VIP Benefits for Team Leaders and Students
The Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) program is a unique learning and mentorship experience. Because the program takes place over the course of several semesters, students and faculty develop long-term relationships. The trust and expertise emerging from these long-term relationships enable VIP teams to scale projects and reduce administrative costs while also improving student retention in VIP and at the University. Essentially, VIPs build a community around research, and envision it as a collaboration across faculty, staff, graduate students, and undergraduates of all academic levels. This long-term, community-based approach to research and service learning offers considerable benefits to both students who participate and to faculty who oversee projects.
Benefits for Faculty and other Team Leaders
Faculty and Team Leaders enjoy several benefits from participating in VIPs.
- VIP has an already-created pipeline to connect interested students to VIP projects.
- Team Leaders receive guidance from experienced VIP team leaders on best practices for setting up team-based research projects.
- Faculty and other Team Leaders participate in a university-wide community of teacher-mentors.
- Individuals applying for grants can receive a letter of support from the VIP Faculty Director to include with grant applications demonstrating involvement in the Arizona VIP program.
- Participation in the VIP program has proven to be a fruitful avenue of scholarship unto itself: several faculty have published on the benefits of the VIP program to their research and to student learning.
Benefits for Students
Through VIPs, students participate in extended, hands-on research with faculty and other mentors, collaborative learning, and leadership skills. Through VIPs, students also engage in several High-Impact Practices, or HIPs. HIPs are widely recognized as educational experiences that provide substantial and measurable benefits to students, including collaborative projects, shared experiences, participating in learning communities, and undergraduate research. When HIPs are combined in through opportunities like VIPs, students gain a deeper understanding of the connections between academic concepts, research, and real-world scientific discovery.
Have questions or want to learn more? Please contact VIP Program Coordinator Dr. Kay Orzech at vipprogram@arizona.edu.