Undergraduate research is a proven form of engaged learning that engenders a transformational experience for undergraduates as a consequence of deep student involvement and frequent student-mentor interactions. The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) intends to address the critical national need for continued and more comprehensive dissemination of effective practices for initiating and sustaining faculty-student collaborative undergraduate research. This project is a comprehensive expansion of the impact and reach of CUR's Phase 2-supported regional initiative and the organization's national-level "Institutionalizing Undergraduate Research" workshops (held from 1996-2006). The Phase 3 project is providing a series of "Institutionalizing Undergraduate Research" workshops for groups of colleges and universities drawn from state systems, private consortia, and mission-similar institutions (e.g., minority-serving), and employing a structured program of workshop follow-up activities. Training workshops to develop the skills of CUR members to serve as workshop facilitators will enhance the mentoring received by workshop participants, provide avenues for leadership development, and further sustain the initiative with a cadre of trained facilitators throughout the country. More than 150 facilitators and coordinators will be directly involved. The Phase 3 project will be extensively evaluated with the assistance of an independent external evaluator and a distinguished external advisory board.
