Tracking and Assessing Undergraduate Research Campus-wide: Demographics, Academic Success, and Post-Graduation Plans

Abstract

Evaluation must occur at the university level to understand the full impact of undergraduate research (UR). UR assessment is often only completed at the individual program level because of limited technology, time, and/or resources. At our large research institution, we have been documenting a wide variety of research experiences annually since the 2009–2010 academic year through an online portal. With our institutional research team and campus partners, we created interactive dashboards that display involvement in UR by semester and academic year. Here we compile data on students involved in UR compared to the university population as a whole. Consistent trends from this yearly data have shown that non-STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) students, transfer students, and part-time students are less involved in research. However, underrepresented and first-generation involvement tends to trend consistently with the university population, likely because of a wide variety of focused programming. Despite many interventions aimed at engaging students in their first three years, data show that researchers remain mostly seniors. Students are also tracked to graduation and beyond, providing a unique evaluation of UR. Grade point averages and graduation rates tend to be higher for student researchers. Time to degree is similar between researchers and nonresearchers. Students are tracked into graduate school as well and on average have an almost 50% increase in matriculation compared to nonresearchers. There are still gaps in this university-level knowledge, but this portal helps clarify campus-wide involvement and opportunities for enhancement, while serving as a comparison data set and a model system for other universities.

Impact of Undergraduate Research Experience Intensity on Measures of Student Success

“…1, April 2023. josotl.indiana.edu et al (2022) found that engagement in undergraduate research of different research modalities (all cocurricular) at a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) is associated with increased number of successfully completed semester credit hours, higher GPAs, increased graduation rates, and higher enrollment in further education. Schneider et al (2021) showed similar trends of students engaged in UGR having demonstrated increased GPAs as well as entry into graduate school. Schneider et al (2021) also identified a gap in the literature by stating "We have not looked at this data regarding how many 'times' students appeared in our database, but that would warrant further investigation to see if extended involvement impacted GPA (and other factors)."…”

“…Schneider et al (2021) also identified a gap in the literature by stating "We have not looked at this data regarding how many 'times' students appeared in our database, but that would warrant further investigation to see if extended involvement impacted GPA (and other factors)." They also identified only a small difference between their institutional and UGR population in terms of years to degree completion, indicating that UGR students have not graduated in fewer semesters than the university undergraduate population, and further suggesting that "it would be interesting to know if other campuses see similar trends" (Schneider et al, 2021). This paper aims to address these gaps in the literature.…”

Librarians, Undergraduate Research, and Diversity Support Programs: Partnerships Towards Social Justice

“…Gathering and analyzing data on the different types of UREs for students is needed to help researchers better understand whether these UREs are accessible and welcoming to students from varying backgrounds. When assessing undergraduate research programs, Schneider et al (2021) found that this information is limited due to technology, time, and/or resources of individual programs. By shedding light on the gaps in support, this research can reveal the deficiencies in services provided to first-generation, underrepresented, nontraditional, and socioeconomically disadvantaged students.…”