and systems engineers focuses on getting decisions right by means of the tools of our trade. The suite of tools surveyed within these papers represents several state-of-the-art methods as well as time-proven techniques within a unique application domain.&#x0D; &#x0D; Military applications dominated several of the papers. Downey et al. studied massive datasets that represent military operational behaviors in training, seeking to better understand military operational capabilities. Ungrady and Dabkowski tackled the complexities of US Army recruiting through the application of fuzzy cognitive maps, searching for causation. Middlebrooks et al. studied military acquisition system decisions, applying system dynamics modeling. &#x0D; &#x0D; Process improvement represented another sub-theme, with continued focus on decision support. Enos et al. applied lean six sigma techniques to manufacturing processes. Katz et al. explored biomedical machine maintenance scheduling, seeking optimal solutions to a complex scheduling task. Kaloudelis et al. developed a pandemic decision support process for universities.&#x0D; &#x0D; Analytics and machine learning techniques applied to the information domain dominated the third sub-theme. Krueger and Enos developed analytics to support ice hockey strategies. Manzonelli et al. applied natural language processing against information operations, seeking to automate the examination of incredible amounts of narrative data that seek to shape beliefs and attitudes. &#x0D; &#x0D; Please join me in congratulating our authors, especially the young undergraduate scholars that provided the primary intellectual efforts that created the contents of this issue.&#x0D; &#x0D; COL Paul F. Evangelista&#x0D; Chief Data Officer&#x0D; United States Military Academy&#x0D; Taylor Hall, 5th Floor&#x0D; West Point, NY 10996&#x0D; Email: paul.evangelista@westpoint.edu&#x0D; &#x0D; James H. Schreiner, PhD, PMP, CPEM, F.ASEM&#x0D; LTC(P), U.S. Army&#x0D; Associate Professor&#x0D; USMA Academy Professor &#x0D; Director, Engineering Management (EM) Program&#x0D; Department of Systems Engineering&#x0D; &#x0D; Head Officer Representative, Army Softball&#x0D; &#x0D; United States Military Academy&#x0D; Room 420 Mahan Hall&#x0D; West Point, NY 10996&#x0D; Email: james.schreiner@westpoint.edu&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D;

ENGLISH FOR MARKET RESEARCH REPORT WRITING: COURSE DESIGN

At undergraduate and postgraduate levels in business schools, lecturers often provide students with a suggested structure for a market research report assignment. Thereafter, the students are left to independently master the appropriate register and the technique of writing for this genre. While many students may learn to be good at business studies, they might fall short in writing despite having to produce several reports at university level. One of the reasons for this shortfall may be that some of the students may lack the confidence to produce reports which meet academic or professional standards in the English language. A short English for Specific Purposes (ESP) course that addresses the technical writing needs of business students as an option or add-on course to undergraduate and postgraduate business curricula could provide the simple solution. It could even be formalised as a credit bearing course to motivate students to undertake it.With a view to the above, as a pilot ESP module, a 15-hour English for Market Research Report Writing Skills course was designed to try and meet the specific needs of undergraduate market research students at the Warwick Business School (WBS). It was intended to be taught under the auspices of the Warwick Skills Certificate Programme at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom (UK).

A Versatile Psychoneuroimmunology Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience.

The Psychoneuroimmunology Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (PNI CURE) was designed with the purpose of engaging undergraduate students in research and discovery. As part of this experience, students were assigned to a team based on their personal interests. Each team selected a psychosocial variable of interest (e.g., sleep, belongingness, stress, or happiness) and identified two well-validated questionnaires to assess it. Then, student volunteers donated blood samples and completed student-selected questionnaires via Qualtrics. The blood samples were assayed by the course instructor for proinflammatory cytokines. With the collected data, students 1) evaluated the association between peripheral inflammation and their psychosocial variable of interest and 2) created hypotheses regarding inflammation in the brain. Students' experimental results were reported in the form of a research manuscript and scientific poster, both of which comprised 15 percent of their course grade. Further, to evaluate the effectiveness of the PNI CURE, students were asked to complete assessment surveys before and after project implementation. Assessment results demonstrate that participating in the PNI CURE increased self-efficacy and research identity among students. Besides exposing undergraduates at UNC-CH to a comprehensive research experience, we hope to inspire neuroscience educators to adopt and adapt the PNI CURE as a mechanism to broaden undergraduate research opportunities in neuroscience.

Improving Retention of Commuter STEM Students through Undergraduate Research

Student retention is important to any university, especially keeping commuter students who are traditionally less anchored in campus life. Even more at risk, given the leaky STEM pipeline, are STEM commuter students. In 2016, Valparaiso University launched the Establishing Practices Integrating Commuter Students (EPIC) program, centered around engaging students in undergraduate research. Students participate in a research laboratory for their four academic years, and take part in one summer of funded research. This program has achieved its goal of providing scholarships, research opportunities, and cohort support to over 30 commuter and residential students while preparing them for research-oriented careers. This article shares successes and lessons learned, along with data demonstrating the program’s impact on broadening participation in STEM and increasing retention.