A Centralized Undergraduate Research Database: Collaboration Between Institutional Research and University-wide Research Programs

Abstract

Universities, particularly large ones, struggle to capture undergraduate research activity and impact. It requires a strong campus collaborative environment to track, map, and assess student involvement in undergraduate research. The University of Central Florida (UCF) Office of Undergraduate Research partnered with the Office of Institutional Knowledge Management (the institutional research unit that provides information to facilitate and enhance decision making, strategic planning, and assessment) to develop a "data mart" to track and map undergraduate researchers. The goal is not only to understand the number of students involved but also to understand the impact the various types of experiences are having on students. UCF is a large research-intensive university, and this was the first attempt to characterize student involvement. One of the many strengths of this work is that the characteristics of the student researchers can be compared to the undergraduate population, an aid to strategic planning. This article will review the collaboration, including how it was developed, how it is maintained, and its future directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]