printable versionUndergraduate programs in advising, research to be combined
Instructional sessions will be developed for new and current advisers to inform them of research opportunities for students
BY RAY DELGADO
The offices of Undergraduate Advising Programs (UAP) and Undergraduate Research Programs (URP) will merge into one unit by the beginning of the next academic year to help integrate the services offered by each, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education John Bravman announced recently in an e-mail sent to undergraduate advisers.
The director of the new unit will be Lorraine Sterritt, who currently serves as director of UAP. Susie Brubaker-Cole, currently the director of URP, will serve as the managing director of the new unit, Bravman said.
Many important merger-related decisions about a name change and office location (both programs are currently housed on different floors of Sweet Hall) are still being worked out in consultation with staff from both offices, but those details will be finalized by the time the restructured department makes its debut at the beginning of the Autumn Quarter, Sterritt said.
"Many of our students now find that their academic program involves both curricular and research components," Bravman said. "This new organizational structure will enable us to integrate research and advising considerations into the same conversation with a student, so that his or her program can be contemplated in a unified way."
Sterritt said her office would work in consultation with URP staff to develop instructional sessions for new and current advisers so that they are better informed of the research opportunities available to students.
"We will be incorporating a research component in adviser training in the fall," Sterritt said. "For advisers currently in UAP, we're planning a number of cross-training programs so that they will be able to better answer research-related questions."
Students who visit the new office for advising and research interests should be able to have all their questions answered in one place rather than being sent by UAP staff or advisers to URP staff, Sterritt said. "It was working well, but it was just that students were going to two places for two separate conversations," Sterritt said. "It would be a much more seamless service if we bring these operations together."
Brubaker-Cole said the newly merged unit will be a better resource not just for students who arrive at the university knowing they want to pursue research opportunities but also for students who might not have considered undergraduate research until it was suggested through the advising process.
"Over the last five years, we've been ramping up undergraduate research both in terms of dollars and faculty participation, and we're seeing more and more undergraduates are wanting to get involved in research," Brubaker-Cole said. "We in research think that we'll be serving students much better in becoming an integral part of the overall academic advising enterprise."