For more detailed information on the NSF-wide REU program, please see the  REU program solicitation: NSF 13-542

1. Be sure to correspond with the accepted students frequently and regularly prior to their arrival at your institution. Connect the faculty mentors and students as soon as possible. This communication will energize the students and help avoid “no-shows.”
2. Make sure there is a written agreement shared and signed by students defining conditions of the REU stipend, explaining forms of payment, any charges or cost, travel reimbursement and living arrangements.
3. Meet with all the faculty and graduate student mentors that will interact with the REU students prior to the start of the REU program. Express the expectations of the program, need for excellent mentorship, the time-line of the program, and the weekly activities in which the REU students will participate. Remind the faculty of the need to acknowledge the NSF/CHE grant in all publications and presentations.
4. Follow up regularly with students, the faculty and grad student/postdoc mentors throughout the program.
5. Distribute a calendar of events during your orientation meeting with the students. The calendar of events will convey the level of planning effort that was expended on your REU program, and the students will respond accordingly.
6. An orientation meeting when the students arrive on campus is necessary. Many students are unfamiliar with REU programs and will have numerous questions. Providing extensive information up front will ease confusion and make them feel welcome.

• Excellent time to initiate tracking of students. Use the NSF/LG website (chemnsfreu.com), LinkedIn, or other mechanism for tracking. Maintain regular contact with former REU participants, and they will remain connected to your program. Often your best REU recruiters are former REU students.
• Notify the students about the specific paperwork they will need for human resources. To prevent long delays in delivery of the first paychecks, try to complete all of the payroll paperwork prior to the students’ arrival or on the first day.
• Dorm check-in, travel reimbursement procedures, the meal plan, the dress code, etc.
• Mandatory safety training is important to have before the students enter the laboratory.

1. Organize social activities early and frequently in the program. Social activities that occur in the first few days of the program are most effective in encouraging the students to build friendships.
2. Learn the students’ names ASAP.
3. Expressing expectations is important. Be sure to outline your expectations clearly for the REU students during your orientation meeting. For example, include specific expectations about the range of hours that a student should work, laboratory responsibilities, the flexibility of their time, vacation policies, ability to work with others, deliverables at the end of the summer, and the need to acknowledge the NSF/CHE grant in all publications and presentations, etc.
4. Make sure a desk space is available for each student so that they feel like respected researchers in the program, not just transient visitors.
5. Get your best senior undergraduates or graduate students involved in aspects of the REU program. These students are often your best ambassadors for your institution.
6. You will need to correspond with the REU students frequently during the program (to send seminar reminders, meeting reminders, etc.), so make sure to obtain good e-mail addresses for all of them.
7. Assess whether the REU students are being properly integrated into their research projects and labs. Have a session early in the summer in which the students describe their projects via short (three minute) talks. This is a great way to ensure a successful summer experience for all participants.
8. Consider using a course management program as a central clearinghouse for information for the students. This permits easy information exchange without students trying to track each other down in distributed laboratories. For this to work, you must provide regular new content so that students check it regularly.
9. It is great to take advantage of activities and events taking place across campus, but be sure to have signature REU events that establish the program's identity.
10. Consider involving students in post-program activities. In particular, group reunions at professional meetings are a great way to advertise your program, while emphasizing to the students the magnitude of their summer accomplishments. Note that these need not be restricted to national ACS meetings. There are other options including regional ACS meetings and specialty meetings that might be appropriate to your site.
11. Encourage REU students to attend a regional or national ACS meeting.
12. Establish a contact person (often a faculty member) with each undergraduate program for which you have recruited REU students. This contact person can assist in encouraging former REU students to attend conferences and in maintaining a recruiting pipeline.

While cost sharing is strictly prohibited by NSF proposal guidelines, most programs benefit from sharing resources with other programs or using existing facilities and support provided by their institution. Most institutions have a mechanism for providing the site directors with part of the indirect costs taken from the grant.

Some examples of how different sites have provided better programming for their participants by leveraging resources are:

1. Negotiating for no-cost administrative assistant support
2. Support for additional students from other university sources (non-REU participants who still take part in all research and programming)
3. Partial salary support for REU Director (with attention to federal effort reporting issues)
4. Materials and supplies for REU program and Mentors
5. Discount or financial support for REU students' housing, tuition, and food
6. Local travel, social events, and travel to other conferences for students
7. Cost for inviting speakers for the REU program
8. Cost for evaluation
9. Cost for publication, web-mastering and website hosting, and other administrative toolkit (application, surveys, tracking) tools
10. Combining event planning/hosting with other summer research programs
11. Using resources at nearby institutions for programming (Career planning, NIH Prep, Scientific presentation, etc.)

Some sites have also had success fostering relationships with local industry. This can include instrument time, scholarships, mentoring, site visits, and social event support. You will want to speak with your development office for leads and institutional guidelines for establishing such partnerships.

There are also other programs that seek research placements for students who come with funding from those sources. AMGEN Scholars, LS-AMP Scholars, and others may be seeking opportunities that you can provide with minimal cost to the NSF and which will enable you to serve a larger or more diverse group of students.

There is also the possibility of receiving supplemental funding for special programming, such as opportunistic travel or experiences. Contact your program officer for more information.

Undergraduates benefit from research experiences, and good mentoring contributes to these gains. [1,2] A summary of the current literature on the impact of undergraduate research on students has recently been published by the Council on Undergraduate Research.[3] NSF REU student participants who were asked about how to improve undergraduate research programs suggested increased and more effective faculty guidance, enthusiasm for mentoring, and mentors with an ability to help students develop interesting and doable projects. Some respondents suggested that mentors receive training or that mentoring guidelines be established.[4]

Studies of the impact of mentorship have shown that students who receive strong mentoring during research experiences have enhanced self-efficacy toward their research experiences [5, 6]; greater persistence while engaged in research [7,8], increased research productivity [9], overall higher career satisfaction [10], and enhanced recruitment of underrepresented students [11].

Holding a workshop or meetings for mentors can be helpful in preparing them to work with undergraduates in research as well as keeping the mentors informed regarding the expectations for students and mentors participating in the program. Your specific situation and prior experience of your mentors will govern the format for these sessions. Some programs have faculty as mentors and some programs have graduate students or post-docs that serve as the research mentors for the undergraduates. Your mentor training sessions might be more focused on providing information for the mentors on aspects of the program or they may provide professional development training for mentors to learn how to effectively mentor undergraduate students. If you have more experienced mentors involved, you might have an informal information session with faculty sharing their experiences working with undergraduates. If you have less experienced mentors involved, a more formal set of workshops should be considered.

These workshops may be tailored for faculty members or for postdoctoral and graduate student supervisors. Andrew Greenberg from University of Wisconsin-Madison has authored a book chapter in the Best Practices in for Chemistry REU Programs [12] about how to integrate mentor training into Chemistry REU programs using the Entering Mentoring Chemistry Curriculum [13]. This particular syllabus is designed for an eight-session seminar, but materials can be adapted for different structures. The included case studies are an engaging way of drawing workshop participants into a discussion of relevant mentoring issues. A panel of experienced mentors answering questions from an audience can also be an effective component of a one-session workshop.

Click HERE for LG WEBINAR on Mentoring

Some issues for future mentors to consider are listed below.

1. How have I been mentored? Has it been effective?
2. What makes a good research project?
3. What skills does an undergraduate student bring, and what skills need to be developed?
4. Have I articulated my expectations for the work schedule, lab notebook, ethical conventions, and project reporting to the student?
5. Can I accommodate students with different working styles, backgrounds, and goals within my research setting?
6. Are the roles and responsibilities of the faculty member, graduate student (if relevant), and undergraduate clear to all involved?
7. When can I trust the undergraduate’s results?
8. How independently can I expect the undergraduate student to function?
9. What should I do if the undergraduate is not meeting my expectations?
10. How will I know if my mentee is experiencing problems, either related or unrelated to research?
11. How should I handle conflict between the undergraduate and other members of the group?
12. Are there special issues to consider when the undergraduate is a transient, who will only be there for the summer?

Cited References

1. Hunter, A.B., S.L. Laursen, and E. Seymour, Becoming a scientist: The role of undergraduate research in students' cognitive, personal, and professional development. Science Education, 2007. 91(1): p. 36-74.
2. Russell, S.H., M.P. Hancock, and J. McCullough, The pipeline - Benefits of undergraduate research experiences. Science, 2007. 316(5824): p. 548-549.
3. Crowe, M. and D. Brakke, Assessing the Impact of Undergraduate Research Experiences on Students: An Overview of Current Literature. Council on Undergraduate Research Quarterly, 2008. 28(4): p. 43-50.
4. Russell, S.H., M.P. Hancock, and J. McCullough. Evaluation of NSF Support for Undergraduate Research Opportunities: Follow-up Survey of Undergraduate NSF Program Participants. 2006.
5. Bland, C.; Taylor, A.; Shollen, S. Faculty Success through Mentoring: A Guide for Mentors, Mentees, and Leaders; Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.: Lanham, MD, 2009.
6. Cho, C.; Ramanan, R.; Feldman, M. Defining the ideal qualities of mentorship: a qualitative analysis of the characteristics of outstanding mentors. Am. J. Med. 2011, 124 (5), 453–458.
7. Gloria, A. M.; Robinson Kurpius, S. E. Influences of self-beliefs, social support, and comfort in the university environment on the academic nonpersistence decisions of American Indian undergraduates. Cult. Divers.Ethn. Minor Psychol. 2001, 7 (1), 88–102.
8. Solorzano, D. The Road to the Doctorate for California’s Chicanas and Chicanos: A Study of Ford Foundation Minority Fellows; California Policy Seminar: Berkeley, 1993.
9. Steiner, J.; Curtis, P.; Lanphear, B. Assessing the role of influential mentors in the research development of primary care fellows. Acad. Med. J. Assoc. Am. Med. Coll. 2004, 79 (9), 865–872.
10. Beech, B. M.; Calles-Escandon, J.; Hairston, K. G.; Langdon, S. E.; Latham- Sadler, B. A.; Bell, R. A. Mentoring programs for under-represented minority faculty in academic medical centers. Acad. Med. J. Assoc. Am. Med. Coll. 2013, 88 (4), 541–549.
11. Hathaway, R. S.; Nagda, B. A.; Gregerman, S. R. The relationship of undergraduate research participation to graduate and professional education pursuit: an empirical study. J. Coll. Stud. Dev. 2002, 43 (5), 614–631.
12. Greenberg, A.E.; Entering Mentoring: A Mentoring Seminar for REU Mentors. Best Practices for Chemistry REU Programs. January 1, 2018 , 121-137.
13. Branchaw, J.; Greenberg, A.; Yoon, T. Chemistry Research Mentor Training Seminar; 2011. www.cimerproject.org (accessed 02/01/2018). Adapted from Handelsman, J.; Pfund, C.; Miller Lauffer, S.; Pribbenow, C. M. Entering Mentoring: A Seminar to Train a New Generation of Scientists; University of Wisconsin Press: Madison, WI, 2005.

Undergraduates benefit from research experiences, and good mentoring contributes to these gains. [1, 2] A summary of the current literature on the impact of undergraduate research on students has recently been published by the Council on Undergraduate Research.[3]