What is the CURCA CURCA Initiatives Questions The CURCA Westfield State University Undergraduate research UR and creative activity CA form a core academic experience and offer an inclusive and diverse framework for every student faculty discipline department or major oncampus ID: 782134
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Slide1
The CURCA @ Westfield State University.
What is the CURCA?
CURCA Initiatives.
Questions?
Slide2The CURCA @ Westfield State University.
Undergraduate research (UR) and creative activity (CA) form a core academic experience and offer an inclusive and diverse framework for every student, faculty, discipline, department, or major on-campus.
The CURCA grounds and increases UR/CA through coordination and funding.
Goal: make Westfield State a hub for UR/CA in New England - a reason for students from across the region to chose
and
to stay at Westfield State University.
Ultimately this is about creating an awesome academic experience for the students.
Slide3Defining UR and CA.
The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) definition of UR.
“a faculty-mentored inquiry or investigation conducted by a student that
makes
an original intellectual or creative contribution to the discipline”
The Jenny Shanahan modification.“a faculty-mentored inquiry or investigation conducted by a student that seeks to make an original intellectual or creative contribution to the discipline”
⇒ S
hift the focus from product to process.
Slide4The Four Characteristics of UR and CA.
1) Mentored by Faculty.
Faculty are engaged throughout the process as mentors.
Primary focus is on student success, not faculty success.
2) Original.
Makes a meaningful contribution to the field at the appropriate level for the student and includes inquiry and discovery processes.
3) Acceptable in the Discipline(s).
‘Looks’ like what scholars or professionals do.
Uses appropriate methods and processes in the discipline(s).
4) Shared.
The final product(s) is reviewed by and shared with peers, experts, stakeholders, and/or the community or public.
(after Osborn & Karukstis, 2009; Crawford & Shanahan, 2014)
Slide5UR/CA as Pedagogy.
Scaffolded into courses across the curriculum, including FYO courses.
UR/CA as
Apprenticeship.
Independent UR/CA
with faculty mentor.
UR/CA in Discipline.
Embedded into (themed) upper-level courses.
Increasing Student Choice
Increasing Student Participation
Three-Tiered UR and CA across the Curriculum.
Slide6CURCA Initiatives.
Fall and Spring Celebrations of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity.
Grants for students and faculty.
CURCA Advisory Committee.
CURCA Space.
CURCA Director.
Slide7Spring CURCA 2016 and 2017.
Slide8Fall 2017 CURCA (Friday 1 December).
https://sites.google.com/site/fall2017curca/
Slide9Spring CURCA 2017.
Slide10Spring CURCA 2016.
Slide11Spring CURCA 2017.
Slide12CURCA Grants for Students and Faculty.
Acronym
Grant
Description
Caps / Conditions
Due DateSMARTSSeed Money for Academic or Research Travel for Students
Supports students who participate in scholarly/creative activities off-campus, and/or beyond the material means provided for typical coursework, for example attending/presenting at academic conferences or workshops; participating in off-campus research or creative projects; or engaging in service learning directly related to an academic program or purpose.
$750 per student.
Applications accepted on a rolling basis.
G-SMARTS
Group Seed Money for Academic or Research Travel for Students
As above, but when traveling as a group of two or more to the same conference, event, or project.Or when traveling with faculty accompaniment.
$750 per student. The total amount for the group is limited to $5,000/year (not including the possible additional funding of $1,000 for accompanying faculty travel).
Applications accepted on a rolling basis.
Conditions for SMARTS and G-SMARTS Grants: Funded students must submit a 250-300 word reflective summary upon their return and participate in our Celebration of Undergraduate Research ann Creative Activity poster symposium. Funded faculty are required to provide a 350-500 word reflective summary upon their return.
Acronym
Grant
Description
Caps Conditions
Due Date
EZ-SMARTS
EZ Seed Money for Academic or Research Travel for Students
Supports student participation/attendance at conferences and other scholarly/creative destinations when a professor is sponsoring a group, typically local or regional destinations.
$50 for per student, $500 per group. Additional $250 is available for related group expenses, such as campus van costs, or for the professor’s expenses. The combined total cannot exceed $750.
Applications accepted on a rolling basis.
Slide13CURCA Grants for Students and Faculty.
Acronym
Grant
Description
Caps / Conditions
Due DateFF Award (FFA)Faculty Facilitation Award
Supports direct costs of research and creative scholarship by students, for example purchase of equipment and supplies; compensation for research participants; clerical assistance; data analysis; and costs associated with performance, exhibition, publication or conference presentation of work.
$1,500 per faculty.
Funded faculty are required to provide a 2-page grant report upon completion of the student project. Note: this grant does not cover travel costs for faculty or students.
Applications accepted on a rolling basis.
SSuRF Program
Student Summer Research Fellows Program
The SSuRF Program funds faculty-mentored high-level undergraduate research and creative scholarship projects conducted over ten weeks of the summer from June 1 to August 10, 2018. If on-campus housing is needed, some need-based support may be available.
Students receive a stipend of $4000 to complete the program and mentoring faculty will be paid a stipend of $2000 per student. A small budget (maximum $500) is be available for supplies.
5 February 2018
Acronym
Grant
Description
Caps / Conditions
Due Date
CRE Award
Course-based Research Experience Award (formerly CDA)
This grant funds the revision of existing courses to include a new significant UR/CA learning experience / milestone project. Full-time faculty, adjunct, and part-time faculty are eligible and about ten awards can be awarded.
$1,500 per faculty.
Include the new CRE into all future course offerings and students should participate in our Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity poster symposium.
3 Nov 2017
9 March 2018
Slide14CURCA Grants for Students and Faculty.
Slide15CURCA Advisory Committee.
https://sites.google.com/site/westfielddiscovers/home
Charge.
The Center for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Committee is charged with making
recommendations
regarding the establishment of the Center and to advise on the following areas: programming models for supporting and improving undergraduate research, processes for the distribution of resources in implementing that support, and necessary facilities and technology. The committee will also have the ongoing responsibility of
advising
the administration on issues related the Center for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity. The committee will actively seek input from the campus community in formulating recommendations and will communicate with the campus on a regular basis through the posting of recommendations.
Slide16CURCA Advisory Committee.
https://sites.google.com/site/westfielddiscovers/home
Carsten Braun (Geography and Regional Planning, chair)
Louann D'Angelo (Faculty Grants and Sponsored Programs)
Marcus DiBacco (SGA)
Corinne Ebbs (Library)Michael Filas (English)
Brian Jennings (Mathematics)
Sonya Lawson (Music)
Nora Padykula (Social Work)
Diane Prusank (Office of the President)
Thomas Raffensperger (Dean of Academic Information Services)
Elizabeth Stassinos (Faculty Coordinator, WSE)
Christina Swaiden (Interim Dean of Undergraduate Studies)
Robin White (Biology, secretary)
Slide17CURCA Space - Mezzanine Level, Ely Library.
Slide18CURCA Director.
Westfield State University invites applications for the position of Director of the Center for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (CURCA). The CURCA provides the campus-wide framework for undergraduate research and creative scholarship and is an integral part of The Westfield State Experience, our signature 4-Year student success program focusing on innovation, experiential and project-based learning, and workforce development.
Slide19CURCA: More Information.
Official CURCA website:
http://www.westfield.ma.edu/CURCA
CURCA Committee website:
https://sites.google.com/site/westfielddiscovers/home
Slide20The CURCA @ Westfield State University.
What is the CURCA?
CURCA Initiatives.
Questions?