Position Statements

AI Anxiety in Higher Education: How Undergraduate Research Can Help

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming how knowledge is created, evaluated, and applied, raising important questions about how higher education prepares students for the future. CUR’s position statement affirms that undergraduate research provides a powerful framework for addressing these challenges, equipping students with critical thinking, ethical reasoning, collaboration, and problem-solving skills that AI cannot replace. Through mentored, inquiry-driven experiences, students learn to evaluate information, navigate uncertainty, use emerging technologies responsibly, and understand how knowledge is generated across disciplines. By strengthening the faculty-student mentorship model and emphasizing engaged learning, undergraduate research will continue to help institutions prepare graduates to thrive in an AI-enabled world. 

Authors: Lindsay Currie, Council on Undergraduate Research | Sean Fox, Carleton College | James LaPlant, Valdosta State University

Where Career Readiness + Undergraduate Research Intersect 
(Member-Only)

Dive into Understanding the value of undergraduate research as a set of experiences where students build career readiness skills. Explore the powerful framework that connects research experiences to the top competencies employers and graduate schools seek.

Authors: Eric Hall, Elon University | Amanda MacDonald, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University | Jeanne Mekolichick, Radford University | Wil Preston, Towson University

Recognizing Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, & Creative Inquiry as a Career-Readiness Tool

Through the history of CUR, we have better understood the positive implications of undergraduate research for participants. Over the years, the list of benefits has continued to grow. We are now synthesizing these benefits into broader implications they could have for students.

Author: Jeanne Mekolichick, Radford University

Undergraduate Research: A Road Map for Meeting Future National Needs and Competing in a World of Change 
In this 2019 CUR position statement, the authors present evidence for the role of undergraduate research in college completion and preparation of a highly skilled workforce, particularly in STEM fields.

Authors: Joanne D. Altman, Tsu-Ming Chiang, Christian S. Hamann, Huda Makhluf, Virginia Peterson, and Sara E. Orel

Recognizing and Valuing the Mentoring of Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity by Faculty Members: Workload, Tenure, Promotion, and Award Systems 
In this 2019 CUR position statement, the authors present the need for recognition of faculty mentorship of undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative activity, recommend best practices for institutions to adopt, offer a selection of case studies that features some of these practices, and summarize upcoming challenges.

Authors: Janet A. Morrison, John F. Barthell, Anne Boettcher, David Bowne, Cheryl Nixon, Karen K. Resendes, and Juliane Strauss-Soukup