Guidelines for Continuing Research:

  • Research at an OSU facility: In response to Gov. Kate Brown’s Executive Order issued Thursday, March 19, OSU is in the process of defining critical functions that will continue while others are suspended. Work done at OSU will be limited to critical functions. This means that many research groups will no longer be allowed to report to work at OSU. Please reach out to your faculty mentor to discuss whether your research project is categorized as a critical function. If it is, ask your mentor if there is research that can be done remotely instead. If remote research is not possible, can you delay your URSA Engage timeline and finish your 75 hours by the end of fall term 2020 instead? See updated program requirements, below. If delaying is not possible, please send us an email about your specific situation.
  • Doing research remotely: Some of you have been doing your research remotely all along. That’s great! There are many contexts in which this is possible (computer science, thematic coding, literature reviews, video analysis, etc). If this is the case, your URSA Engage timeline may not be impacted at all.

 

Updated Program Timeline and Requirements:

Students in the URSA Engage Program are expected to engage with their research projects for a total of 75 hours. Typically, we ask that students engage with their research for 5 hrs/week for 15 weeks (the middle of winter term to the end of spring term). However, given the recent changes in campus operations, we would like to share these more flexible program requirements:

  • Students in the URSA Engage Program are expected to do research for a total of 75 hours from the middle of winter term 2020 to the end of fall term 2020. We recognize that every research context is different and will let each student and mentor decide when these hours will take place between now and the end of fall term.
  • Students are required to meet with their mentor at least once a week, or 2-3 times a quarter if a graduate student or postdoc is available to meet with the student at least once a week. We hope that everyone will do their best to meet this requirement while they’re working toward their 75 hours, either virtually, or in-person when OSU resumes normal operations.
  • Students are required to present their work at either CUE (Celebrating Undergraduate Excellence) in May 2020 or at the SURS (Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium) in September 2020. Students also have the option to present at CUE in 2021, if necessary.
  • Students are required to submit a written report which includes details of engagement in the research/creative activity, and impacts of the mentoring relationship on your undergraduate experience. The reports are usually 1-2 pages, single spaced. We’d like for you to touch on the details of what you did (e.g. why you did your project, what you did, what you found, why it matters) and the impacts of the mentoring relationship on your undergraduate experience (how did you benefit from having research mentors? Did they influence your academic or career decisions? Did they help you in some other way?). Reports are due on December 4th, 2020 and should be uploaded here.
  • Students are required to attend a professional development workshop offered through our office, called "Getting the Most from Undergraduate Research." For those of you who did not attend on February 19th, please sign up here to receive a link to view a recording of our February offering of the workshop. URSA Engage students who watch virtually are also required to provide a brief reflection on the content covered in the workshop through this Qualtrics survey.
  • Students are required to visit undergraduate research advising hours (Monday and Tuesdays from 1-3pm in Waldo 140) at least once during their participation in the program. During spring term, advising hours will be hosted virtually via Zoom on Mondays and Tuesdays from 1-3. Please visit tinyurl.com/URSAZoom during those times to speak with an Ambassador! Students can also attend advising hours in person when OSU resumes normal operations.

We recognize that folks are affected by this change in campus operation in varied and unexpected ways. If any of these updated requirements present a challenge to you, please let me know so we can come up with a plan that works for everyone.