Others Curious about Transcript Designation for Undergraduate Research

Last week at the CUR Conference, Anna McEntire and I presented on marketing and our UR Program. Throughout the week, we’ve had follow-up emails requesting more information, like one this morning asking about our Undergraduate Research Scholar transcript designation. It’s fairly simple actually: a student applies, noting a minimum of 2 semesters of UR activity, dissemination through presentation or publication, and certification by a faculty mentor. The student also lists other UR activity, which is a great help to us in assessment. Some students–like Jason Carlisle of Wildlife Science–choose to submit an electronic portfolio, which we love, as it gives us a terrific window onto the UR experience. The query about our transcript designation gave me the opportunity to make a count. Our first year saw about 20 UR Scholars, the next year 40, the next 60, and so on. It is increasingly popular, particularly for those students continuing to graduate studies. And, it was a great PR tool for us as when the local newspaper asked for any interesting news stories for the special Commencement issue, they bit on the story idea about the transcript designation. Voila! Several of the students were featured on the front page of the Herald Journal, which made a dandy souvenir for their parents.

Jason Carlisle\’s electronic research portfolio