2015 AAAS Annual Meeting (12-16 February 2015)

February 12 - 16, 2015

Undergraduate Research at the Community College: Models and Sustainability

The Community College Undergraduate Research Initiative (CCURI) has grown from a pilot project initiated at Finger Lakes Community College in Canandaigua, NY, to a consortium of 32 institutions supported by the National Science Foundation. Among the 29 colleges that completed end-of-year partner reporting, 96 percent had implemented undergraduate research experiences in a course; 33 percent had implemented program-wide undergraduate research experiences; and 22 percent had implemented summer undergraduate research experiences. Students were most likely to report very large gains in their learning as a result of analyzing data, collecting data, a project entirely of student design, a project in which students have some input into the research process and/or what is being studied, and a lab or project in which no one knows the outcome. In this symposium, participants will learn about the various models that CCURI partners use and the ways that institutions can build sustainability into their programs. Presenters will draw upon examples from CCURI to highlight ways that undergraduate research has been integrated into STEM programs. Particular attention will be paid to CCURI's developing understanding of the sustainability of undergraduate research programs at the community college level.