Year 2 Report
August 6, 2015
Donna Chamely-Wiik, Ph.D. Anthony L. Ambrosio, Ph.D. Patty Heydet-Kirsch, Ph.D.
QEP Director &
Director of Assessment
Assistant Dean
Associate Scientist
Undergraduate Studies
Accreditation and Assessment
Chemistry
College of Education
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida, 33431; ouri@fau.edu
Executive Summary
The Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) “Distinction through
Discovery” (DTD) institutes a multifaceted plan to expand a culture of undergraduate research and inquiry
through the enhancement of curricular and co-curricular student learning opportunities. This general aim is
supported by faculty and student professional development initiatives designed to sustain an institutional
climate of success. The QEP has become a part of FAU’s strategic plan and is validated by our state’s vision
to promote co-curricular undergraduate research opportunities. Administered by the Office of Undergraduate
Research and Inquiry (OURI), the QEP targets four main goals: establishing an undergraduate research and
inquiry (URI) rich curriculum, expanding co-curricular URI opportunities, increasing support and recognition
for faculty and students engaged in URI, and enriching a URI culture and climate.
Curriculum enhancement is established through a Curricular Grant Program (CGP) that advances
course and program level changes. It was designed to expand the number of URI enhanced courses and,
consequently, the number of students impacted by this enhancement. Six student learning outcomes were
identified and operationalized through a general scoring rubric applied to student assessments in CGP
courses. Upper division courses were originally targeted, but expansion into lower division (e.g., general
education) courses has recently begun. As a result of FAU’s efforts on this goal, curricular changes are being
incrementally implemented and sustained within the curriculum across a broad range of colleges and
departments. Additionally, increasingly more students are being exposed to URI curriculum and evidencing
an attainment of DTD student learning outcomes.
Increasing co-curricular learning experiences is being established through specific DTD initiatives
designed to promote participation in research grants and opportunities for students to disseminate their work.
The QEP includes increasing the number of students becoming involved and receiving undergraduate
research grants, publishing, and presenting their research at local, regional and national conferences. The
QEP includes an FAU symposium where students give oral and poster presentations as well as an FAU
research journal where they submit manuscripts for publication. Evaluation of student research projects (oral,
poster, publications) is aligned to the CGP student learning outcomes as a cross validation. More recently,
OURI has begun consulting with colleges to track department level co-curricular activities outside of the
QEP. This will require the development of an institution-wide reporting mechanism funneled through the
college deans to provide an additional measure for our strategic plan, and support for our QEP. As a result,
we anticipate better tracking of students and faculty who are engaged in faculty mentored research, and
students who are involved in disseminating their work across a wide professional spectrum.
Faculty and student efforts are supported through recognition events, travel stipends, mentoring
programs, annual awards, faculty professional development workshops, and student research training
seminars. The OURI has established a broad-based infrastructure to sustain these efforts. This includes
internal (e.g., Honors College, Writing Across the Curriculum), external (e.g., Scripps, Research Park),
partnerships, and executive and diverse initiative level steering committees. Although we are in the initial
stages, the sum of all of these efforts is effectively promoting a URI culture and climate at FAU.
1
Part V: The Impact Report of the Quality Enhancement Plan
I. Initial Goals and Intended Outcomes of the QEP
The Distinction through Discovery (DTD) QEP seeks to enrich a culture and climate of undergraduate
research and inquiry (URI) by engaging and supporting students and faculty in curricular and co-curricular
experiences that promote student learning, faculty/student professional development and institutional identity.
The QEP has become a part of FAU’s strategic plan and is validated by our state’s vision to promote cocurricular undergraduate research opportunities. Administered by the Office of Undergraduate Research and
Inquiry (OURI), the QEP targets four main goals:
 Goal 1: Establish an Undergraduate Research and Inquiry (URI) rich curriculum which provides
students the intellectual skills necessary to successfully engage in undergraduate research and inquiry.
 Goal 2: Expand co-curricular URI opportunities for undergraduate research and inquiry.
 Goal 3: Increase support and recognition for faculty and students who engage in URI.
 Goal 4: Enrich and strengthen URI Culture and Climate.
The corresponding intended outcomes for these goals are delineated in Tables 1 through 4. Benchmarks,
Year 5 targets, and yearly metrics are provided for each outcome.
II. Changes to the QEP and Rationale
During the first two years, management and revision of QEP initiatives fell under the auspices of several
committees (assessment, co-curricular, communications, curriculum, executive, and faculty professional
development) with diverse institutional participation. Office staff, and student/faculty participants also
provided feedback through meetings, focus groups, and the DTD summer retreats. In 2015, we also
conducted a mid-term review by an external evaluator in 2015. While input from these sources produced
many operational changes and revisions within the QEP initiatives, only notable changes made to the initial
QEP will be presented in this section. These changes and their rationale are listed below:
 The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF). SURF projects (in Goal 2) are ten-week,
intensive summer immersion research experiences for undergraduates. During the summer retreat 2014, the
Co-curricular committee decided to postpone SURF until Year 3 to focus resources and efforts on
improving the existing Undergraduate Research Grants program and annual Research Symposium.
 The Faculty Learning Community (FLC) program. The FLC program (in Goal 3), was administered by the
Scholarship of Teaching Office (SOTO), to provide workshops by faculty from multiple disciplines who
engage in active, collaborative work. At the end of 2013, the SOTO office was disbanded and, the FLC
program was no longer tenable. OURI established a Faculty Professional Development Committee (FPDC)
and began offering workshops. In spring 2015, the FPDC selected eight College Faculty Liaisons
(discussed below) who will offer one professional development workshop per college each fall and spring.
 Committee oversight. Several committees were convened at the onset of the QEP to develop various areas
of operation. Once the majority of the project initiatives were launched, and additional needs were
identified, there was a need for committee restructuring. This will occur in Year 3.
 Student Research Training Program. This was folded into the Student Professional Development program
and statistics will be combined within that indicator.
 Other Climate Surveys. We originally intended to survey URI students and faculty and to administer a
climate survey of all grant recipients, event/opportunity attendees & participants supported by the QEP.
With the exception of the URG recipient survey, these surveys have been postponed so we can prioritize
collecting indirect student learning data related to specific initiatives.
 Changes in goal outcome indicators:
2
o # of hits to website and # of colleges represented on QEP subcommittees (Goal 4). These indicators
o
o
o
o
were discontinued as measures of climate and broad-based participation, in favor of more meaningful
measures.
Annual increase, and significant 5-year increase in CGP student learning data (Goal 4). In planning
the QEP student learning impact indicator, it was deemed standard practice to target “annual
increases” and a “significantly higher” 5-year mark. This would make sense if the same courses and
project personnel were involved in delivering the courses. However, in the CGP, there are new
courses and students coming into the program each year. Furthermore, there will be an unequal
number of courses and students involved each year so trend data is less reliable. The criteria was
changed to minimum achievement levels (80% competent or above) for all courses combined by year
5. Yearly aggregate competence statistics will be provided for each year. We are encouraging
instructors to engage in pre-post or multiple-point assessments to determine impact within their
courses. These are reported within their yearly reports with implications for course revision.
# Students in Honors in the Major Programs (Goal 1) was discontinued since there is no mechanism
available to track this statistic. The QEP will rely solely on the number of honor program graduates.
# of UD and honors students completing URI focused internships, practica or clinical experiences
(Goal 2). It is not currently possible to track this data institution-wide. We eliminated this metric and
focused on faculty-mentored traditional research experiences.
# Distinguished undergraduate research and inquiry Mentor of the Year Awards (Goal 3). The
committee decided to reduce the number of awards from three awards to one award each year, so it
would be consistent with the Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award at FAU.
III. Impact on Student Learning and Supporting Environment
The QEP articulated 4 goals with multiple intended outcomes for each goal, as reflected in Tables 1-4
below. While Goal 4 specifically covers strengthening and enriching URI climate, it is reflected in all goals
of the QEP, and is illustrated by our initiative involvement rates, and the number and nature of our initiatives
themselves. In this section, we will provide a goal-by-goal description of the QEP’s impact on student
learning and climate support. The summary will include a discussion on unanticipated outcomes.
Goal 1: Research and Inquiry Rich Curriculum
Fostering a research and inquiry rich curriculum is accomplished through three initiatives: the
Curriculum Grant Program (CGP), the Honors Programs, and the Freshman Learning Community (FrLC).
Curriculum Grant Program. The CGP provides support to faculty for the redesign of existing courses,
and the creation of new curricular components to incorporate research and inquiry into the curriculum. The
redesign follows three research and inquiry categories: Exposure, Skill Building, and Intensive, and targets
six broad QEP Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs): Knowledge, Formulate Questions, Plan of Action,
Critical Thinking, Communication, and Ethics. This program impacts upper division and lower division
courses, including the Intellectual Foundation Program (IFP).
The CGP underwent modifications based on feedback from participants, staff, and information gathered
on yearly grantee reports. Changes were implemented to better support faculty, and to encourage higher
quality grant projects. For example, the application process was simplified, and a pre-proposal stage was
added to reduce the time-burden to faculty. The funding levels were increased to better incentivize the
process. An assignment level category was added to provide faculty a gentler slope for integrating URI.
Grantees complete annual reports so they could make data-driven decisions about course revision. Finally,
the professional development component to the CGP moved from using the FLC (see discussion below) to
group workshops, and one-on-one training sessions to better emphasize the creation and alignment of
assessments with the proposed learning targets.
3
Table 1. QEP Intended Outcome Tracking for Goal 1.
Goal 1: Research and Inquiry Rich Curriculum
CGP: # Honors/UD and LD Curriculum Grant Proposals
(submitted) and funded per year
CGP: # UD and LD students successfully completing
research and inquiry enhanced courses, per year
CGP: # UD and LD courses that are research and inquiry
enhanced, per year
HP: # Honors in the Major Programs (depts.), by yearly
aggregate total
HP: # of students graduating Honors in the Major
Programs
HP: # Honors theses, per year
Baseline
UD=8, (Year 1)
LD=5 (Year 3)
UD(AY12)=113
LD(AY15)=tbd
UD=6
LD(AY15)=tbd
AY12=14
Pilot
(12-13)
UD=(3) 3
LD=n/a
UD=113
LD=n/a
UD=7
LD=n/a
14
Year 1
(13-14)
UD=(16) 8
LD=n/a
UD=694
LD=n/a
UD=19
LD=n/a
16
Year 2
(14-15)
UD=(19) 5
LD=n/a
UD=658
LD=n/a
UD=10
LD=n/a
17
Year 3
(15-16)
UD=(12) 11
LD=(5) 5
UD=tbd
LD=tbd
UD=tbd
LD=tbd
tbd
AY12=150
150
121
170
tbd
AY12=80
88
64
91
tbd
HP: # UD students registering for research and inquiry
enhanced courses
HP: # UD/Honors students completing URI internships,
practica, clinical experiences
FrLC: # research enhanced undergraduate courses
(students impacted)
AY16= tbd
8
See discussion in HP section
+50% per year from
benchmark = 120
+15% in each UD from
benchmark
+10% from benchmark
10 (240)
16 aggregate total
n/a
AY13=?
6 (221)
Year 5 Target
UD=40 Total Funded
LD=24 Total Funded
+10% from baseline
(e.g. UD=1130 each yr)
UD=28 aggregate total
LD=24 aggregate total
23 (50% of all
programs)
300
8 (142)
tbd
Table 1 indicates progress on all of the CGP QEP indicators. The UD year 2 numbers for all three of
these indicators actually decreased from year 1, prompting the initiative changes mentioned above. This
resulted in a substantial increase in funded projects in Year 3, which will produce a significant increase in the
number of enhanced courses offered, and students involved. At the time of this report, the CGP has impacted
a total of 1465 students in 40 unique courses, across 15 unique departments, within 6 colleges.
Honors Programs (HP). Three university-wide tracks exists for Honors students, the Honors in the
Majors (HIM) program (for upper division), the Wilkes Honor College (WHC), and the University Honors
Program (UHP) for lower division. OURI supports the expansion of all of these honors offerings through our
CGP. We currently collect this information from two sources, the WHC and the Boca Honors Coordinator.
In 2015, we began conversations with the Registrar’s office to establish a process for collecting information
directly. We expect to have a baseline established by fall 2015. Similarly, we are developing a method to
determine the number of students graduating with at least one research intensive (RI) course by establishing
RI course certifications within the curricular transcript process. This is scheduled to be launched in AY2016.
Freshman Learning Community (FrLC). The Center for Learning and Student Success (CLASS) has
partnered with QEP within the learning communities to integrate research and inquiry into their Strategies for
Learning Success (SLS) courses. The SLS courses are required for students enrolled in Learning
Communities, which are cohorts of first-year students who are placed in different communities based on
similar academic goals and interests. While not specifically a targeted benchmark, the program is tracking
the number of students impacted, which totaled 603, by the end of Year 2.
Goal 2: Expand Co-curricular URI opportunities
OURI supports and has begun to track a variety of co-curricular initiatives designed to support students
engaged in undergraduate research and inquiry outside of the classroom. Measures of expanded co-curricular
opportunities currently include increases in: funded research; research presentations, competitions and
exhibitions; research publications and; external research involvement.
Funded Undergraduate Research: Internal. Internally funded undergraduate research opportunities
provide support to encourage students from all disciplines to participate in independent research and creative
projects in collaboration with an FAU faculty member. There are four primary internal undergraduate
research grants programs at FAU:
4




OURI undergraduate research grants program (URG). This program supports diverse forms of directed
research or creative activities (e.g., independent study, honors thesis), or is a part of a larger ongoing
study under the direct supervision of a faculty member. Table 2 presents the data for this outcome.
OURI Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF). SURF projects are ten-week (25
hours/week), intensive summer immersion research experiences. Each SURF award allocates $3,500 in
support of each chosen project. SURF was postponed, as discussed previously, until Year 3. Table 2
provides the baseline, yearly obtained data, and Year 5 targets for these outcomes.
Broward Undergraduate Research Grants Program. Students eligible for these grants come from the five
colleges (A&L, DSI, Education, Engineering, and Science) located on the Broward campus. Many of
these grants support students from colleges not traditionally applying to OURI grants. Twenty-one
students were supported in the pilot year, and 20 students were awarded grants in each of the two
subsequent years (Year 1 and Year 2). This program is not included in the original QEP outcome
benchmarks or targets.
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (HBOI-SURF). In
each of the three years to date, of the about 20 HBOI SURF fellowships awarded per year, 2 were
received by FAU undergraduate students. This program is not included in the original QEP outcome
benchmarks or targets.
Table 2. QEP Intended Outcome Tracking for Goal 2.
Goal 2: Opportunities for students who engage in URI
URG: # of students applying for Undergraduate Research
Grants, per year
URG: # students funded, per year
SURF: # faculty SURF projects submitted, per year
SURF: # student applications for SURF projects, per year
SURF: # students awarded SURF projects, per year
URS: # of students participating by college and by partner
campus, per year
FAURJ: # of students (submitting), publishing to the FAURJ,
by college and program
Baseline
AY11=84
Pilot
(12-13)
69
Year 1
(13-14)
96
Year 2
(14-15)
78
AY11=59
AY14=13
AY14=13
AY13=10
Boca AY11=49
51
--------104
74
postponed
postponed
postponed
100
69
13
13
10
137
Broward=n/a
Jupiter=n/a
ESD=n/a
AY12=(27) 8
42
109
n/a
(27) 8
33
89
n/a
(18) 8
35
100
61
(19) 9
Year 5 Target
+50% from baseline= 122
per year
96 per year
20 per year
20 per year
10 per year
96 yearly
n/a
n/a
n/a
+20% applications (32)
+10% published (9)
Undergraduate Research Presentations, Competitions, Exhibitions, etc. -Internal. OURI tracks student
participation in five major initiatives: The Boca Raton Undergraduate Research Symposium (URS), the
Broward Research Symposium, the WHC Symposium, the Business Plan competition, and the College of
Engineering Senior Design Showcase. The URS is coordinated by OURI. Faculty and staff are solicited to
review the oral and poster presentations of the students using a common rubric designed to align with the
student learning outcomes rubric established for the curriculum grant program (see goal 4 for results). Table
2 outlines the number of students completing oral and poster presentations each year. The year 5 benchmark
was exceeded in year 2. Broward and Jupiter campuses host annual research symposia. These symposia
complement the Boca symposium by showcasing students from underrepresented colleges. The College of
Business hosts an annual Business Plan competition, where teams compete for a series of prizes. In Year 2,
Engineering hosted a Senior Design Project Showcase event. Participation numbers are included in Table 2.
Undergraduate Research Publications - Internal. OURI has created, or is tracking, five primary internal
undergraduate research publication opportunities at FAU:
 Florida Atlantic Undergraduate Research Journal (FAURJ). The FAURJ is an interdisciplinary, peerreviewed journal that is published annually, online and in print. Its missions are to showcase high quality
research in all fields, supply younger students with an idea of the standard of research, and promote
inquiry-based activities. The FAURJ is coordinated by the Council for Scholarship and Inquiry (CSI), in
collaboration with OURI, University Libraries, Student Affairs, and the Division of Research. Student
authors must be mentored by a faculty member. Manuscripts are reviewed by peers and one faculty
5




member who use a common rubric aligned with the SLO rubric established for the CGP (see goal 4 for
results). Table 2 presents the QEP baseline, yearly and target statistics. Broad-based participation
(submission and publication) by all colleges has increased from the pilot year.
Coastlines Literary Magazine. Coastlines annually publishes the fiction, creative non-fiction, works of
translation, graphic narrative, and artwork of students (graduate & undergraduate). Their publication
rates have been 18, 17 and 15 manuscripts for the past three years, respectively.
Remarque. Remarque is a visual magazine that primarily features the work of students enrolled in
Broward-based visual programs including Architecture, Communications Multimedia, Graphic Design
and Studio Arts. Their publication rates have been 40, 80, and 113 for the past three years, respectively.
FAU Law Journal. The FAU Law Journal is a publication of undergraduate legal scholarship through the
College of Business. Their publication rates have been 0, 9 and 10 for the past three years, respectively.
Athene Noctua: Undergraduate Philosophy Journal. This journal exclusively publishes selected research
papers from a given years “Senior Seminar in Philosophy,” a capstone for the philosophy major. They
published 3, 5 and 4 papers for the past three years, respectively.
External Undergraduate Research Involvement. External research involvement includes external
meeting/conference attendance and presentations, discipline-specific competitions, professional workshops,
and externships. Quantifying the numbers of students participating in co-curricular activities external to
OURI, continues to be a challenge, as there is no formalized mechanism for collecting or communicating
these activities. In Year 2, OURI initiated a request with the Deans of each of the colleges to more accurately
track co-curricular activities (both internal and external to FAU). Once these are tracked, OURI can begin
work with the campus community to strategically place resources and efforts to expand student involvement.
Goal 3: Increase support and recognition for faculty and students
Faculty Professional Development (FPD): Faculty Learning Community (FLC), Faculty Workshops and
Travel. As mentioned earlier, the FLC was discontinued when the SOTO office was disbanded and OURI
began offering its own workshops and one-on-one training to CGP grantees. The number of faculty
workshops increased from year 1 to year 2 (see Table 3). Additionally, OURI partnered with the Writing
Across the Curriculum office, and the Center for e-learning, to offer two brownbag lunches on topics related
to research and writing, and technology and research While operating, the FLC had faculty participants from
all colleges (A&L=11, Bus=2, DSI=3, EDU=9, Engineering=6, Hon-3, Nursing=1, Science=10, UG=1).
In spring 2015, the FPDC selected eight College Faculty Liaisons (discussed below) who are charged
with offering one professional development workshop per college each fall and spring. The FPDC committee
also established a process for distributing OURI travel funds to meet faculty needs. Furthermore, funds were
reserved by OURI to send faculty (Year 1=7, Year 2=5) to conferences related to integrating research into the
curriculum. In year 1, eight faculty members were supported to attend/present at three conferences.
College Faculty Liaison (CFL) for DTD. One faculty member per college is selected by the FPDC to
serve in this capacity for two years. The program will promote the culture shift within individual colleges,
and keep them focused on broadly enhancing URI within their curriculum (Goal 1). CFLs: 1) offer two
college-specific faculty development opportunities each year; 2) conduct a SWOT analysis which includes
identifying URI needs in the curriculum; and 3) provide support for faculty submitting CGP grants. Results
will be reported in terms of the number of workshops offered as well as the conclusions from their yearly
SWOT reports, beginning in Year 3.
Faculty Award Program: Distinguished Mentor of the Year (DMY)- Excellence in Undergraduate
Research and Inquiry. Faculty who serve as model mentors to their students are eligible to receive the DMY
award. One yearly university-wide award will be given, along with a $2,500 award, at the annual Honors
Convocation. The Year 2 awardee was Dr. Daniel Meeroff from Engineering and Computer Science.
Student Professional Development: Student Workshop Series (SPD). A variety of student workshops
were established to target students interested in engaging in URI. OURI also hosted an intensive two-day
Presentation Boot Camp to prepare students to design and give effective research presentation. In fall 2014,
6
OURI expanded its workshop offerings to include formal monthly workshops facilitated by the Peer Mentors
and OURI staff. In spring 2015, all OURI workshops included videoconferencing to the FAU Jupiter, Harbor
Branch, and Davie campuses. Additionally, OURI gave in-class presentations during spring into Research
Month to a variety of classrooms. Thirty in-class presentations were given exposing 3,059 students to OURI
and the undergraduate research opportunities FAU offers.
Table 3. QEP Intended Outcome Tracking for Goal 3.
Goal 3: Support & recognition for faculty & students in URI
FPD-FLC: # faculty participants, by college and department
FPD-FLC: # and types of PD (e.g., workshops) opportunities
Baseline
AY12=16
AY13=6
Pilot
(12-13)
19
1
Year 1
(13-14)
13
4
Year 2
(14-15)
15
7
FPD: # faculty awarded travel money for external PD, by college and
department
CFL: # faculty mentor programs, by college
CFL: # Master research and mentor PD opportunities implemented
AY12=n/a
n/a
7
5
AY14=10
AY14=tbd
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
8
n/a
Faculty Award Program: # distinguished undergraduate research and
inquiry Mentor of the Year Awards
Student Research Training Program- # student participants, by
college, department and program
SPD: # of student professional development workshops offered
CSI: # student participants by college and program
AY13=tbd
n/a
n/a
1
Peer Mentor Program: # students awarded by college, department,
program and by partner campus
Peer Mentor Program: # of students attending Peer Mentor and SPD
workshops, by college, department, program, and by partner campus.
SURY: # students awarded by college, department, program and by
partner campus
URI Certificate Program: # students awarded by college, department,
program and by partner campus
AY14=tbd
n/a
10
10
AY14=84
n/a
n/a
84
AY14=8
n/a
n/a
8
AY16=tbd
n/a
n/a
n/a
Program was folded into Student Professional
Development (SPD)
AY13=6
1
6
28
AY12=15
15
80
106
Year 5 Target
24 faculty per yr, each yr
5 faculty opportunities each
year
10 travel opportunities each
year
10 mentors
1 faculty/1 student per
mentor, per yr
1 per year (changed from 3
per year)
2 each year
5 each year
50 and all colleges
represented
10 per year all colleges
+10% in consultations
above baseline, per year
8 per year, all colleges
+5% increase from baseline
(as yearly total)
Showcasing Students. There are five primary undergraduate showcasing opportunities: 1) The Student
Spotlight Initiative where students submit a research summary and an action photo, 2) The OURI Libraries
Display that showcases artifacts of research at the FAU libraries at Boca Raton, Jupiter, and Davie Campuses,
3) Lunch with the President & Provost, a yearly initiative, where nine student scholars are chosen from all
colleges, 4) Review of undergraduate research grants, symposium and journal submissions through OURI to
identify showcasing opportunities, and 5) University Advising Service who dedicated an office wall to
showcase undergraduate research projects (initiated in year 2). In addition, OURI collects student successes
and distributes these student stories through the OURI website, weekly list-serve announcements, requests for
student stories at commencement, and special news-worthy stories for a variety of units on campus (e.g.,
University Communications, Alumni, Recruitment, Orientation, Division of Research and Admissions).
Peer Mentor Program. This program provides Peer Mentors to guide undergraduate students interested
in pursuing URI. Each year, ten undergraduate and graduate students are selected for one year. Mentors are
active researchers who assist their peers in getting involved in URI by hosting workshops, and giving
classroom presentations on all of FAU’s campuses. Peer mentors work closely with the Council for
Scholarship and Inquiry (CSI). In year 1, twelve students applied to become Peer Mentors (3-A and L, 1Business, 1-DSI, 2-Engineering, 1-Education, 3-Science, 1-WHC). Ten of these students were accepted as
mentors. In year 2, sixteen students applied, and ten were accepted (4-A and L, 1-Business, 1-DSI, 2Engineering, 2-Education, and 6-Science), 5 undergraduates and 5 graduate students.
Council for Scholarship and Inquiry (CSI). CSI is a student organization established by the Student
Council for the QEP. It is open to all FAU students. CSI established and maintains the FAURJ, and hosts the
Meeting of the Minds workshops, where faculty showcase their research and solicit student engagement. CSI
tracks the number of student members (see Table 3). CSI provides student input for QEP initiative changes.
Student Undergraduate Researcher of the Year (SURY). OURI accepts nominations for this award from
all FAU students, faculty and staff. The CFL Committee (faculty, staff, and students) select three student
7
nominees from each college. Students are recognized at the annual Honors Convocation, and they receive a
$500 stipend and a certificate. OURI awarded 8 students in 2015 (all colleges except Nursing).
Goal 4: Enrich and strengthen URI Culture and Climate
Annual direct student learning achievement of SLOs occurs through assessing student learning in CGP
courses, evaluating URS presentations, and rating submissions to FAURJ. These three sources use the same
six SLOs o permit a compilation of SLO evidence from multiple perspectives. Indirect student learning
achievement of SLOs occurs through the UGR post awardee survey (see Table 5). The Graduating Senior
Survey (GSS), and the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) serve as general culture and climate
indicators. Table 4 summarizes the student learning and institutional impact data for the QEP.
Table 4. QEP Intended Outcome Tracking for Goal 4.
Goal 4: Enrich and Strengthen URI climate
CGP Student Learning: Annual Assessment
of Achievement of SLOs
NSSE: Trend Analysis
GSS: Trend Analysis
UGR Student Learning: Participation survey
of all grant recipients, event/opportunity
attendees & participants
Other Climate Surveys: Survey URI students
and faculty
Other Climate Surveys: Climate Survey of all
grant recipients, event/opportunity attendees
& participants supported by the QEP
Pilot
Year 1
Year 2 (14Baseline
(12-13)
(13-14)
15)
See Figures 1 and 2 for aggregate and by-year competence
level statistics
2010 NSSE data
2014-2015 GSS
data
2014-2015 UGR
data
UD(AY13)=n/a
LD(AY15)=n/a
AY14=tbd
See Figure 3
See Table 6
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Not available
at time of
report
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Year 5 Target
80% competence level (or above)
yearly and aggregated, across all
courses and all years
Annual increase, match Carnegie level
Annual increase, Year 5=significant
increases in positive responses
Annual increase, Year 5=significant
increases in positive responses
Annual increase, Year 5=significant
increases in positive responses
Annual increase, Year 5=significant
increases in positive responses
CGP Student Learning. Figure 1 presents the aggregated data for each outcome for all courses for all
years and represents the total number of students reaching or exceeding the performance levels for attaining
each outcome. Figure 2 shows the by-year SLO competence level statistics. Data disaggregated by
individual course, grant year or sub-outcome are available upon request. All results are from summative
evaluations at semester end. Student performance is evaluated by a common DTD rubric. Course instructors
are guided in ways to operationalize the rubric factors through benchmark examples relevant to their
discipline, and consistent with the performance task and SLO.
FAU Research Journal (FAURJ) Student Learning. Manuscripts submitted to FAURJ will be subjected
to an evaluation rubric aligned with several of the CGP DTD student learning outcomes. Results will be
available in spring, 2016.
Undergraduate Research Symposium (URS) Student Learning. The URS oral and poster presentations
are scored by judges using a multi-point rubric aligned with the six DTD student learning outcomes targeted
in the CGP. First year results were not yet completed by the time of this report.
8
Figure 1. CGP Student Learning Rubric Data by Learning Outcome:
All Courses and All Years Combined
70.0%
60.9%
60.0%
50.0%
52.3%
47.5%
42.2%
51.3%
47.5%
46.5%
40.6%
37.7%
40.0%
34.0%
33.0%
30.0%
23.2%
20.0%
10.0%
12.5%
5.6%4.6%
12.7%
11.6%
2.2%
3.1%
Exem Com Dev NoAt
Formulate Question
n= 936
Exem Com Dev NoAt
Plan of Action
n= 964
11.5%
3.7%
11.4%
3.3%
1.4%
0.0%
Exem Com Dev NoAt
Knowledge
n= 1224
Exem Com Dev NoAtt
Critical Thinking
n= 1177
Exem Com Dev NoAt
Ethical Conduct
n= 591
Exem Com Dev NoAt
Communication
n= 1691
Figure 2. CGP Student Learning Rubric Rating Level Frequency Data (Competent
or Above) by Learning Outcome: All Courses Combined by Year
120.0%
Year 1
100.0%
Year 2
80.0%
60.0%
40.0%
20.0%
0.0%
Knowledge
n=722 n=292
Formulate Question
n=422 n=514
Plan of Action
n=329 n=635
Critical Thinking
n=562 n=658
Ethical Conduct
n=323 n=268
Communication
n=897 n=794
UGR Student Learning. Research grant awardees are surveyed pre-post experience. Table 5 presents
self-response frequencies when students were asked to rate their perceived skill level on the DTD student
learning sub-outcomes related to the CGP program.
National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and the Graduating Senior Survey (GSS). The NSSE
was administered in 2010 and 2013. FAU students will be sampled again in 2016. Three student engagement
items related to intensive practice and research experience were chosen as indicators of improvement. Figure
3 shows a slight, but non-significant, gain in students who report working with faculty members on research
grants, discussing topics outside of class with faculty, and talking about career plans with faculty. However,
all of these values are still lower than Carnegie peer group and all NSSE institutions. The GSS survey was
administered after the fall 2014 and spring 2015 with a series of inserted questions developed by OURI.
Table 6 outlines the results to three of the research climate related questions.
Other Climate Surveys. We intended to survey URI students and faculty and to administer a climate
survey of all grant recipients, event/opportunity attendees & participants supported by the QEP. With the
exception of the URG recipient survey discussed above, both of these surveys have been postponed so we can
focus on collecting indirect SLO data related to specific initiatives.
9
Table 5. Research Grant Awardee Survey (RGA) Post-Survey Percentage Self-Reported Competent or
Exemplary By Six DTD SLO Sub-Outcomes.
Rate your perception of the research and inquiry skill level you currently possess within
your discipline
1a Using the vocabulary within the discipline
Year 1 (n=35)
(% responding “Competent” or Exemplary”
82.9%
1b Using theories to support a research question
74.3%
1c Evaluating scholarly resources
80.0%
2a Formulating research questions or problems
80.0%
3a Evaluating research tools
77.1%
3b Creating a research design
65.7%
3c Implementing a plan of research design action
71.4%
3d Collecting data to address the research question
85.7%
3e Utilizing materials, instruments and devices to conduct research
80.0%
4a.b Analyzing and interpreting data
74.3%
4c Identifying and controlling sources of error
80.0%
4d Making conclusions, predictions and generalizations from the results
82.9%
5a Adhering to FAU's Code of Academic Integrity
97.1%
5b Articulating and/or practicing all safety protocols related to your research
97.1%
5c,d Identifying ethical practices and problems
97.1%
6a Communicating in a focused, organized, and clear manner
97.1%
6b Communicate using citations appropriately
91.4%
6c Communicating using a scholarly tone
79.4%
Figure 3. 2010 vs. 2013 Percent Senior Student Responses to Selected NSSE
Student Engagement Items
Complete a culminating senior experience
(capstone, project, thesis, comp exam, portfolio)
22
13
Participate in an internship, co-op, field
experience, student teaching or clinical
placement
37
38
Work with a faculty member on a research
grant
11
0
15
10
20
30
Percent responding "Done" or "in Progress"
2013 NSSE
40
2010 NSSE
Unintended Consequences
Some unanticipated consequences for the DTD program include:
 Creating a streamlined process to collect co-curricular data. There was no current way to collect cocurricular data from across campus, even though it is required for the state metrics and for the QEP. We
have created a template for collecting co-curricular data and instituted a process for collecting
information through the college Deans.
 Instituting a URI intensive course designation so that students can have this accolade on their transcript.
It also provides a measure to use to gauge URI culture change.
10
Table 6. Graduating Student Survey (GSS) Response Percentages to Embedded Questions
Have you participated in undergraduate research, creative, or scholarly projects while at FAU?
Yes
Fall 2014
100.0%
Spring 2015
100.0%
No
0.0%
0.0%
Respondents
397
629
Independent research, creative, or scholarly project mentored by a faculty member
43.4%
49.0%
Research, creative, or scholarly project as a part of a course assignment
72.0%
70.1%
Respondents
397
629
Extremely Important
21.2%
23.9%
Very Important
Moderately Important
26.8%
32.5%
22.7%
29.4%
My research was in the following form(s) (check all that apply)
How important was this research experience in determining your PRIMARY post-graduation activity?
Not very Important
13.9%
14.5%
Not at all Important
5.8%
9.5%
Respondents
397
629
IV. Conclusions and Implications
The curricular and co-curricular initiatives are expanding in breadth and depth and FAU is on track to
meet or exceed most, if not all, of our QEP outcome targets. However, the accomplishments have not
occurred without learning some valuable lessons that we need to heed in moving forward:
Curricular change cannot outpace professional development and faculty resources. Faculty are at
varying levels of readiness in implementing curricular changes. While workshops are a staple component of
any curricular initiative, individual training sessions are essential to improving student learning, and
promoting accuracy in its measurement. This is time intensive, yet most rewarding.
Assessment must be flexible. We will most likely face challenges in meeting the benchmark for the
number of lower division courses participating in the CGP due to the fact that performance assessments are
somewhat prohibitive in large classes. We are exploring alternative sampling strategies in large courses (e.g.,
a subsample will be additionally scored with the DTD rubric).
The definition of research and how to measure it varies across campus. Even though we spent several
years discussing what constitutes “research,” we found that the conversation needs to be ongoing so that it
can remain relevant to each of the colleges and to individual faculty. Faculty need the flexibility to define
what it means for their discipline and for their students. Departments and Colleges need to decide what
activities serve as the best “temperature points” to gauge their success, since they do not have the resources to
measure everything.
Data management and collection tools are essential for success, and difficult to acquire. Effective
curricular and co-curricular data management applications are expensive, difficult to adopt institutionally, and
lack tailored functionally. We have been building and piecing together a system as we go along. However,
we need to find a better solution if we wish track and measure out effectiveness within FAU’s strategic plan.
Success takes time, patience and cooperation. Since we have limited personnel resources, we must balance
our commitment between quality of the teaching/learning and the breadth of our initiatives. As the QEP
progresses, more and more courses and faculty are being added, and the co-curricular model is expanding, but
OURI resources to support all of these initiatives remain static. Achieving a culture of URI means that
individual colleges, departments and faculty must value the enhancements, and internalize the data collection,
consumption, and implications for their own collegial dialogue. The QEP is forging ahead with our ultimate
goal of Distinguishing FAU as an institution that is known for undergraduate research opportunities. Go
Owls!