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UTK/Knox County Pre-Collegiate Research Scholars Program

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville is partnering with the Knox County School system in the second stage of a pilot program--the UT Pre-Collegiate Research Scholars Program. Rising seniors from all 13 High Schools will work under the direction of their high school teacher mentors and UT faculty mentors in UT research laboratories.

The Pre-Collegiate Research Scholars Program began in Summer Term 2007 at Farragut High School with high school teacher mentor, Ms. Kristin Baksa. Knox County then approached UTK with the request to extend the program to the remaining public high schools in the district; as a result, the first group of county students will begin working in UTK labs in summer, 2011.

The program's goal is to develop a model for hosting high school students in UT research laboratories so that they may experience the excitement of scientific research and engage in their own original research. Selected rising high school students may participate in the pilot program upon the recommendation of the collaborating teacher mentor at their respective high schools. Students may not participate in this pilot program without recommendation and approval from the designated collaborating teacher partner.

Students participating in the UT Pre-Collegiate Research Scholars Program are assigned a faculty research mentor from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, who leads the student in his or her laboratory research, providing the student with the opportunity to experience research in a university setting.

The 2011-12 pilot program involves two colleges, the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering. It is hoped that UTK will be able to expand this involvement in future years to include faculty from other colleges, as well.

Enrollment and Course Credit

At this time, high school students may receive high school course credit for their pre-collegiate research work through Knox County's "Out of School Project" designation, and do not need to enroll in a credit-bearing program at UT. However, students still need to be officially nominated by their school's designated mentor teacher(s), and are expected to complete a Student Registration form as well as an Assumption of Risk and Release of Liability Form, as well as any additional registration materials that UTK or the participating school may require. The UT Coordinator and the participating mentor teachers will coordinate the admission and registration process for all participating students.

Tuition/Fees

There is no charge to high school students who participate in the Pre-Collegiate Research Scholars Program. UTK support is provided for each student and includes all fees, student I.D. card, library access, net I.D. and a parking permit.

Participants in the UT Pre-Collegiate Research Scholars Program will be commuting students. A special I.D. will be assigned to the high school students to differentiate their enrollment status from those of regular UT students.

Faculty from the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering who wish to serve as research mentors must complete the Online Form, which records the prospective faculty mentor's contact information and a brief description of the laboratory experience he or she is willing to make available to high school student researchers through the mentoring program. A faculty member completing the form should indicate which terms she/he is willing to host students in the laboratory (Summer, Fall, Spring, or year round), how many students the lab will host, how many hours a student would be expected to spend in the lab each week, and whether or not grant funds are available to pay tuition for the student(s). The UT Pre-collegiate program coordinator collects these submissions and collaborates with Knox County high school teacher partners to place students with faculty mentors based on common interests and other relevant factors.

Process for Mentoring Experience

At the beginning of the project, each student will meet with the UT faculty mentor and the teacher mentor to outline the project and expectations. A written 1- to 2-page outline of project goals and expectations should emerge from this meeting. The project should correspond with the agreed-upon number of hours per week and the duration of the placement (i.e. number of semesters and number of hours worked on project).

While it is understood that student instruction will involve participation of laboratory graduate students and post-doctoral associates, the mentor is directly responsible for working with the student and monitoring his or her progress. Weekly meetings between students and their sponsoring mentor are highly recommended.

To ensure communication with all parties involved, the mentor, student, and sponsoring high school teacher should meet at least twice each term; the first meeting is at the beginning of the project, and the second meeting is at the midterm (8 weeks) to monitor progress.

At the end of the term, all Pre-Collegiate Research Scholars are expected to prepare an abstract of their research project, to prepare a poster presentation of their research, and to write a research paper and submit it for presentation.

Students are encouraged to submit a research paper to the Tennessee Junior Science and Humanities Symposium and to submit posters for science fair competitions.