Involve Your Students
We believe research and creative work offers high-impact educational practices that improve student retention, provide skills that employers value, encourage development of skills that facilitate lifelong learning and increase adaptability.
As faculty, YOU have the highest level of impact on students and you can be the one to guide them in a deeper and more meaningful academic pursuit through research.
UW Oshkosh is a member of the Wisconsin System Council on Undergraduate Research (WiSCUR), which has the mission “to provide leadership to advance, enhance and expand undergraduate research, scholarship and creative activities across the University of Wisconsin System in order to prepare graduates who can adapt and innovate for the challenges of the future.”
How you can help
- Have high-achieving, self-motivated students? Personally challenge them to consider doing an independent study, honors theses or summer projects in your discipline.
- Communicate with colleagues. Know what they are doing so that you can direct students to appropriate mentors.
- Have a “mission statement” about the scholarship you pursue and how you involve students. Have this statement on the web accessible through your department’s website (examples: chemistry faculty list; chemistry research page; nursing research office; history student opportunities).
- Send students to the Celebration of Scholarship event with an assignment to increase awareness of research opportunities on campus.
- Encourage your students to submit to Oshkosh Scholar.
Resources to help you succeed as a mentor
Need funding to pursue a project? Consider external and internal sources such as those discussed in the Find Funding section. Do not forget that you can ask for student assistants as part of Faculty Development proposals.
- WiSCUR (Wisconsin System Council on Undergraduate Research) Website
- Attend a workshop on mentoring. Undergraduate Scholarly and Creative Activities (URSCA) in your field. CUR and WiSCUR sponsor some of these. Many of these workshops require sending a team. OSRCA can help you put together a team and can sometimes help with the costs of attending. Watch for notices about workshop opportunities on the campus announcement lists.
- Contact OSRCA or a member of the University committee that oversees OSRCA programs.
Need more information? Check out CUR Quarterly; CUR How To Series; Other CUR Publications (some may be available from OSRCA as short term loans); OSRCA related bibliographies.
