Year 1 · Evaluation report

Year 1 Evaluation Report

First-year results for Introducing CUREs in Community College at Arapahoe Community College.

64%

competencies improved significantly

100%

faculty requested support

peer-reviewed resources

faculty at cross-disciplinary workshop

Project impact

Measurable impact across all three goals

In its first year, the CURE project showed measurable impact across all three strategic goals — with students making statistically significant gains in research competencies and STEM persistence, and faculty engagement exceeding expectations (100% of surveyed faculty requested implementation strategies and collaboration support).

By goal

Year 1 achievements

Goal 1 — Faculty research integration capacity

Biology faculty showed strong prior research-integration experience.
High confidence in experimental design and student mentoring.
Cross-disciplinary workshop drew faculty from Biology, Psychology, English, Math, and lab support.
Universal demand for collaboration and curriculum-development partnerships.
Key support needs: time management, curriculum integration, sustainable resources.

Goal 2 — CURE curriculum library

Urban Forestry & Tree Equity CURE — exemplary ratings across all domains.
Health Equity Research on Public Databases CURE — predominantly good ratings.
Standardized peer review implemented using CUREnet's rubric.
Repository design and dissemination framework established.
National presentation at the ITYC Summit reached community-college educators.

Goal 3 — Student success & STEM pathways

16 of 25 competencies (64%) improved with statistical significance.
Effect sizes (0.32–0.54) exceeded typical educational-intervention benchmarks.
Integrated Research Skills showed the largest gains (d = 0.54).
4.4% higher completion in CURE sections (trending positive, p = .094).
BIO 1111 showed a 5.9% improvement in completion rates.

Student learning outcomes

Research skills develop in clusters

Students develop research competencies in interconnected clusters rather than isolated skills, with integrated research practice showing the strongest gains.

38%

Research methods & scientific process (post)

39%

Basic data skills (post)

45%

STEM career & educational intentions (post)

Faculty readiness

A strong base, with real barriers to address

Strong foundation

Prior research integration
Strong student mentoring
Proven assessment-development skills
High confidence in experimental design
Department values undergraduate research

Implementation barriers

Time constraints and limited PD opportunities
Insufficient recognition for innovation
Resource and workload concerns
Coordination across delivery formats
Employment uncertainty among adjuncts

Looking ahead

Year 2

Year 2 strategic expansion

Course expansion: BIO 1111 Online, BIO 2116, BIO 2104, BIO 2101, PHY 1111, PHY 2111.
Longitudinal student tracking — term-to-term persistence and pathway completion.
Cross-disciplinary implementation, including Physics integration.
Systematic faculty support via implementation interviews and continuous improvement.
Enhanced outcome measurement — within-course completion across all new CURE sections.

Transformational evidence

A high-impact intervention

Year 1 provides compelling evidence that course-based research is a high-impact intervention for community-college STEM education. With effect sizes exceeding current research benchmarks and gains across multiple competency domains, the CURE model addresses both technical skills and the broader competencies needed for sustained STEM engagement — a foundation for lasting institutional transformation.