Work Processes and Resources
The work processes for undergraduates’ applied research at Redlands are very informal at this point. Although all faculty members are encouraged to participate with their students in research projects, faculty members are also responsible for formulating the research idea and design and identifying potential funding for each project. Redlands is not a large institution (with approximately 1,500 students per year) and has very limited fiscal resources. The idea of developing an institutional research program came from faculty members who sought to engage students in practical applications for classroom lectures and assignments. Faculty members who led the way had a desire to get their students out of the classroom and into projects that reflected actual workplace experiences that applied what students were learning in the classroom. Funding opportunities to support research activities are announced campus-wide, and faculty members are encouraged to present ideas for projects that might be appropriate for these opportunities.
Faculty members who present ideas for research projects work with the Redlands Grants Development Office to try to identify external funding for their project. Unfortunately, funding opportunities often do not exist, but every attempt is made to proceed with the research project through redesigning the project, identifying internal resources, and creativity. There is no formal application to do a research project at Redlands at this time. Some faculty members present projects that can be accomplished with no external funding, utilizing the equipment and physical resources available at the college or within the department. In such instances, there is simply an institutional commitment to help faculty members and students participate in undergraduate research. Once the project is designed, the faculty member who will mentor the project selects student participants based upon their interest and their ability to participate.
In order to help faculty members further research initiatives, applied research was added to my portfolio in 2004 and my title became vice president for Grants Development and Applied Research. I work with faculty members to identify the goals of each research project and assist with finding and/or designing financial support for each research project. The combination of grants development with applied research reflects the college’s need to seek external funding for research projects, but also demonstrates the administration’s commitment to provide as much support for undergraduate research as possible.
Attributes and Problems in Development and Implementation
Although there are many positive attributes associated with undergraduate research at Redlands, the most outstanding is the involvement of faculty members and students. Our faculty members are creative, accustomed to accomplishing goals and objectives with limited financial resources. Of course, there are faculty members who have no interest in research, and these individuals are not pressed to participate. Interested faculty members participate voluntarily. This process, while born out of necessity, provides a strong and supportive cadre of individuals who are actively engaged in research activities. They participate because they want to, not because they expect any financial reward or out of a need to conduct research for promotion or tenure. Their only reward is working with students on a new level and integrating new activities and concepts into their teaching portfolios. Faculty members’ involvement by choice is a real asset to undergraduate research at Redlands and sustains the projects.
The limited financial resources I have discussed will, of course, not come as a surprise to other community colleges. Our projects are limited in depth and duration only by the lack of funding available. Unfortunately, there is no easy answer to this challenge, so we attempt to meet this challenge in diverse ways. Where possible, we ask partners to provide support for projects. These requests often result in in-kind contributions of supplies needed for the project. When funding opportunities arise, we attempt to match projects of interest with the funding source and compete for funding dollars. Fortunately, we have more successes than failures in securing grants or contracts, but the competition is becoming more and more rigorous. Future funding of this type is dependent upon each project’s success, placing the burden of continuationon the faculty members and students participating in each project.