To: Faculty mentoring undergraduate research students

From: Dr. Paul Miller, Director, Undergraduate Research Program

RE: National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) Applications and Process

NCUR is a unique conference in that it is truly national, involving over 3500 student presentations from 300colleges and universities across the United States, and that it is open to students in any discipline! Presenting at this conference is a terrific opportunity for students to develop their presentation skills and build graduate school credentials. Also, NCUR is a chance for students to interact with others who have conducted research.

The application process for NCUR is competitive, every year some applications are rejected. Last year the acceptance rate for non-hosting institutions was around 82%. Please make sure students understand this aspect of the process. We have a very good “track record” with NCUR and we typically send more than 40 students to make presentations. This year, due to the location, travel expenses are high but, we hope to support as many students as possible for travel to NCUR. Unfortunately, we may not be able to support all students who are interested in applying. In order to offer a conference experience to as many students as possible, the undergraduate research program will not be able to fund multiple conferences for any student. Consequently, you and your student should consider which venue may be most appropriate for their work to request travel support.

This year NCUR will take place at the University of North Carolina-Asheville on April 7-9, 2016. As in previous years, we will take students as a group, rather than support individual travel. Likely our group will depart from Elon by bus on April 6 and return on April 9. The Undergraduate Research Program has funds for group travel, hotel, and registration expenses, but those funds are limited. As a result, I am asking for the following:

  1. Please forward this information and the “NCUR 2016 Request For Travel Support” to students you would like to mentor for NCUR.

Please be aware that we will support only one student per presentation.

  1. Please make sure the students are interested in presenting and have no known conflicts with the conference dates. As we have a very active campus, please encourage your students to make sure that they will not have other conflicts over these dates.
  2. Please make sure the students are aware that we require a $100 deposit at the time they submit an application.

TENTATIVE TIMELINE FOR FACULTY AND STUDENTS

  • BY Friday, Nov.4: Students send the completed NCUR 2016 Request for Travel Support via e-mail to . This is NOT the deadline for applying online.Please do not have students apply online until after they are approved by the Undergraduate Research Program, unless they are not seeking support through Elon’s program.
  • BY Friday, Nov.11: I will notify faculty of initial funding approval for students.
  • BY Friday, Dec. 2: Online application completed (by student and mentor) – information on this will be distributed to those approved for funding by our program byNovember 11. This is NCUR’s deadline for applications.
  • BY Friday, Dec. 9: Each student must submit to the Elon Undergrad. Res. Program Office (Powell Building 108)acopy of the online application, with abstract and a $100 check made out to Elon University (or must make other arrangements for paying $100 toward the trip).
  • BetweenJanuary 11-22: NCUR notifies students of acceptance or rejection
  • By January 31, 2016: Students make final commitment to attend the conference. Withdrawal after this date will result in forfeiture of the deposit.
  • Before February 19, 2016: Students register online for the conference (with assistance from our office). This is the deadline for NCUR registration for all students who have been accepted and who are attending.

Information about the deposit

The $100 deposit will be refunded if (1) the student’s proposal is not accepted by the NCUR reviewing committees, or (2) he/she withdraws from presenting prior to January 31. Students who attend NCUR should be aware that they are expected to contribute $100 toward the trip. Students will not be prevented from attending NCUR if they are unable to contribute $100 – we will award a small number of need-based mini-grants to cover the $100 for those students who require it.

Please make sure that your student(s) understand the significant investment Elon makes to send them to NCUR and that their conscientious cooperation with my emails and deadlines is important. This year we expect the cost to be at least $1000 per student attending.

On behalf of the Undergraduate Research Program, I want to express my deep appreciation for the work you do to mentor students and provide them with this opportunity to present at venues like NCUR. If you have any additional questions, please contact me and/or visit the NCUR2016website at