This article is for administrators. If you are a faculty member or student, please see our Resources for Faculty and Staff or Resources for Students section.

Once you have been onboarded and have set up your admin account, you can begin launching ForagerOne at your educational institution! We've listed our recommended strategies for successfully implementing ForagerOne below. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

University-wide email announcement

It’s important for the entire institution to be aware that a new platform has been adopted and endorsed by the institution. Hence, we highly recommend a campaign of institution-wide email announcements to be sent out by the administration to all students and faculty of the institution and encourage department-level heads to share additional information via their own channels. This will ensure students and faculty know that such a resource exists and that they may be contacted through the system. At the end of this article, we've provided sample first email announcements. 

Integrate with orientation programs

We have found that one of the most effective strategies is introducing the platform to first-year students from the day they step foot on campus. This immediately promotes the platform as a primary mechanism for students to become involved in research and experiential learning opportunities, familiarizes students with the concept and importance of undergraduate research from day one, and, when a student is ready to engage, offers an easily accessible entry point. Administrators at other institutions even sometimes have students set up the basic information in their profile during the orientation session itself, which can be an easy way to fuel adoption. A sample orientation presentation can be found in the For Students section of the Marketing Materials and Resources folder .

Introduce the platform to other relevant offices at the university

Students interact with a number of offices, including academic/pre-professional advising, career services, and the registrar’s office for example. Setting up meetings with those offices to introduce the platform, present its functionality, and garner their support can become an effective way to socialize the platform among students. Similarly, working with relevant student organizations such as a Student Government Association or Graduate Student Association can allow you to set up strong channels for marketing and socializing ForagerOne. (Refer to the Marketing Materials and Resources folder for print materials, flyers, and posters.)

Engaging faculty department heads and school deans

We’ve learned that the best strategy to engage faculty is by working with department heads and individual school administrators/deans to share information at faculty department meetings, seminars, and communication. In addition to bolstering a culture around undergraduate research, developing a presence in this way reassures faculty that the platform is the primary means they should be using to engage students and boost their research. Faculty tutorial videos along with other tailored messaging to faculty of specific schools and departments are a great way of highlighting the value/relevance of the platform to faculty research.

Using ambassadors for undergraduate research

If you’re looking to take your student engagement to the next level, we recommend developing programs and events in which administrators appoint and work with a few “Research Ambassadors” (upperclassmen who are already involved in research). Administrators and research ambassadors may hold events (such as panel discussions) to help students navigate the waters of getting involved in research. Topics of focus might include the following: the value of undergraduate research, ForagerOne as a tool, how to prepare for interviews, and making the most of your research experience.

Additional programming

ForagerOne clients have come up with innovative ways to promote undergraduate research involvement and platform usage. This includes ideas such as profile building workshops, additional video tutorials, office hours, etc. Administrators have also actively used the data and analytics available on ForagerOne to develop specific/targeted programming towards departments and divisions with lower activity to boost adoption.

Sample Email Announcement 

Dear Students and Faculty: 

We are excited to announce that we are furthering our commitment to creating an equitable and inclusive community around scholarship through the adoption of ForagerOne, a web platform designed to help students and faculty across [university] to connect and collaborate on research and innovation, creative activities, and more! 

The ForagerOne platform will bolster the [Office]’s efforts by helping spawn new partnerships among students, faculty, and staff across departments and disciplines. Our [Office] has supported students pursuing novel projects under faculty mentors through facilitating partnerships, offering grants, and organizing programming, and will now expand its reach and the breadth of opportunities available to students through the ForagerOne platform. 

For undergraduates, master’s students, and doctoral candidates: 

ForagerOne assists you in finding and contacting the right faculty mentors by providing a database of faculty profiles and a guided connection process through which you may reach faculty you’re interested in working with. You can also find faculty mentors and open projects to get involved in, and apply to work with them. On the other hand, if you’re already working on a project, you can share information about it and use ForgerOne to find and communicate with other students whom you’d like to collaborate with or recruit to your team. For more information, please feel free to refer to these linked resources. 

For faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and staff: 

You may claim and update an auto-created profile or create a fresh profile (for many faculty, profiles have been auto-created), indicate if you’d like to accept students or are seeking collaborators using simple toggles, and post projects. You can build your team by reviewing and responding to student requests and messages you receive on the platform, as well as by connecting with other faculty, postdocs, and staff. 

For more information, please visit the [Office]’s website [insert link], the ForagerOne website [https://foragerone.com/], and these linked resources. Please reach out to us at [insert email] and the ForagerOne Support Team ([email protected]) if you have any questions or issues when using the platform.

Sincerely, 

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