THE UNIVERSITY of Virginia is arguably the best public institution in the United States. Consistently ranked within the top tier of all public schools by various reports each year, the University is widely known for its outstanding academic programs. Specifically, the University often is recognized for its distinguished faculty and over-achieving students. This school also is considered by many to be a major graduate and faculty research institution, touting a research funding level of more than $200 million. One thing this school is not - and should never become - is an undergraduate research institution.
Undergraduate research at the University is a topic that recently has come into the limelight of discussion for senior administrators, the faculty and student leaders alike.
Many people criticize the lack of undergraduate research opportunities at the University and claim that building a stronger research program will lead to a stronger academic environment for the undergraduate population.
The reality of the situation, however, is that more research is one of the last things this university needs to build a strong undergraduate academic program. Placing too much emphasis on undergraduate participation in research could, in fact, be a great detriment to this institution's goal of becoming the bulwark of the human mind in this hemisphere.
Consider the matter this way: By placing a high expectation of research participation on faculty, simple logic tells us that we ultimately take away from the time individual professors spend on developing their courses. Likewise, the more time a professor invests in his or her research, the less time he or she has to devote toward individual students. The "publish or die" mentality is pervasive among the majority of colleges and universities across the nation; though rarely ever is the matter described as a positive attribute to a school of higher education.
If we extend this same mentality to the undergraduate population, what sort of students will we end up with? Students who participate in research to the exclusion of all other things may excel in a single area of discourse but undoubtedly will suffer a loss of exposure to a multitude of other academic opportunities. A first-year student who comes into the University with a "publish or die" mentality quickly will find him or herself missing out on a great number of other things that define the student experience due to his or her preoccupation with research.
Certainly there are many students who willingly choose to participate in undergraduate research opportunities. Often these students have wonderful experiences. For the rest of us who are not psychology or biology majors, however, being part of an academic community that over-emphasizes the need for undergraduate research could be a troubling thing indeed. For instance, it seems unfortunate that the criteria for receiving most distinguished major awards in the College is restricted to individuals who participate in research and subsequent thesis writing.
Over-emphasis on undergraduate research at the University is something that potentially could harm the high ideal of student self-governance as well. Imagine a requirement that all undergraduate students take part in some research effort during their four years here in Charlottesville. By virtue of the fact that students wishing to engage in research are confined to the duties designated them by their professors, some students inevitably would end up working as test-tube cleaners, rat-cage scrubbers and number-crunching assistants - doing the sort of grunt work that hardly seems to classify as taking part in research. Unfortunately however, from what I have seen, this is par for the course in regard to participation in most undergraduate research labs.
Certainly there have been many valiant attempts to provide meaningful research opportunities to students. The annual Harrison undergraduate research award is one such example of a program instituted by the administration to increase undergraduate participation in research. Unfortunately, however, similar programs, scholarships and grants such as this often cater to students in the traditional research sciences. Rare is it that engineering, commerce or interdisciplinary students are offered easy access to undergraduate research opportunities. It also should be noted that students involved in such academic programs cannot afford to spend their time doing research - they need to gain experience by spending time in specific career fields where involvement in lengthy research projects probably would not be of great benefit.
Participation in undergraduate research is an admirable thing, and certainly worth the time to students anticipating continued education at the graduate or doctoral level. Undergraduate research is not, however, something that should be emphasized for all undergraduate students at the University. The ramifications of doing such are clearly not worth the theoretical gains some people suggest our academic program could receive. It is important that the University be welcoming - but not proactive - to those students interested in undergraduate research.
(Chris Husser is a third-year College student.)
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