Exploring Faculty Perceptions of the Benefits and Challenges of Mentoring Undergraduate Research

A notable limitation in the extant and emerging literature on faculty-mentored undergraduate research is that the focus is often on the benefits to students' with little or no examination of the benefits and challenges to participating faculty. Using the cognitive apprenticeship model as a theoretical framework, descriptions of the benefits and challenges accruing to faculty are drawn from analysis of their responses to open-ended questions. Reported gains include "contribution to research agenda" and the personal satisfaction derived from enhancing students' professional growth while time constraints emerged as an important challenge. Although we cannot make generalizations beyond the scope and context of this qualitative study, the data provides some insight into the impact of mentoring undergraduate research on faculty.