News — Can undergraduate research move the needle on student retention, grade point averages, graduation rates, matriculation in graduate school, and student learning outcomes? As editor-in-chief James LaPlant (Valdosta State University) explains in , the spring 2018 issue of the peer-reviewed (SPUR) seeks to answer this question through offering assessment data and success stories from a variety of higher education institutions and a range of academic disciplines.
Articles include the following:
- an undergraduate research program at the City Colleges of Chicago in high-altitude ballooning, which reveals the positive influence of the program on the involvement of community college students in research, student retention and college completion, and formation of scientific professional identity.
- an undergraduate research experience for first-year students at the University of Pittsburgh that shows a positive effect on retention rates, GPAs, and admission to medical school.
- five assessment strategies used to evaluate the effectiveness of the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities program at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
- a study of data from California Lutheran University demonstrating that research involvement is associated with higher undergraduate GPAs.
- an analysis of the one-year capstone experience for the Integrated Educational Studies major at Chapman University that focuses on community engagement and inquiry-based learning.
- a study by George Mason University of its assessment survey instrument that compares results from the individually mentored Undergraduate Research Scholars Program and capstone-style research courses.
- the Research Apprenticeship Program at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater, in which beginning students paired with mentors serve as paid research apprentices, which shows a particularly powerful influence on first-generation and underrepresented minority students.
The quarterly SPUR is published by the . Upcoming issues will focus on the role of undergraduate research in fostering diversity and achieving equity, mentoring models, and big data and undergraduate research.
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