Integrating, Initiating, and Sustaining Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Research

1. Integrating, Initiating, and Sustaining Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Research A Report on the CUR Institute May 25-27, 2011

2. Howard University Team Mission and Goals • Bring Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Research to Scale • General Education Curriculum Revision and Integrate Research Component into our Divisional Requirements [core competencies that all Howard students should have] as a gateway to the major requirements and electives • Globalization • Ethics • Quantitative Reasoning • African American Cluster

3. Interdisciplinary UG Research Goals

4. Lessons Learned • Review and Enhance our University Strategic Plan on Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Research [Vision, Missions, Goals, Strategies, Actions] • Vision • Mission • Goals • Strategies • Actions

5. ASSESSMENT: OBJECTIVE/STRATEGY/METHOD

6. Vision Howard University, a culturally diverse, comprehensive, research intensive and historically Black private university, to establish a pervasive undergraduate research experience in order to provide students with an educational experience of exceptional quality as mandated in the University’s mission statement

7. Challenges • Bringing UG Research Initiatives to Scale • Exposure to Research (e.g. steps in project, soft skills awareness, etc.) • Focus on higher-level UG research (e.g. sequential, scaled structure over multiple years, one-on-one mentoring, etc.) • Administrative Buy In • Release Time for Course Development • Counter-argument: If you hire an adjunct or graduate student, you’ll save money and actually increase retention as a result of these learning-community oriented courses • Common Time for Shared Courses • Demonstrating how interdisciplinary undergraduate research improves retention (helps the bottom line). • Rewards System Integration • Training for Faculty • Coordination and Logistics [Smart Rooms, etc.]

8. Solutions • Create a Center for Undergraduate Research to Coordinate with General Education • Coordinate Existing UG Research Programs [e.g. McNair, Center for Pre-professional Research, etc.] and confederation network with other initiatives [e.g. CASHA, et. al.] • Conduct Workshops on Helping Students Understand the Research Process • Create a Tiered System of Research From Freshman Year • Scholarship Students Converted to Fellows and Paired with Faculty • Track options available only to certain categories of students (e.g. those who will go on to be high school teachers are apprenticed as undergraduate teaching assistants in their subject fields) • Freshman Seminar with Basic Introductions to Research • Intensive and Focused Research Should Begin Sophomore Year • Build out the Learning Community Model as one that improves retention (cost-effective)

9. Conduct Workshops on Helping Students Understand the Research Process • Help faculty understand how to integrate a component or more of the research project into student learning • E.G. take a data set and have students approach it from their various disciplines [with a guiding theme] and have the students work on communicating information from that data set or common reading from their particular field]

10. Implementation • 3-5 Year Plan [Extending Mellon/COAS IWG Best Practices, 2006-Present] • Year One: • Clarify University Process for Developing UG Research • Establish an Office of Undergraduate Research • Outline duties of the Office of UG Research • Common Calendar • Facilitate and Coordinate Communication Among • Logistical Problems • Build on and/or Develop Spring 2012 Classes [CETLA Workshop = kickoff] • Survey and Create Compendium of UG Research • Create calendar of UG Research Events (e.g. COAS and SoC UG Research Symposia) • Year Two • Year Three • Year Four • Year Five