A Successful Model of Collaborative Undergraduate Research: A Multi-Faculty, Multi-Project, Multi-Institution Team Approach

A collaborative research grant from the National Science Foundation allowed the first two authors to provide students at primarily undergraduate institutions with a multi-faculty, multi-institution team research experience. Teams of undergraduate students at Western Carolina University and Washington and Lee University collaborated with one another on multiple projects. Research teams used Skype and Dropbox to facilitate meetings and the sharing of research articles, documents, and data. Through collaboration across institutions, students gained a fuller appreciation of research as a dynamic process that involves discussing and critiquing ideas and complementing one another's skills.