By John A. Tures, Professor of Political Science, LaGrange College

On December 3, you can help kickstart a revolution happening at most colleges. It’s something already beginning on a number of campuses, on my own, and at other colleges in Cobb County. It involves undergraduate research, where students are learning the very skills that get them engaged and excited about school, one with many benefits to future employers and an economy that could use an expanded talent pool.

Last month, I was at St. Simon’s Island at a conference, where I watched several outstanding students present their work on a variety of topics, using statistics and research, and handling tough questions from judges on a panel convened to determine the best paper.

Two of them were written by our students. Jenna Pittman focused on how the FBI classifies terrorism and which cases of domestic terrorism might be misidentified as such by law enforcement and the media. Katie Gonzalez presented on her Senate internship, examining a classic work by a political scientist about how elected officials serve their constituents.

At another panel, we all presented about our research for a state legislator on three topics: examining whether a state’s mental health capabilities have any impact on gun violence, whether environmental “bad actor laws” work, and whether period products should be tax-free.

There’s a growing awareness at colleges and universities that more needs to be done to prepare students for “the real world.” I have read articles about schools that are trying to up their game on job interviews, and meals with prospective clients. Some are even looking to provide more on-campus jobs to students to get them ready for life beyond college

All are good ideas, but why not have students engage in some real-life simulations of the kinds of problems that they might have to solve once hired? Does a policy work? Should we try X or continue doing Y? Would product A outperform product B? How does one structure a fair test of these? How would one collect such data? What statistical tools would be helpful to learn? And how would one give a professional presentation of the results? Those are skills my students learn at LaGrange College.

Political Science isn’t the only field that does this. LaGrange College is hardly the only school engaging in undergraduate research. When I started teaching at my West Georgia college, my undergraduates were often the only ones of their kind at academic conferences, populated by professors and graduate students. Now it’s pretty common to see other college students, as presenters, and not just spectators.

And it’s not just happening at the small liberal arts schools. I have to give a huge shout-out to Kennesaw State University for hosting the massive National Conference on Undergraduate Research. Schools like Agnes Scott College sport impressive research days. Students definitely get hyped for these events as well, which I’ve found can improve student participation, retention, graduation, and post-graduation success.

If you think that colleges should be focusing on this kind of research program, helping prepare the students for the economy of today, and even tomorrow, make this the focus of your #GivingTuesday generosity. See which colleges are on board, and target them with your donations.

John A. Tures is a professor of political science at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia. His views are his own. He can be reached at jtures@lagrange.edu. His “X” account is JohnTures2.