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History of Engagement

CU Boulder has an expansive history of undergraduate research dating to the creation of the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) in 1986.

A significant body of scholarship has emerged since and continues to demonstrate the value of broadening participation and involving students early.

The funding provided by UROP is critical to ensuring equitable access by eliminating one of the most significant barriers to participation—resources and flexibility.

Transformative Learning

With well-documented benefits from persistence and resilience to belonging and graduation, engagement can be transformative.

The Council on Undergraduate Research notes how engagement prepares students to meet the needs of employers in the changing future of work.

Students will need critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration and communication—all learning outcomes from research.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

The university’s commitment to anti-racism cornerstones our programming, and we are well-positioned to contribute to long-term goals of diversity, equity and inclusion.

With continued efforts to diversify our programs and student participants, we provide essential experiential learning.

We also help ensure their identities are reflected in the academic community by providing pathways for historically minoritized students to enter faculty ranks.

Strategic Alignment

UROP represents an opportunity to support student-centered education that makes the most of CU Boulder’s global leadership in research and creative production.

The Academic Futures report recommends that “colleges should make available research experiences...and students should be strongly encouraged to take advantage.”

The IDEA Plan calls on the university “to increase the accessibility of high-impact programming (study abroad, internships, undergraduate research).”

Common Curriculum

Following the Academic Futures recommendation to develop a common curriculum for undergraduates, a committee was formed to develop learning goals spanning the entire student journey. In April 2022, the committee submitted the following objectives for the campus to consider.

Overall Learning Objective

Prepare students to take part in creating sustainable futures for themselves, society and the world.

Habits of Mind

Discovery
Reflection
Engagement

Essential Skills

Communication
Critical Thinking
Information Literacy

UROP's Pathways Initiative

UROP created the Pathways Initiative in 2016 to broaden undergraduate participation in research and creative work on the CU Boulder campus–engaging students from historically minoritized populations and cultivating opportunities in under-represented fields.

Efforts continue in new directions, and we remain committed to

Developing opportunities
Designing resources
Expanding outreach
Broadening access

Developing Opportunities

Open Opportunities

We redesigned the Team Grant as a faculty-driven process and eliminated the requirement to identify participants when applying. UROP now promotes most Team Grants as open opportunities among LEAD Alliance communities to provide funded entry-points to research and creative work in a wide range of fields.

Department Development Grants

We provided faculty grants to departments and programs with low UROP participation to develop cultures supportive of undergraduate engagement. UROP supported programming in more than a dozen departments from 2017 to 2020—focused on the arts, humanities and creative fields.

Campus Working Group

We reestablished the UROP Faculty Advisory Board in 2016 to support the revision of policies and procedures as well as develop stronger relationships among the faculty. UROP reconfigured the board as a campus working group in 2020 and continues working with faculty and partner programs to develop opportunities.

Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR)

We joined CUR as an institutional member in 2017 and remain active in the professional community with many CU Boulder staff and faculty presenting and publishing in CUR venues. UROP provides the funding for membership and serves as the campus liaison.

McNair Scholars Program

We supported CU Boulder’s successful application for a five-year grant in 2017 to reestablish the McNair Scholars Program, led and hosted by the Student Academic Success Center (SASC). UROP provides programming and ongoing support to the program.

Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative

We supported CU Boulder’s successful application for a multi-year Workforce Development Grant in 2020 from COSI in partnership with the Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement. UROP provides regular programming for participants in the Build Your Path Program.

Savit Scholars

We developed the Savit Scholars Program with support provided in part by the Savit Family Endowment to highlight innovative work and inspire the community. Savit Scholars are recognized for work that promises to push disciplinary boundaries and create new space for creativity, expression and connection.

STEM Routes

We partnered with the graduate student-led organization STEM Routes and supported the development of the Uplift Research Program in 2020, which creates pathways for low-income, first-generation, and other underrepresented minorities in STEM. We continue to collaborate and regularly co-facilitate workshops with STEM Routes partners.

Designing Resources

Workshop Materials

We created workshop materials (handouts, guides, web resources, etc.) to support outreach efforts and unit-level programming for students, staff and faculty. These materials have expanded into UROP’s Mentoring Guide and the Curiosity Lab as well as the student and faculty grant guides and additional resources.

Assessment Analytics

We developed new assessment instruments to evaluate learning outcomes across disciplines and guide program operations. UROP adapted components of the AAC&U’s VALUE Rubrics and leveraged emerging scholarship on experiential learning to design tools to measure project-oriented outcomes and student self-efficacy.

Undergraduate Publications

We established a new Publications Grant to support the production of undergraduate publications featuring student work and provide greater visibility to established venues, such as The Honors Journal, Walkabout and Journal 2020—now Hindsight. UROP continues to provide direct support to these and other publications.

Expanding Outreach

Events

We designed new events to demystify academic research and creative work and connect students to the academic and creative life of the university. The UROP Symposium (now Zoom into Research and Creative Work), Sidewalk Symposium and Curiosity Lab workshops give students the chance to reflect, connect and engage.

Grant Directory

We posted a directory of recently-funded projects to improve transparency and provide the campus community with comprehensive data about UROP-funded projects. Students now use the directory to identify potential mentors and generate ideas about projects, while departments use the information for tracking and faculty recognition.

Communications

We partnered with campus communications to develop novel outreach strategies, such as the Lightbulb Moment Initiative, and established a regular schedule of press releases to keep the campus community informed. The Lightbulb Moment was adopted as a regular part of the university website’s homepage.

Website

We created a new accessible website to support outreach efforts and help manage program operations, providing greater access and transparency. The website also hosts student and faculty resources and serves as a common location to explore undergraduate research and creative work.

Broadening Access

Online Applications

We designed accessible online application, tracking and assessment systems for student and faculty grants that opens access and eliminates the need for paper. UROP also created project proposal templates aligned to review criteria that walks students and faculty through the writing process.

Double-Blind Review

We implemented a double-blind review process for all student and faculty grant applications to ensure that all proposals receive fair evaluations and UROP can make informed, equitable funding decisions. The review process also engages faculty in the operation of the program, expanding on the role of the Advisory Board.

Stipends

We reclassified UROP funding to pay stipends, expanding access to international students with visa work restrictions and enabling greater flexibility in the use of funds. The “UROP stipend” has been adopted by other campus programs to provide funding to students with minimal impact on financial aid.

Eligibility

We eliminated most eligibility requirements, such as GPA and other metrics, to open funding to the widest possible population of undergraduates. All degree-seeking undergraduates at CU Boulder are eligible to apply for funding. UROP also broadened the eligibility for faculty to include instructors and research faculty.

Deadline

We established a regular annual application deadline for student and faculty grants that allows the program to make fair and equitable funding decisions. The timing of the deadline allows UROP to leverage funds in two fiscal years and balance budgets annually.

Explore UROP

General Information

Social Justice

Getting Started with UROP

UROP News

For Students

Curiosity Lab

Student Grants

Student Grants Guide

For Mentors

Mentoring Guide

Team Grants

Faculty Grants Guide

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