Windows of Opportunity: Undergraduate Research Conference (URPD 2013)
June 22-23, 2013 Chapman University, Orange, California
Registration is open Now!
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Early Bird Registration Ends Friday, April 26, 2013
Registration Closes Friday, June 7, 2013
Lodging & travel info click here!
We are seeking submissions for posters supporting one of the themes described in the conference guidelines. The deadline for poster submissions is April 15, 2013. You will need to provide the following information in your submission: contact information (name, institution, and email), poster title, track (select one), and abstract. The poster session will be held on Sunday, June 23 from 4:00 – 6:00 PM. You will be notified by April 30, 2013 if your poster has been accepted. Posters should be a maximum of 4’x3’ in dimension. Please submit a poster session proposal here.
This one and a half day conference is aimed at faculty and academic professionals who are interested in the improvement, management, and promotion of undergraduate research. Faculty, undergraduate research program directors, and administrators from across the country will be gathering to share ideas, strategies, and best practices about undergraduate research programs. The conference is sponsored by the Council on Undergraduate Research and will be coordinated by the Undergraduate Research Program Directors (URPD) Division.
The conference format is intended to facilitate discussion, provide resources, and create networking opportunities. Breakout sessions will include panel presentations designed to help participants learn from each other and hear about best practices. Four challenges have been identified as critical to undergraduate research. Presenters are encouraged to develop sessions that further participants’ skills and knowledge in these areas:
- Assessment—This track will include sessions on the role of assessment and evaluation in undergraduate research program development and institutionalization; methods and models for assessing learning outcomes and program impacts; and workshops on designing specific tools for assessment and evaluation, such as database and tracking systems, surveys, focus groups, interviews, e-portfolios, and mixed methods approaches.
- Broadening Participation in Undergraduate Research—This track will address core cultural, financial, and policy issues that inhibit underrepresented students from participating in research and discourage faculty from engaging in it. This track also seeks programs that discuss underlying issues facing community colleges, technical programs, and research in international settings.
- Marketing, Fundraising, & Public Relations—This track is geared toward developing strategies for marketing, advertising, and increasing awareness of research programs and activities to various constituents (e.g., students, faculty, administrators, strategic institutional partners, and the public) and increasing financial resources for research activities through development activities and partnerships within and beyond institutions (e.g., alumni, partnering offices, community agencies, industry).
- Curricular Innovations—The most effective way to involve large numbers of students in undergraduate research is to integrate research experiences into the curriculum, intentionally designing courses and assignments that help students learn progressively the skills and ways of thinking needed for scholarly work. This track’s sessions will offer practical models for designing research-intensive assignments, courses, and curricula for a variety of programs and majors and explore best practices for creating innovative, research-rich curricula, whether in one faculty member’s courses or an entire college.
- Undergraduate Research Administration Nuts and Bolts—This track focuses on ways both new and experienced undergraduate research administrators can improve existing research programs. The "Basics Track" seeks to provide examples of innovative administrative practices that maximize effectiveness and efficiency in managing UR programs, while the "Transitions Track" helps others plan for change and share ways you have instituted modifications to an existing undergraduate research program on your campus. Examples include moving from a grass-roots approach to a director model, from a shared to a stand-alone office, or planning for staffing changes.
Program Session Submission Information:
The Undergraduate Research Program Directors division of CUR is seeking sessions for the Windows of Opportunity conference. The deadline for programs is January 11th. Submissions should focus on one the five identified themes: assessment, broadening participation in undergraduate research, marketing, fundraising, and public relations, curricular innovations, and administrative nuts and bolts. Presenters will be notified by February 1.
Session proposals should be submitted online using this
link.
In order to submit your proposal, you will need to provide the following information:
- Session Title (15 word limit)
- Track (check only one):
- Assessment
- Broadening participation in undergraduate research
- Marketing, fundraising, and public relations
- Curricular innovations
- Administrative nuts and bolts
- Target Audience (check all that apply):
- New program directors
- Established program directors
- Faculty
- Administrators
- Session Abstract (80-word limit)—If selected, this abstract will be used in the conference book and promotional materials. Please check spelling and grammar. You may cut and paste, however, formatting may be lost and/or transfer as odd characters.
- Session Description (500-word limit)—This section will provide the reviewers a more detailed description of your session. It will not be used in the conference book. The session description should explain the purpose and rationale of your session, learning objectives, and method of presentation (e.g., lecture, small group discussion)
- Presenter Information—Provide the names, titles, and institutions for all presenters.
We look forward to seeing you at Chapman University in Orange, California!
Cancellation Policy
In general the cancellation deadline is thirty days prior to the start of the conference, except where explicitly noted. Cancellations requests received in writing to the CUR National Office at cur@cur.org prior to the cancellation deadline will receive a full refund less a $50.00 cancellation fee. No refunds will be given after the cancellation deadline. Transfer of registration to another individual before the cancellation deadline is free of charge, but subject to member classification charges due to differences in conference rates. Transfer of registration after the cancellation deadline will be charged a $50.00 transfer fee.
Institutions may not substitute one participant for another without prior approval of the National Office.
CUR always suggests that their registrants purchase low-cost travel insurance when booking their air reservations. Not only will this insurance cover your airfare in the event of cancellation but will also cover the registration cost for the meeting you were to attend.