Abstract: Undergraduate research programs are commonplace at many universities. However, little re-search has been conducted to evaluate their ongoing and long-term effectiveness from the standpoint of the undergraduate student researcher. In an effort to gain perspective from the student researcher, including their thoughts on such a program, a survey was conducted of past participants of a business school research program which brings together three stakeholders in the research process: a faculty member, a business executive mentor, and the undergraduate student researcher. The results presented highlight the major benefits and deficiencies of the existing program from the student’s perspective and provide an evaluation of the program’s overall effectiveness. In addition, our findings are compared to the results of a similar survey, performed fifteen years earlier, of the same undergraduate research program. The comparison reveals a maturation of a program which has evolved to better support the financial needs and time demands of today’s students.

Keywords: Agile, mentor, student engagement, undergraduate research

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Recommended Citation: Smith, G. E., Laker, L., Tesch, D. (2013). Lessons Learned: The Evolution of an Undergraduate Research Program . Information Systems Education Journal, 11(4) pp 31-38. http://isedj.org/2013-11/ ISSN: 1545-679X. (A preliminary version appears in The Proceedings of ISECON 2012)