Undergraduate Education

New Forbes Report Featuring SERU Multi-Engagement Findings

April 24, 2025

A new Forbes report, authored by Bryan Penprase (Vice President for Sponsored Research & External Academic Relations, Soka University of America) featured the latest findings from the SERU Multi-Engagement Report.

Use and Users of Digital Resources: A Focus on Undergraduate Education in the Humanities and Social Sciences, by Diane Harley, Jonathan Henke, Shannon Lawrence, Ian Miller, Irene Perciali, and David Nasatir

Diane Harley
Jonathan Henke
Shannon Lawrence
Ian Miller
Irene Perciali
David Nasatir
2006

A “build it and they will come” approach to many university digitization initiatives has precluded systematic investigations of the demand for these resources. Those who fund and develop digital resources have identified the general lack of knowledge about the level and quality of their use in educational settings as pressing concerns. The purpose of our research was to map the universe of digital resources available to undergraduate educators in a subset of users in the humanities and social sciences (H/SS), and to examine how understanding use and users can benefit the integration of...

BEYOND THE MASTER PLAN: The Case for Restructuring Baccalaureate Education in California

Saul Geiser
Richard C. Atkinson
2010

Although a stunning success in many ways, California’s 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education has been a conspicuous failure in one respect: California ranks near the bottom of the states in the proportion of its college-age population that attains a baccalaureate degree. California’s poor record of B.A. attainment is an unforeseen consequence of the Master Plan’s restrictions on access to 4-year baccalaureate institutions. In a cost-cutting move, the framers of the Master Plan restricted eligibility for admission to the University of California and the state colleges (later the...

THE EFFECT OF PRE-COLLEGE EXTRACURRICULAR PARTICIPATION ON FIRST-YEAR COLLEGE ENGAGEMENT AND COMPLETION by Tongshan Chang, UCOP CSHE 6.17 (April 2017)

Tongshan Chang
2017

This study examines how student pre-college participation in extracurricular activities and volunteer and community services varies by demographic and academic variables, and how their experience participating in these activities affects first-year college engagement and learning outcomes. The analysis focuses on students at the University of California’s (UC) nine undergraduate campuses and is based on the self-reported data that compares their high school experience with their first year experience at UC. Students differ significantly in their participation in precollege activities...

PORTRAIT OF THE DISENGAGED

Steven G. Brint
Allison M. Cantwell
2012

The topic of undergraduate academic engagement has been a matter of intense inquiry for more than a generation. This paper examines the other side of the coin: the size and characteristics of academically disengaged populations. Drawing on classic sociological work on conformity and deviance, we theorize four dimensions of student academic disengagement: values disengagement, behavioral disengagement, alternative involvement, and interactional disengagement. Using survey data, we estimate the size of disengaged populations along each of these dimensions and the characteristics of...

Minority Undergraduate Programs Intended to Increase Participation in Biomedical Careers

Anne MacLachlan
2012

This article reviews a selection of undergraduate programs intended to increase successful minority participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics majors, potentially leading to biomedical careers. The object is to examine their structure, consider how well they address the issues of the target population, and assess the extent to which they have met/meet their goals. As a means of conducting this review, the first step is to examine the concepts used as the building blocks for program design. These concepts are found in a shared, yet often undefined, vocabulary...

Research University Spaces: The Multiple Purposes of an Undergraduate Education. Steven Brint. CSHE 9.15 (October 2015)

Steven G. Brint
2015

Students, faculty, and the public expect undergraduate education in research universities to contribute to multiple developmental purposes. While academic purposes remain pre-eminent, a singular focus on knowledge and skills development is no longer adequate. Based on data and analysis from the Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) Undergraduate Survey, this essay identifies and discusses five widely endorsed purposes of student development during the college years: social, personal, academic, civic, and economic. It also identifies the characteristics of classroom and...

ACADEMIC DISCIPLINES AND THE UNDERGRADUATE EXPERIENCE: Rethinking Bok’s “Underachieving Colleges” Thesis

Steven G. Brint
Allison M. Cantwell
2011

Using data from the 2008 University of California Undergraduate Experience Survey, we show that study time and academic conscientiousness were lower among students in humanities and social science majors than among students in science and engineering majors. Analytical and critical thinking experiences were no more evident among humanities and social sciences majors than among science and engineering majors. All three academically beneficial experiences were, however, strongly related to participation in class and interaction with instructors, and participation was more common among...

Beyond The Master Plan: The Case for Restructuring Baccalaureate Education in California

Richard C. Atkinson
2013

Although a stunning success in many ways, California’s 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education has been a conspicuous failure in one respect: California ranks near the bottom of the states in the proportion of its college-age population that attains a baccalaureate degree. California’s poor record of B.A. attainment is an unforeseen consequence of the Master Plan’s restrictions on admission to 4-year baccalaureate institutions, limiting eligibility for the University of California and the state colleges (later the California State University) to the top eighth and top third,...

ENGAGED LEARNING IN A PUBLIC UNIVERSITY: Trends in the Undergraduate Experience. Report on the Results of the 2008 University of California Undergraduate Experience Survey

Steven G. Brint
John Aubrey Douglass
Gregg Thomson
Steven Chatman
2010

Co-written by the SERU Research Team of Steven Brint, John Aubrey Douglass, Gregg Thomson, and Steve Chatman, this year’s report offers two new areas for analysis – the extent of research engagement among undergraduates at UC, and data on student self-assessed learning gains. Among their findings: