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Title: Increasing Undergraduate Retention in Appalachia through a Mentored Undergraduate Research Experience
This article describes the Research Apprenticeship Program (RAP), a mentored undergraduate research experience implemented in 2017 at a public land-grant institution located in the Appalachian region. The article focuses on RAP’s approach to recruiting, retaining, and supporting students in faculty-mentored research and creative inquiry. To assess the impact of RAP on undergraduate retention, institutional data were collected to identify RAP participants from the years 2017 to 2022 (n = 868) to compare next-year retention rates with institutional averages across similar demographic groups. The results showed that retention rates for RAP participants were significantly higher than institutional averages, and disaggregated data also showed higher retention rates for participants from historically marginalized populations. These This article describes the Research Apprenticeship Program (RAP), a mentored undergraduate research experience implemented in 2017 at a public land-grant institution located in the Appalachian region. The article focuses on RAP’s approach to recruiting, retaining, and supporting students in faculty-mentored research and creative inquiry. To assess the impact of RAP on undergraduate retention, institutional data were collected to identify RAP participants from the years 2017 to 2022 (n = 868) to compare next-year retention rates with institutional averages across similar demographic groups. The results showed that retention rates for RAP participants were significantly higher than institutional averages, and disaggregated data also showed higher retention rates for participants from historically marginalized populations. These results provide evidence of the program’s contribution to the educational development of the Appalachian region.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1834601 1834595 1834569 1834586 1834575
PAR ID:
10577736
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Council on Undergraduate Research
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Scholarship and Practice of Undergraduate Research
Volume:
7
Issue:
2
ISSN:
2476-101X
Page Range / eLocation ID:
30 to 34
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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