Since the initial implementation the SGSC student research symposium has taken place each semester. The purpose of the symposium is to provide a forum for students to present their research to the SGSC community and interested residents of surrounding communities. Any student may engage in research to be presented, and each presenter has a faculty mentor.
Undergraduate research was initially part of our QEP, but it continues on as an important component of our student engagement. Participation has grown significantly over the years.
The spring 2019 symposium was attended by a record 402 faculty, staff, students, and community members. While the COVID-19 pandemic has affected symposia, fall 2021 and spring 2022 presentations numbered 50 each semester, and attendance was 238 for fall and 251 for spring. We anticipate that presentations and attendance will recover to pre-pandemic numbers and that student interest will continue to impact student engagement and success.
Evaluation Plan and measures: The main measurements that we look at are the number of students presenting their research and the number of students and faculty/staff that attend. We also look at the student success rate in classes that include a research component.
Baseline measure:Our baseline measurement is from 2019 which is our pre-Covid numbers.
Goal or targets :Our goal is to see an increase in participation year over year and have at least 50% of classes, overall, including some component of undergraduate research.
Time period/duration:This is an ongoing Activity where we will analyze the data in the summer from both the fall and spring.
As reported in last year’s college completion update, “Undergraduate Student Research” was SGSC’s most recent Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) topic. The SGSC symposium component of the QEP continues to be included here as a High Impact Practice because it has significantly affected SGSC culture and mindset. The focus here is on the symposium aspect of the initiative, which is now led by a core faculty learning community (FLC) and a Chancellor’s Learning Scholar and supported by participation of over twenty faculty members (approximately one-third of the faculty).
Undergraduate research guidance focuses on the following student learning outcomes: (1) to identify ethical research practices, (2) to generate answerable research questions, (3) to analyze prior research, (4) to develop a hypothesis from a research question, (5) to construct a research plan, (6) to collect relevant data, (7) to analyze relevant data, (8) to draw appropriate conclusions based on analysis, (9) to present research. Student presentation of their research has positive effects on several institutional constituent groups: student researchers, faculty mentors, non-researcher students (as well as non-mentoring faculty) who attend the symposia, and the numerous community members who participate in the annual events. (Some recent student comments on involvement in the symposium are in Appendix Table P.)
Accomplishments during the academic year 2022-2023:
An SGSC student research symposium has existed in some form since fall semester 2011. The symposium subsequently expanded into a full-fledged campus initiative each semester as a significant component of the college’s 2016 Quality Enhancement Plan on Undergraduate Research. Any student may engage in research to be presented, and each presenter has a faculty mentor. Participation has grown significantly over the years. The spring 2019 symposium was attended by a record 402 faculty, staff, students, and community members. The fall 2020 event had 396 attendees—even though the COVID-19 pandemic was affecting student enrollment, course delivery, and participation in campus events. The spring 2021 symposium, also during a COVID-19 semester, had an attendance of 314, including 272 students. Toward the end of the pandemic and subsequently post-pandemic, symposia participation has remained stable. Fall 2021 and spring 2022 presentations numbered 50 each semester, while attendance was 238 for fall and 251 for spring. By fall 2022 the 70 student presentations and 384 audience attendees began to move toward pre-COVID numbers, as did the 71 presentations for the spring 2023 symposium.
The SGSC undergraduate research symposium is the subject of a chapter in the 2023 book Putting It All Together, edited by Jeffery Galle, former Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Faculty Development, of the USG, and Jo Galle, former Senior Associate Provost for Academic Affairs at Georgia Gwinnett College. In addition to discussing the history, status, and future of the research initiative, the article mentions that many of the capstone courses and internships in our bachelor’s degree programs require oral presentations that are or may be added to the research symposium. Robert L. Potter, Rosa Guedes, and Frank Holiwski are the authors of “The Undergraduate Research Symposium at South Georgia State College: History, Status, and Future.”
- We continue to encourage student research projects, faculty involvement, and student presentations at research symposia during the current and subsequent academic years.
- The main challenge has to do with personnel. While we have various levels of participation by over twenty faculty members, there are currently three faculty members, one of whom is the former QEP director, taking leadership of the initiative. Faculty are challenged with a substantial workload that has expanded beyond their actual teaching to include participation in academic advising and Momentum/Mindset activities. The staff has increasingly taken on additional work due to decreased budget (and enrollment). We are challenged with finding a cost-effective and workload-manageable way of meaningfully expanding the research initiative, since at present it is a volunteer effort on the part of students and faculty.
