altREU: An Alternative Online Research Experience Broadens Opportunities for Undergraduates

MacKenzie Gray; Erin Shortlidge; Christof Teuscher

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Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: July 12, 2024
Conference Session: Computing and Information Technology Division (CIT) Technical Session 5
Tagged Division: Computing and Information Technology Division (CIT)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/46539

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Christof Teuscher is a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at Portland State University (PSU) with joint appointments in the Department of Computer Science and the Systems Science Graduate Program. Dr. Teuscher obtained his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degree in computer science from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) in 2000 and 2004 respectively. His main research focuses on next generation computing architectures and paradigms. For more information visit: http://www.teuscher-lab.com

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Abstract

Promoting undergraduate students’ persistence in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields is critical for meeting national calls to strengthen the future STEM workforce. National data has shown that of all students who enter a STEM degree program, less than 40% earn a STEM degree within six years. Calls have been made to produce an additional one million STEM professionals to maintain the countries’ relevance in these fields, thus an annual increase in the number of students who graduate with a STEM degree is required to meet this demand. These calls also emphasize the need to increase graduation rates for students belonging to groups that are underrepresented in STEM, as they currently leave STEM majors at higher rates than their represented peers. Undergraduate research experiences are frequently implicated as a means for increasing interest in STEM fields and STEM graduate programs, and are correlated to students persisting to graduation. While research experiences can positively influence persistence in STEM fields, there are inequities in who gets to participate in these experiences. The limited number of undergraduate research opportunities available and the structure of the selection process can contribute to existing inequities. In Spring 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced universities to quickly move to remote instruction. In response, we created the altREU program, a fully online research experience for undergraduate students to continue to provide students with opportunities to conduct meaningful research and develop critical skills during this time. Here we describe the ‘alternative’ Research Experience for Undergraduates (altREU) model and report on student experiences in this online research program. In 2020, sixteen students from US institutions participated in the program. The altREU program was designed to attract research-interested students and to broaden participation in undergraduate research. To understand the student’s experiences, we collected observations and conducted exit interviews. Twelve of the sixteen students successfully completed the altREU program. Overall, the participants expressed that the online nature of the altREU program did not, to their knowledge, impact their ability to successfully conduct research. Our findings suggest that online research programs may provide a comparable experience to in-person research programs, with the added benefit of potentially reducing barriers that students may face to accessing in-person research opportunities. This paper summarizes the design of the program and gives suggestions for fully online research participation based on program assessment and student feedback. We believe that the altREU model can be relatively easily replicated across institutions.

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Gray, M., & Shortlidge, E., & Teuscher, C. (2024, June), altREU: An Alternative Online Research Experience Broadens Opportunities for Undergraduates Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/46539

TY - CPAPER
AB - Promoting undergraduate students’ persistence in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields is critical for meeting national calls to strengthen the future STEM workforce. National data has shown that of all students who enter a STEM degree program, less than 40% earn a STEM degree within six years. Calls have been made to produce an additional one million STEM professionals to maintain the countries’ relevance in these fields, thus an annual increase in the number of students who graduate with a STEM degree is required to meet this demand. These calls also emphasize the need to increase graduation rates for students belonging to groups that are underrepresented in STEM, as they currently leave STEM majors at higher rates than their represented peers. Undergraduate research experiences are frequently implicated as a means for increasing interest in STEM fields and STEM graduate programs, and are correlated to students persisting to graduation. While research experiences can positively influence persistence in STEM fields, there are inequities in who gets to participate in these experiences. The limited number of undergraduate research opportunities available and the structure of the selection process can contribute to existing inequities.
In Spring 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced universities to quickly move to remote instruction. In response, we created the altREU program, a fully online research experience for undergraduate students to continue to provide students with opportunities to conduct meaningful research and develop critical skills during this time.
Here we describe the ‘alternative’ Research Experience for Undergraduates (altREU) model and report on student experiences in this online research program. In 2020, sixteen students from US institutions participated in the program. The altREU program was designed to attract research-interested students and to broaden participation in undergraduate research. To understand the student’s experiences, we collected observations and conducted exit interviews. Twelve of the sixteen students successfully completed the altREU program. Overall, the participants expressed that the online nature of the altREU program did not, to their knowledge, impact their ability to successfully conduct research. Our findings suggest that online research programs may provide a comparable experience to in-person research programs, with the added benefit of potentially reducing barriers that students may face to accessing in-person research opportunities. This paper summarizes the design of the program and gives suggestions for fully online research participation based on program assessment and student feedback. We believe that the altREU model can be relatively easily replicated across institutions.
AU - MacKenzie Gray
AU - Erin Shortlidge
AU - Christof Teuscher
CY - Portland, Oregon
DA - 2024/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - altREU: An Alternative Online Research Experience Broadens Opportunities for Undergraduates
UR - https://peer.asee.org/46539
ER -

altREU: An Alternative Online Research Experience Broadens Opportunities for Undergraduates

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MacKenzie Gray Portland State University

Erin Shortlidge Portland State University

Christof Teuscher Portland State University

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