Revised Undergraduate Research Programs Standards Now Available

CAS is pleased to announce the release of revised standards and self-assessment guide for Undergraduate Research Programs.

The Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education is pleased to announce the release of the revised standards for Undergraduate Research Programs (URP). CAS, composed of 42 collaborating professional associations representing over 115,000 professionals in higher education, has developed standards and guidelines for 45 functional areas, and rooted them in the scholarship and work conducted within their respective fields. The new standards delineate expectations for educators in the related functional areas and complement the ninth edition of the CAS Professional Standards for Higher Education.

The most significant changes to the URP standards include a definition and best practices of undergraduate research that reflect the focus of a premier professional organization of postsecondary faculty, the Council for Undergraduate Research (CUR). The new standards also recognize and accommodate the rise of undergraduate research programs in U.S. community colleges.

Karen Agee, past CAS Board Member and Chair of the Standards Revision Committee, noted that, “Undergraduate research has been shown to be a high-impact practice for student learning, development, and engagement. Using these standards, administrators, faculties, and staff can improve the quality of the mentoring they provide to students and ensure that their efforts are fully integrated with other programs at their institution.

CAS recognizes the unique contributions of this functional area, and is eager to provide these new standards for a variety of professionals. As Agee explained, “Faculty who engage students in mentored investigative and creative activity can utilize these new standards to determine how well they are fostering student learning and development.”

The revised Undergraduate Research Programs standards and Self-Assessment Guide are now available at https://www.cas.edu/store_home.asp.

Please contact CAS Executive Director Marybeth Drechsler Sharp ([email protected] or 202.862.1400) with questions and media inquiries.