IMPACT OF OPEN ENROLLMENT IN COURSE-BASED UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EXPERIENCES WITH AT-RISK STUDENT POPULATIONS

Participation in authentic research activities, particularly mentored undergraduate research experiences, at the University of Texas at El Paso has long been associated with student success measures such as graduation and matriculation to strong graduate programs in STEM. However, these opportunities typically are available to upper division students, despite evidence suggesting that the first (Freshman) year at university is determinant for individuals to complete STEM degrees. To expand the number of research opportunities and to extend them preferentially to new, entering students, we established the Freshman Year Research Intensive Sequence (FYRIS) in 2015, a course sequence consisting of a research foundations course and one or two laboratory courses redesigned by faculty into small, special topic Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs). CUREs provide authentic research experiences with similar early-, middle-, and late-term benefits to those found in traditional mentored experiences. Several of these benefits can be conceptualized as "hubs", which derive from earlier benefits, while facilitating later positive outcomes. Self-efficacy is one such hub, while retention and persistence in science enrollment represent late-phase positive outcomes. In this report, we examined self-efficacy of FYRIS participants in surveys administered at the start and end of each course to assess their confidence in conducting fundamental and specific research activities in the foundations and research driven courses, respectively. Specific items from a validated survey were used in addition to items developed for each course based on specific learning objectives. Retention was measured across three years of assessment of participants and non-participants, controlling for key scholastic characteristics. Results on retention rates after FYRIS vary depending on whether students fully or partially participated in the course-sequence. Results will be presented for three cohorts of students: 2015-16, 2016-17, and 2017-18.