Undergraduate Research with Community College Students: Models and Impacts

The role of community colleges in higher education is important and growing, especially with respect to expanding STEM education and undergraduate research opportunities for underrepresented and non-traditional students. The STEM-ENGINES Undergraduate Research Collaborative was an NSF-funded project that provided authentic undergraduate research opportunities for 285 community college undergraduates in the Chicago area. The impacts of this early research experience were increased skill development, enhanced transfer rates, and students’ greater realization of their potential to earn STEM degrees. Students from underrepresented groups and first-generation college students were strongly affected, as were their community college faculty mentors.