Early Engagement of Students in Research: A Model for Student Research at 2 Year Colleges

Participating in undergraduate research provides a number of advantages to students. Besides helping them develop research and technical skills, engagement in research increases student retention and results in more profound mentoring from faculty members. Traditionally, students at 2 year colleges have had little access to undergraduate research opportunities, both because few 2 year college faculty have the time and resources to sustain active research programs, and because students have not yet obtained the skills to make significant contributions to a research team. I will describe a program we have developed at the Community College of Aurora that engages students in hands on research early in their academic careers. This model helps students develop technical skills concurrently with progression in their academic coursework, and has resulted in students transferring to 4 year institutions with the skills necessary to join research groups there and make immediate contributions. Access to many of the materials discussed in this talk are available at: https://herculescluster.wordpress.com/2016/09/22/a-model-for-student-research-at-2-year-colleges/