Westminster College New Wilmington, PA

AACU – Faculty Roles in High-Impact Practices March 25 – 27, 2010

One Goal, Many Ways, to Support Undergraduate

Research

Westminster CollegeNew Wilmington, PA

Sandra K. WebsterProfessor of PsychologyFaculty Development Officer

Terri Lenox Professor of Computer Science

Director of Undergraduate Research

AACU – Faculty Roles in High-Impact Practices March 25 – 27, 2010

Westminster College Context

• Established 1852• Liberal Arts • ~ 1600 Undergraduate Students• 41 Major Programs• 110 Full-time Faculty Members

AACU – Faculty Roles in High-Impact Practices March 25 – 27, 2010

Evolution of Undergraduate Research Support Structures

1996 Liberal Studies- Senior Capstone instituted

2005 Revised capstone with emphasis on project + faculty development workshop

2006 Defined Undergraduate Research as a function of the new Drinko Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning

2007 Focus group assessment of capstone revisions, URAC

2009 Expanded Undergraduate Research Celebration – Full day in 2011

AACU – Faculty Roles in High-Impact Practices March 25 – 27, 2010

Westminster College Capstone

“The final component of Liberal Studies is a senior capstone course. The capstone is at least a four-semester-hour course within the major designed to provide an opportunity for students to evaluate and assess the strengths and limitations of their major field. Additionally, the capstone experience permits opportunity for structured reflection on the value of education in and beyond the major and provides another chance to strengthen communication and problem-solving

skills.”

AACU – Faculty Roles in High-Impact Practices March 25 – 27, 2010

Objectives of Capstone For WC Capstone Courses

• Topical Theme• Primary Readings in Discipline• Tools of Research in the Discipline• Project• Teamwork on Case Studies

AACU – Faculty Roles in High-Impact Practices March 25 – 27, 2010

Timing of Capstone For WC Capstone Courses

Fall Senior Year

Fall Junior Year

Spring Junior Year

Fall Senior Year

SpringSenior Year

Fall Senior Year

Spring Senior Year

Spring Senior Year

SpringJunior Year

Fall Senior Year

AACU – Faculty Roles in High-Impact Practices March 25 – 27, 2010

Faculty Teaching Assignments For WC Capstone Courses

• Responsibility of single faculty member• Rotated through the faculty• Team taught• Involves majority of department

AACU – Faculty Roles in High-Impact Practices March 25 – 27, 2010

Major ChallengesFor Westminster Capstone Courses

• Faculty workload issues• Faculty preparation issues• Presentation venues for student projects• Early skills development for students• Equipment and resources for student research• No room in major curriculum for capstone because of

content requirements

AACU – Faculty Roles in High-Impact Practices March 25 – 27, 2010

Major BenefitsFor WC Capstone Courses

• Students are more engaged, competent and independent.

• Faculty are motivated to keep up in the current scholarship and model research for students.

• Students are able to see how the research in the discipline relates to what they’ve learned inside and outside of their majors.

AACU – Faculty Roles in High-Impact Practices March 25 – 27, 2010

Drinko Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning

• Undergraduate Research Support– Annual undergraduate research symposium– Undergraduate research grants– Undergraduate travel awards– Undergraduate research advisory council– Coming in 2011 undergraduate research and arts

celebration day

AACU – Faculty Roles in High-Impact Practices March 25 – 27, 2010

6° of separation: One student’s story

Barbara McCandless, Prof. of Religion

Clifford & Vira Heinz, FoundationTimothy Cuff, Assoc. Prof of History

3 Westminster students scour the National Guard archives

Drs. Tim & Carolyn Cuff

Kaitlyn McConville, Senior Math Major

AACU – Faculty Roles in High-Impact Practices March 25 – 27, 2010

Dr. Tim Cuff

• 2 co-authors, 3 conferences, 6 students, 12,646 soldiers, and 1277 death certificates

AACU – Faculty Roles in High-Impact Practices March 25 – 27, 2010

Kaiti McConville -- Analyzing a Deficient Height Sample of Pennsylvanian National Guardsmen

• Nebraska Conference for Undergraduate Women in Mathematics, Jan. 29-31, University of Nebraska, Lincoln

• CUR Posters at the Capital – PA, March 23

• National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), April 15 – 18, University of Montana, Missoula

• Undergraduate Arts & Research Celebration, April 23 – 24, Westminster College

AACU – Faculty Roles in High-Impact Practices March 25 – 27, 2010

Outcomes• Increase faculty involvement in CUR

– from 10 in 2008 to 25 in 2010• Student increase student presentations at NCUR and other

student conferences – NCUR increased from 5 in 2007 to 14 in 2010– Westminster conference from 60 in 2007 to +90 in 2009

• Increase visibility of undergraduate research– 195 travel awards in past 4 years– 52 research awards in past 4 years

• Strong positioning in the future strategic goals of the college through student engagement (experiential education)

• Increase Faculty Conference presentations involving undergraduate co-authors– From 6 in Spring 2007 to 25 in Spring 2009

AACU – Faculty Roles in High-Impact Practices March 25 – 27, 2010

Thanks! & Additional Resources

• All disciplines are supported by these organizations (CUR and NCUR) have merged.– CUR, Council on Undergraduate Research– NCUR, National Conference on Undergraduate Research– National Survey of Student Engagement

• For the Sciences– NSF REU, Research Experiences for Undergraduates– APA, American Psychological Association – Psy Chi Journal of Undergraduate Research– Society for the Teaching of Psychology E-Book,

Developing, Promoting & Sustaining Undergraduate Research Experience in Psychology, R. L. Miller and R.F. Rycek (Eds.)

– Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience

For more information about this presentation contact Sandra K. Webster at [email protected]