This paper identifies salient practices of faculty mentors of undergraduate research (UR) as indicated in the extensive literature of the past two decades on UR. The well-established benefits for students involved in UR are dependent, first and foremost, on high-quality mentoring. Mentorship is a defining feature of UR. As more and different types of colleges and universities strive to meet student demand for authentic scholarly experiences, it is imperative to identify what effective UR mentors do in order to ensure student engagement, quality enhancement, retention, and degree-completion. We offer an original analysis of the literature on UR mentoring in which we identify 10 significant "lessons learned," or evidence-based practices of effective UR mentors that apply broadly across disciplines, students, institutions, and mentoring approaches.

The authors embarked on a study to determine what is on the horizon for undergraduate research (UR) for the future. They reviewed the literature to identify current trends and asked 33 faculty recipients of awards for UR commitment and expertise about their perceptions of UR in the next five to ten years. Results suggest that the next decade may bring more democratization of UR such as greater access to research opportunities for undergraduates from historically underserved groups, those from nontraditional populations, and those with below-average or average academic performance histories. Results also indicate strengthened mentor-student relationships across national and international borders due to enhanced communications technologies.

Eric Hall is a professor of exercise science at Elon University. His primary research interest is in the area of physical activity and mental health, as well as, the impact of concussions in student-athletes. Additionally, he is interested in the role of mentorship in high impact practices. At his institution he has received awards for his mentorship and scholarship.

This paper contributes to research on teaching excellence by extending the current body of literature pertaining to mentoring pedagogies in undergraduate research settings across diverse social, institutional and disciplinary contexts. Our data comes from in-depth interviews with 32 international faculty who have received excellence awards for undergraduate research mentoring. The data reveal a freedom -control dialectic, illuminating the ways in which expert mentors negotiate the desire to create opportunities for students to experience freedom and creativity in research, yet maintain control over the topic, quality and outcomes. The research findings reveal a defining characteristic of award-winning mentors as an ability to establish and sustain a sense of challenge, while maintaining meaningful engagement and a sense of achievement amongst students. The findings show the importance of tailoring practice to the needs of particular student groups, and there are implications for institutional resourcing, as well as mentor training and development.

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