1. Undergrad Research Problems: 650 undergraduate majors unrealistic student expectations student uncertainty about how to enter research no central student contact for questions faculty time constraints

2. Undergrad Research Readiness Portal Goals: 1.Communicate to students how to prepare for research (and that they aren’t ready as freshmen) 2.Give students a way to track their progress 3.Document safety training 4.Give you a tool to determine if a student is ready for research and appropriate for your group (URRP)

3. Students make a profile in my.physics https://my.physics.illinois.edu/undergrad/urri/ Demographic information automatically prepopulated Safety training documented Student fills in this information

4. Students can upload statements of purpose and CVs You can check their communications skills And previous research experience Students can decline to have their grades shown (FERPA)

5. Students can add to or update their profile at any time We’ll send email reminders at the beginning of each semester so you don’t see outdated information Students can provide additional information Adding a research area brings up a listing of faculty working in that area

6. Some anti-spam protections

7. Hyperlink to student’s profile Message will not be sent unless the student includes a personal message in the “Tell this faculty member…” field

8. Built-in checks if a student is not ready Documented safety training Required courses Minimum GPA It looks like your most recent PHYS|MATH GPA of 1.67 does not meet the minimum requirements; therefore, we recommend that you not try to undertake undergrad research at this time. Please be sure to check back next semester to see if you meet the minimum requirements. It looks like you have not taken/registered for the following required courses; therefore we recommend that you not seek undergraduate research opportunities this semester. PHYS 325 (Credit required) PHYS 326 (Concurrent/future registration required) It does not appear that you have taken your basic safety training! Please go to https://www.drs.Illinois.edu and take both the General Laboratory Safety Training and the Electrical Safety for Laboratories Training before joining a lab.

9. Built-in checks if a student is not ready Documented safety training Required Courses PHYS 225 (completed) PHYS 325 (completed) PHYS 326 (or concurrent registration) Highly Recommended Courses PHYS 401 (or concurrent registration) PHYS 403 (or concurrent registration) PHYS 404 (or concurrent registration)

10. You can opt out of the system at any time, and opt back in later. N.B. Opting out just removes you from the list of faculty displayed to students within URRP; you’ll still appear on the public Physics profile pages, so you may still be pestered. You’ve seen the student side—here’s the faculty interface*: *https://my.physics.illinois.edu/undergrad/urri/search.asp Search by student name, interest, keyword

11. What we need your help with: 1.What should the minimum GPA be? 2.What courses should be required? recommended? 3.What did we forget? overlook? 4.Tell us if you want to opt out, and we’ll remove you. 5.Do you want to be able to post projects? 6.If you receive an email from a student through the portal, please reply.

12. What we’ll be doing next 1.Demonstrating the portal at SPS and SWIP meetings 2.Setting up town hall meetings to roll out the portal to students once you’re satisfied with it 3.Providing workshops for interested students on writing a brief research statement, preparing a CV… 4.Evaluating how useful the portal is to students and whether they are using it

13. What’s missing 1.Documenting responsible-conduct-of- research training for funding agencies 2.Developing a mechanism for faculty to post and update projects if desired 3.????? Your URRP team: Celia Elliott cmelliot@illinois.edu Rebecca Wiltfong rwiltfon@illinois.edu Merissa Jones majones2@illinois.edu