DREXEL UNIVERSITY

STAR
Scholars Program
Students Tackling Advanced Research

Student Handbook
Academic Year 2014-2015
 Table of Contents

The STAR Scholars Program 3

Program Schedule | Academic Year 4

Program Schedule | Summer Term 5

Responsibilities of STAR Scholars 6

Identifying a Research Project 8

Finding a Faculty Mentor 10

Working with Your Faculty Mentor 12

More to come…

Housing Payroll

Hiring Program Deliverables

FIND MORE ONLINE AT

WWW.DREXEL.EDU/STARSCHOLARS

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 THE STAR SCHOLARS PROGRAM

The STAR (Students Tackling Advanced Research) Scholars Program is a

unique opportunity for you to participate in faculty-mentored research,
scholarship, or creative work during the summer after your freshman year.

Participating in undergraduate research, scholarship, or creative work at any time

in your college career gives you the opportunity to delve, hands-on, into your
academic field. It enables you to learn skills in problem solving, communication,
and teamwork while helping you to clarify your academic and professional goals.

Getting involved as early as your freshman year provides with these same
opportunities, as well as the time to make the most of it. Many of our STAR
Scholars continue to do research with their STAR Mentors throughout their
college careers; have the opportunity to present their research at undergraduate
conferences like the National Collegiate Research Conference at Harvard
University, the National Conference on Undergraduate Research, or the Council
on Undergraduate Research Posters on the Hill event; and sometimes even do
such substantial work that they have their findings published in professional
journals by the time they graduate.

The STAR Scholars Program has engaged first-year students in undergraduate

research, scholarship, and creative work since 2002. In the 14 years of the
program, we have served over 1,000 students across the disciplines at the
university. We are excited to have you join us in our contribution to
Drexel’s legacy of experiential learning!

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 PROGRAM SCHEDULE
[ACADEMIC YEAR]

Fall Term [September – December 2014]

Students pre-enrolled as STAR Scholars meet with STAR Alumni at Meet & Greet for
informal mentoring
Pre-enrolled STAR Scholars begin mentor search by:
• Meeting one-on-one with Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) staff
• Updating profiles and searching through postings on Discover portal
(www.drexel.edu/discover)
Interested students submit applications for the iSTAR Scholars Program

Winter Term [January – March 2015]

Selection of 2015 iSTAR cohort continues review of online applications and interviews
Selection of remainder of 2015 STAR cohort begins through online application submission
and review
Pre-enrolled STAR Scholars continue mentor search with aim to finalize research mentors and
projects by mid-February

Spring Term [April – June 2015]

OUR staff meet individually with all accepted STAR Scholars to orient students to program
and advise on mentor search
LeBow College of Business students enroll in MIS 481-001 and MIS 481-002 for Spring Term
• MIS 481: 4-credit research methods course required for all students engaging in business
research for STAR and optional for students engaging in arts/humanities/social sciences
research or scholarship
All STAR Scholars attend Spring Orientation
• Spring Orientation is mandatory for all STAR Scholars; during this meeting, we provide
information regarding housing and hiring
All STAR Scholars complete required paperwork to be hired and housed as STAR Scholars
• Any students who must first apply for a Social Security Number before submitting new hire
paperwork will have to complete a different process and will be given an extended deadline
by which to submit all paperwork
All STAR Scholars identify faculty mentors and research projects prior to end of Spring Term

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 PROGRAM SCHEDULE
[SUMMER TERM]

Summer Term Dates

Monday June 22 – Tuesday, September 1

Moving Into STAR Housing

Sunday, June 14 (to be confirmed): Term Switch
Sunday, June 21 (to be confirmed): Conference Move-In

Deadlines for Deliverables

Friday, August 7: Deadline for Outstanding Mentor of the
Year Nomination Forms and Letters*
Friday, August 14: Deadline for Abstracts*
Thursday, August 20: Deadline for Posters*

*Submission guidelines TBA

STAR Scholars Summer Showcase

Thursday, August 27

Moving out of STAR Housing

Friday, September 4 (to be confirmed): Conference Move-Out
Sunday, September 6 (to be confirmed): Term Switch

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 Responsibilities of STAR Scholars
STAR Scholars, to maintain good standing in the program, must abide by certain rules and
complete certain tasks from their entrance to the program through to the end of the Summer
Term. The responsibilities and expectations listed here are mandatory for students to remain in
the STAR Scholars Program.

Responsibilities: Academic Year

During the academic year, all STAR Scholars must:

… maintain a 3.4 minimum cumulative GPA throughout their freshman year. Students who fall
below the 3.4 minimum after the end of Fall and/or Winter Term will be asked to complete a
STAR Scholar Midterm GPA Request Form, in which their professors for that given term will be
asked to sign off on midterm grades to best assess their progress throughout the term. Students
who fall below a 3.0 cumulative GPA at any point during the academic year will
automatically be dismissed from the program.

… meet one-on-one with a member of the OUR Staff. These one-on-one meetings are the basis for
students’ mentor searches, as they enable the OUR staff to help students identify their research
interests and prospective STAR mentors and projects. Students accepted into the STAR Scholars
Program upon their entrance to the university must schedule these meetings during the Fall
Term; students accepted as STAR Scholars later in the academic year will be required to have this
meeting during either Winter Term or in early Spring Term.

… find a faculty mentor. Students are ultimately responsible for choosing their own mentors.
While the OUR staff will advise and assist students in their mentor search, students will not be
assigned to or matched with a mentor. The ultimate objective is for students to network with
faculty and identify a faculty mentor doing research in their area of research interest and for that
faculty mentor to agree to take on a STAR Scholar for the summer.

… attend Spring Orientation. All STAR Scholars must attend Spring Orientation to receive
information about hiring, payroll, and housing for the Summer Term. Dates will be announced in
early Spring Term; multiple dates will be offered, and students are required to attend only one.

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 Responsibilities of STAR Scholars
Responsibilities: Summer Term

During the Summer Term, all STAR Scholars must:

… work 40 hours/week. STAR Scholars are paid at a rate of $10 per hour for 40 hours of work
per week. While students will be in different work settings, and while work expectations will vary
among mentors, our expectation is that all of our students will work full-time for the duration of
the Summer Term to a) immerse themselves in their research, scholarship, or creative work for
the summer; b) complete a substantial and significant project by summer’s end; and c) ensure
that they are working to the extent of their abilities and their mentor’s expectations.

… submit timesheets in a timely manner. In order to receive their stipend, all STAR Scholars are
required to submit biweekly timesheets. Students who miss timesheet deadlines will have their
pay delayed until the summer’s end.

… write and submit an abstract and complete a research poster. All STAR Scholars are required
to write an abstract and complete a poster of their project to present at the STAR Scholars
Summer Showcase. The OUR Staff will provide workshops and online resources on writing
abstracts and creating posters. Submission guidelines for the abstract and the poster will be
announced during the Summer Term.

… participate in the full day of the STAR Scholars Summer Showcase. All STAR Scholars are
expected to be available and present for the full day of the STAR Scholars Summer Showcase.
This is a mandatory event for all STAR Scholars, and any students who choose to depart early
from the program must do so after the day of the Summer Showcase.

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 Identifying a Research Project

The STAR Scholars Program is your opportunity to pursue a research project, established by a
faculty mentor, in an area of interest to you. We will provide assistance to students in their search
for an appropriate faculty mentor and research project, but the onus of responsibility is on you to
conduct a thorough mentor search and identify your STAR Summer Term research project. As you
begin your mentor/project search, remember the following as guidelines for an appropriate
opportunity.

Your STAR Summer Project SHOULD…

… be part of your faculty mentor’s research agenda. While we provide our STAR Scholars with on-
campus housing and a stipend, we do not compensate our faculty mentors for the time and effort
they put into your summer experience. Therefore, in return for mentoring undergraduate students,
they expect these students to help move their research forward by contributing to the knowledge-
construction taking place within their research setting.

… be substantial and independent. While you are expected to contribute to your faculty mentor’s
research agenda, this summer should also be an introduction for you to independent research,
scholarship, or creative work in your discipline. You should be responsible for a substantial
research project, which should take up the full 400 hours of your STAR commitment and will
provide you with enough information to write a research abstract and create a research poster by
the end of the STAR Summer Term.

… be interesting to you. Our goal in the STAR Scholars Program is to help you get hands-on
experience in an area of your discipline that you find interesting, engaging, and applicable to your
future academic and professional goals. You are expected to work a full 400 hours over the course
of ten weeks, and we want you to be engaged and inspired for all 400 of those hours!

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 Identifying a Research Project

Your STAR Summer Project SHOULD NOT…

… be a completely independent project that you have created. The STAR Scholars Program is
not an opportunity for you to create your own research project, but rather for you to work with a
faculty member already involved in research to gain an introduction to what research looks like in
your discipline. We believe that a 10-week program is not sufficient time for you to learn what
research means in your discipline, create a research question and methodology to answer that
question, and then complete the project; we would rather see you spend more time on a question
that has already been posed by a professional in your field to have a better chance of achieving
substantial results.

… be menial busy work. While we expect you to work with a faculty mentor on a project that has
already been established, we also do expect that you will be completing substantial and
significant work independently. Working as a STAR Scholar with a faculty mentor should not
equate to you completing only menial tasks over the summer in service of your faculty mentor’s
larger research agenda; while that may happen at times during the summer term (these tasks are
part of any research or scholarly endeavor!), you should also have a larger project underway about
which you will ultimately be able to write an abstract and create a research poster.

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 Finding a Faculty Mentor

As a STAR Scholar, it is your responsibility to find a faculty mentor and a research project for
your STAR Summer Term. We, in the Office of Undergraduate Research, are here to act as a
resource for you in your mentor search, but we will not assign you to a faculty mentor for the
summer. Our goal is to assist you in connecting with a faculty member to enable you to
conduct a substantial project this summer that is in line with your research interests and will
move the faculty member’s research agenda forward.

R e s o u r c e s f o r f in d in g a F a c u lt y M e n t o r

1) Network with faculty you already know. STAR Scholars who are currently
living on a STAR floor (floors 12-17 of Millennium Hall) will remain in their
academic year housing assignment for the STAR Summer Term.
2) Peruse the Discover website. The Discover website
(www.drexel.edu/discover) is an online portal for faculty members to post
and undergraduate students to find/apply for open research positions. All
STAR Scholars and Mentors are eventually required to be matched on the
Discover website.
3) Search through the STAR Scholars Program Archives for former STAR
Mentors and research projects. The abstract booklets for the past three
STAR Scholars cohorts are available on the Office of Undergraduate Research
website. In those booklets, you can read about the different projects
undertaken by STAR Scholars and the mentors for whom they have worked.
4) Read faculty members’ profiles on their college and departmental
websites. Each academic department at Drexel has a website that includes
faculty profiles and/or research overviews, which will provide you with
information about the areas of expertise and research for all faculty on
campus.

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 Finding a Faculty Mentor
T o T a k e in to C o n s id e ra tio n

Contact multiple potential faculty mentors. We encourage you to pursue

multiple opportunities when starting your mentor search, as this is your
opportunity to get a sense of what research opportunities are available to you.
Do not feel obligated to agree to work with the first mentor who offers you a
position; instead, you should use your mentor search to learn about a number of
potential projects before making a decision about your STAR Mentor and
research project.

Schedule a meeting with each potential faculty mentor you identify. It is very
important that you meet with a potential faculty member before agreeing to work
with him/her, as you and the faculty member should have the opportunity to get
to know one another prior to committing to work together.

Read up on the faculty member’s work prior to your meetings. This indicates
a genuine interest in the work being done by the faculty member, which will
reflect well on you and encourage the faculty member to see you as a serious
candidate.

Create or update your resume. Not all faculty mentors will request that you
submit a resume and/or cover letter as part of the application process for their
specific STAR position; however, it is always a good idea to provide a faculty
mentor with evidence of your skills and your interest in the position through one
or both of these documents. The OUR staff is more than happy to provide
feedback on any application materials prior to your meetings with potential
faculty mentors.

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 Working with Your Faculty Mentor

B e in g O ffic ia lly M a t c h e d w it h Y o u r M e n t o r
All STAR Scholars and Mentors are required to sign our Scholar/Mentor Contract and to be
matched on the Discover website. While you may work closely with a graduate student during your
Summer Term, your faculty mentor of record should be a Drexel faculty member. The faculty
member should be the individual who signs your Scholar/Mentor contract and who you are
matched with on the Discover website.
• The Scholar/Mentor Contract explains our expectations of our Scholars and Mentors in
detail. Each Mentor must sign a separate Scholar/Mentor contract for every student
he/she agrees to work with.
• To be matched on the Discover website:
o Your faculty mentor must post a position on the Discover website
o You must apply for the posted position
o Your faculty mentor must offer you the position
o You must accept the position

E x p e c t a t io n s
You should identify your faculty mentor early enough in the academic year to be
able to meet and discuss expectations for your research project prior to the start
of the Summer Term. When you have this meeting with your faculty mentor, here
are some questions you should discuss:
• What are some of the details of the project we will be working on? It is
entirely normal for you and your faculty member to not know the exact
details of what your project will entail, as research is a changing and
growing enterprise. However, before you begin your summer, you should at
least know the question you are looking to answer and the methods by
which you will try to answer it.
• What should I expect in terms of my work schedule? Is there a specific
location I should report to? What will my hours be like? While we expect
that all STAR Scholars complete 400 hours of faculty-mentored research,
scholarship, or creative work, you and your mentor will decide upon the
details of your schedule.
• How should I prepare for the work I will be doing this summer? For many
of our students, the STAR Scholars Program begins with a steep learning
curve at the start of the summer. Pre-empt this by asking for ways to
prepare – articles to read, concepts to consider – before you even begin
your work in June.

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 Working with Your Faculty Mentor

Research across the disciplines

Research activities vary across the disciplines, which means that your work for the STAR Scholars
Program may not look anything like another student’s STAR project. Some of our students will be
taking part in experiment-based research, some will be working on library-based research, and
still others will be working on hands-on creative projects in their field. Whatever your STAR project
ends up looking like, bear in mind the following:

Research takes independence. You have your STAR Mentor (and possibly other students –
upperclassmen and graduate students) to support and guide your work in the STAR Scholars
Program, but the program is for you to cultivate your own skills as an independent researcher. Do
not be afraid to take ownership of your work and to think creatively and critically about the
problems you are trying to tackle.

Research takes creativity and an open mind. Unlike classroom work and labs, research is an
activity where you have a question but you do not know what the answer to that question will look
like. Your work may lead you down paths you had not expected; be open to this! This is how
knowledge in every field is created, and you are contributing to that knowledge creation.

Research takes time (and patience). In the work of research, there will be times when things will
go wrong; when you have to wait for supplies, or an experiment to conclude, or for the right
conditions for your work; when you will have no control over the speed or progress of your work.
This is part of the process of research; have patience, and your work will move forward.

Research can be ambiguous. While you will have a research question in mind, your work this
summer may not lead to a cut-and-dried answer. In fact, chances are good that your work will not
lead to the be-all, end-all answer – but rather that it will lead to some answers and even more
questions. These questions are the future directions in which your project could go – whether you
or the next research chooses to follow in that direction.

Research should have an impact. And you should know what that impact is. Your role, as a
researcher, is not only to conduct research, scholarship, or creative work, but also to be able to
communicate what that work is and why it is important. You should take time to consider the
“So what?” question – you are engaging in this project, but for what reason? Why? Who cares?
These questions will lead you to think critically about the applications and impact of your work.

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