CCURI
FLCC is the lead institution of a national network of community colleges enhancing STEM education through undergraduate research experiences. The National Science Foundation has funded more than $5.7 million in grants to FLCC to support CCURI projects.
How CCURI Works at FLCC
When you study the sciences at FLCC, you'll apply class concepts to real-world research projects. Typically, the students who get involved with CCURI research do so in our conservation and biology programs. Students also have the opportunity to share the results of their research through poster presentations and other professional development events.
Engage
CCURI replaces traditional laboratory activities with learning experiences that expose students to contemporary research methods. The initiative involves a series of case studies that instructors introduce in freshman science classrooms. The cases are designed to promote a deep understanding of the process of science, while also providing students with opportunities to get involved with ongoing CCURI projects. The first year experience in the CCURI model is designed to expose students to the research and engage them in a path toward a STEM career.
Explore
Undergraduate research gives students the opportunity to explore novel scientific questions in great depth. There is no application process to engage is this research. Students who embark on certain degree paths will conduct research as a part of their coursework.
Connect
The CCURI model also involves connecting community college faculty and students to a broader research community. Our collaboration with the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) has been a critical component of the CCURI model. Networking gives faculty opportunities to engage in novel research questions. For students, this means making connections to professors and researchers at regional transfer colleges so that they can continue their pursuit of a STEM degree.
Course Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE)
CURE projects are research opportunities integrated into a single college course. They combine teaching and research to help students develop subject knowledge and the technical skills associated with their area of study.
Program Undergraduate Research Experience (PURE)
PURE projects are research opportunities that take place over multiple courses within a degree program. This models allows instructors to teach scientific concepts within the context of an ongoing research project that involves many students over an extended period of time.
Science Technology Undergraduate Research Notes (SATURN) Journal
SATURN is a scientific journal that serves as a venue for the publication of undergraduate research. As both an educational and research tool, the journal provides students with an opportunity to share their novel findings with a broader scientific community.
CCURI Student and Faculty Profiles
Barb Lake participated in undergraduate research at FLCC, which lead to a research project studying the marine mammal abundance of Berner's Bay Alaska. After FLCC, she earned her B.S. in Marine Biology at the University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau.
As a part of the Protected Resources Division of the Alaska Regional Office, Barb works to conserve and recover marine mammals under the Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act. She also takes part in the Stranding and Entanglement Network of Alaska where she helped design a student outreach obstacle course to let kids experience what it is like for an entangled whale to navigate the ocean filled with marine debris.
"Our undergraduate research students have successfully transferred to complete their four-year degree, and some have gone on to graduate school. These students tell us that the confidence that they gained while a student at FLCC helped them move forward with their academic goals."
Professor James Hewlett is CCURI's Executive Director and Principal Investigator. He received his master's degree in marine science from the University of Connecticut.
FLCC Resources
Contact
Professor of Biology
Executive Director & Principal Investigator, CCURI
(585) 785-1325
James.Hewlett@flcc.edu