Impact on the University

A large body of scholarship suggests that programs like UROP have a strong impact on undergraduate education, retention, GPA, and graduation rates.  The University of Michigan has conducted their own studies on the effects of their UROP program (on which our program draws as a model), the results of which can be seen at http://www.lsa.umich.edu/urop/about/evaluation.

The Office of Undergraduate Research and the Division of Undergraduate Studies expect UROP to directly contribute to

1. Retention, as outlined in the Michigan study,
2. Recruitment, by offering a student experience unique in the state of Florida,
3. Reputation, through presentations at conferences and peer perception of the program, and
4. Rankings, by investing in our undergraduate education and academic culture.

Please see some of these studies for analyses on the benefits of programs like UROP:

• The University of Michigan’s evaluation of its own program:  http://www.lsa.umich.edu/urop/about/evaluation
• “Undergraduate Student-Faculty Research Partnerships Affect Student Retention”
• “Minorities and UROP”
• “Undergraduate Research, Graduate Mentoring, and the University’s Mission”
• “Benefits of Undergraduate Research Experiences”