UCARE Faculty Handbook for 2008-09

 

MISSION

The mission of the UCARE Program is to enrich the academic experience of undergraduate students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) and at the same time to provide a tangible benefit to the research program of UNL faculty sponsors.

GOALS

• To engage undergraduate students in intellectual experiences early in their academic careers and to enable students to benefit from the wealth of creative activities and research experiences at UNL
• To facilitate successful partnerships mutually beneficial to students and faculty
• To foster development of a community of scholars by providing educational enrichment activities and ways for students and faculty to interact, network, socialize, and collaborate together.

PROGRAM DETAILS

UCARE provides funding for undergraduates to participate in the research and/or creative activities of the faculty and in projects under the direction of a faculty sponsor. UCARE is organized as a two-year program. During the first year, the student works as a research assistant for a faculty member on the faculty member's ongoing research or creative activity project(s). During this first year, the student engages in "learning by doing" -- learning why and how the faculty member does research and creative activities by assisting the faculty member in completing research tasks. The student may learn such skills as how to conduct library literature reviews, code or retrieve data, work in a research laboratory, undertake research techniques specific to a project or discipline, assist with an experiment, work in a studio, and so on.

In the second year, the student advances to a project proposed by the student and sponsored by the faculty mentor with whom the student worked during the first year. Ordinarily it would be expected that the project would be an extension of or related to the student's first year UCARE experience, but the key factor is that the faculty member sponsors and serves as a mentor for the project which the student will have primary responsibility for completing.

PROGRAM RESPONBILITIES FOR FACULTY SPONSORS

It is important that you have a good working relationship with your student and that the student has set aside time in his/her schedule for working on the UCARE project. Issues such as expectations and time commitments should be discussed during the application process.

Please speak with Laura Damuth if issues arise with your UCARE student. It may be possible to replace your first year UCARE student with another capable undergraduate, especially if it is early in the academic year.

Applications

UCARE applications are accepted once per year; the application deadline is mid-February. There are two different sources of funds for UCARE awards: fund cycle one ("Pepsi" funds) runs on an extended academic year (funds are available from JUNE 1 until JULY 31 of the next year); fund cycle two ("PoE" funds) runs on a traditional fiscal year (funds are available from JULY 1 through JUNE 30 of the next year). If your student is planning on working over the summer, they must know the fund from which they are being paid. In some cases depending on the funding source, it may not be possible to fund summer work. The Director of Undergraduate Research or the financial departmental contacts can inform you or the student which fund is in use.

The Agreement Form

Once your student has been awarded UCARE funds, you both must sign the UCARE Student Agreement Form.

Time cards (How Payment works)

UCARE Research Assistants are paid $8.00 per hour. During the school year, it is suggested that the student works no more than 10 hours per week. During the summer, the number of hours worked can be more flexible.

UCARE is not a scholarship. Money has been set aside to be paid hourly to the student through your department as a student worker. $2000 is equivalent to 250 hours of work.

IMPORTANT: If at the end of either cycle one (JULY 31) or cycle two (JUNE 30) UCARE money is still remaining, that amount will be returned to the Office of Undergraduate Studies.

Departmental contacts

Students need to visit the financial support staff in the department office well before they start working and expect to be paid. Be forewarned that there can be a delay between the time that students fill out paperwork and actually get on the payroll. A list of department financial contacts is available at http://www.unl.edu/ucare/financialcontacts.shtml

Most departments pay UCARE students as regular student workers. Students need to fill out time cards weekly that are signed by the faculty sponsor and are paid biweekly. Social Security (FICA) is taken out, unless the Department is willing to cover that expense for the student.

Note: "Second year students" working on an independent project, will still need to fill out weekly time cards and be paid by payroll.

FICA: During the school year students will not be charged FICA expenses by payroll as they should be full-time, but during the summer, FICA will be charged if the student is not full-time. FICA expenses cannot be in addition to the original UCARE award amount, so either FICA should be deducted from the award or separately taken out of the departmental accounts.

Important: IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT STUDENTS HAND IN TIME CARDS WEEKLY. The office must see financial activity on the account in the payroll system, or you and your student will be contacted. Failure to do so could result in the loss or in the reduction of the student's UCARE funds. (Please see the agreement form, item #1.)

If the student is unsure of how much UCARE money is left in his/her account, the student can always ask the financial contact in your department.

Other Expenses

There are no additional funds available. Any other expenses students may have for their research have to come out of the original award.

Students can set up with your department to take minimal funds from the UCARE amount for their expenses; that will just decrease the amount that the student will have available to be paid. Students can also set up reimbursement for travel funds. Again these funds will have to come out of the original UCARE grant; they cannot be additional expenditures charged to the UCARE program. UCARE purchases are usually handled through reimbursement only, however, if the student uses UCARE funds for travel, the financial departmental contact can use the UCARE cost object to pay for plane fares through Travel and Transport. The pre-trip approval form will still need to be completed.

Students are strongly encouraged to not buy equipment with their UCARE funding. If equipment is purchased, it will belong to the UCARE office, and not to the individual student or faculty member. This is in compliance with University policy.

There are two forms that address these other expenses: the UCARE Student Pre-Purchase Approval and the UCARE Pre-trip Request. They can be found online on the UCARE website:

http://www.unl.edu/ucare/forms/UCARE_PrePurchase.pdf

http://www.unl.edu/ucare/forms/UCARE_PreTrip_Request.pdf

The process for reimbursement is as follows. The student estimates their expenses on the pre-purchase approval or the pre-trip request. They sign the form; you sign the form. The student brings it to the Office of Undergraduate Studies for the Director of Undergraduate Research to sign. The form is then submitted to the David McGee in the Office of Undergraduate Studies; he will then fax the approved form to your department. When the student purchases the materials, they save the receipts and then submit them to your department for reimbursement, unless other purchasing arrangements have been made within the department.

Student Questionnaire

In March the UCARE office will send out a detailed questionnaire to the student which asks specific questions about their personal and professional growth as a result of participating in the UCARE program. Please encourage them to complete this questionnaire and return it to the Office of Undergraduate Studies.

Research Compliance

All research involving human subjects at or associated with the University of Nebraska–Lincoln must be reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) before research can proceed. Human research includes everything from surveys to physical testing. Any human research that is conducted without IRB approval can place the University, its faculty, staff, students and human research participants in jeopardy. Further information can be accessed from the following website: http://research.unl.edu/orr/irb.shtmll. Any questions or concerns about research compliance can be directed to Dr. Dan Vasgird, Research Compliance Services, 472-1837 or email dvasgird2@unl.edu.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. What is the role of a UCARE Faculty Sponsor?

Your role is to academically engage students in your research activities while getting assistance with your research. Specific responsibilities are to:

• Interview and select students
• Co-sign student agreement forms provided by the UCARE office
• Train the students (or oversee their training) and provide them with background information about your research in order to contextualize their work
• Meet with your students on a regular basis (the frequency will vary from project to project but we recommend you meet with them at least every other week)
• Monitor work hours and sign timesheets on a weekly basis.

2. What kind of research assistance is available for my students?

• The Reference Librarians in Love Library can work with students one-on-one on a specific research project to teach them how to locate both text materials and web-based materials. Many UCARE students are relatively new to the University, and they often do not have the library skills necessary to start their projects. If your students need assistance with the library, please contact the Love Library reference desk at 472-2848.
• Information Services provides basic training for students on some software (Microsoft Word, Excel, basic Web design). You can find out more about this by contacting Leona Barratt (472-6163).

3. Will I have to keep track of my students' work hours and sign timesheets?

You will have to sign timesheets for students weekly. While students should keep track of their own hours, you should keep track of whether students are meeting their time obligation by showing up for work when and for the time they agreed to. If you need to know how many hours your student has worked, contact the staff member in your department who is handling the UCARE student time-sheets, or go directly to the Director of Undergraduate Research.

You should contact the Director of Undergraduate Research if:

• you can't get in touch with one of your students
• your student is not showing up for work on a regular basis
• your student's performance is not up to your expectations
• your student is difficult to communicate with about concerns, has a problematic attitude, poor work performance.

REQUIREMENTS FOR UCARE STUDENTS

Research

UCARE students are expected to work an average of 6-10 hours/week on their research projects and to establish regular working hours. The faculty sponsor in consultation with the student determines the hours.

Academic Credit

In some cases it may be possible and appropriate for the student to receive course credit (e.g., under internship or independent study course numbers) for the work being done. All such arrangements should be worked out between the student and his or her faculty sponsor, subject to the department's and college's rules and expectations.

Updates on all Information

It is important that students keep the Director of Undergraduate Research updated as to the student's address, telephone number and email addresses. There are times during the year when the UCARE Office may need to contact students with reminders of deadlines, events, and other information pertinent to their experience. Therefore, it is extremely important that students keep the office informed.

Website

UCARE also has a website (http://www.unl.edu/ucare) which is updated frequently. This is another area where information is posted and it should be checked periodically.

Publicity

In order to advertise and support the program and to seek additional funding, we may occasionally call you for publicity purposes. We hope that you will actively participate and welcome the media attention should the occasion arise. The Office may also ask for pictures of you and/or your projects in order to enhance our web pages.

Please remember to acknowledge UCARE program at formal presentations and in any publications resulting from your participation.

Expectations for Second Year Students

Students must reapply for a second year of funding. There is a separate YEAR 2 application form and applications for the second year are due at the same time as the new applications, February 13, 2009. (See Application Forms on the UCARE web site.)

Student and faculty responsibilities to the program are essentially the same as for first year students, with the addition of mandatory participation in some public forum at UNL or other scholarly outlet to present your independent research project. The Undergraduate Research Conference in the spring is one possibility, but other opportunities available to students may arise on campus and will certainly fulfill this requirement.

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH CONFERENCE

UCARE students who are working on their independent research projects (specifically YEAR 2 students, but also students who are only going to participate in the UCARE Program for one year) are required to participate in the UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH CONFERENCE; YEAR 1 UCARE students are strongly encouraged to participate and strongly encouraged to attend.

The Undergraduate Research Conference provides a great opportunity for students to share their collaborative work with the University community. The research does not have to be complete for presentation.

Look for registration to be in early March and the conference itself will be in coordination with the UNL Research Fair and will be held on Thursday, April 16, 2009. Registration forms are online only, linked from the UCARE website.

Near the time of the conference, workshops are normally available on how to make an effective poster and how to do a successful PowerPoint presentation.  

Please remember that I am available to answer any questions or to help with any situation that arises. Call me at my office (472-5024) or email me Dr. Laura Damuth, Director of Undergraduate Research, if you have questions or concerns.

Dr. Laura Damuth
Director of Undergraduate Research
201 Seaton Hall (0683)
472-5024
Email: ldamuth1@unl.edu

 

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