Conference: Coordination, Evaluation, and Support for Astronomy REU Sites (CEASARS)

This award will provide support for a 2-day in-person workshop for NSF/AST Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site directors to discuss and share best practices, identify new and existing challenges, coordinate the recruitment, selection, and professional development of student interns, as well as that of assessment and evaluation across sites. Given that the last REU Site workshop was held in 2020, an in-person workshop in 2023 that brings together managers or representatives from all 35 sites that include astronomy-based research will foster needed discussions to improve the implementation of all programs and would be particularly beneficial for new site directors. The workshop will help the participants set future agendas for the study of issues of concern for astronomy REU sites in the future and disseminate relevant resources. A document will be developed and disseminated using the experiences of the participants as part of this project that will serve as a resource for current and future site directors. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.