UAPA Final Report on UROPs. Poor UROP Experience? Let us know!

[Paul M Irvine]

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TL;DR — The UROP office is currently considering reforms to further improve student experiences. If you’ve ever had a poor UROP experiences, or have other ideas on changes that can be made to the system, let us know anonymously <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfcaWXvNTnGzUzFe6mTuDHEQIbXPoHLdjD_43Yv2WGzyeMbmQ/viewform?usp=sf_link> here<https://forms.gle/JtFpfbXeMAe28vms6>. Read and add suggestions to UAPA’s [Draft] Final Report on UROPs<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z5XChrr3h_TJij-u__WueZNu5W5uYFxeXWYut5LIihM/edit?usp=sharing>, which compiles everything we’ve learned about issues students have reported, reforms our Committee’s considered endorsing, and discussions around supervisor/student incentives and tradeoffs regarding the UROP program.

[+ Happy end of semester + It’s been fun serving as UAPA chair the last two years + congratulations to everyone graduating :-)]

Hi everyone,

As someone who’s UROP'ed every semester of my entire undergrad, I don’t think the value of the MIT’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) is any secret. While the vast majority of UROP experiences are overwhelmingly positive, we recognize that there are an alarming number of reports of serious offenses that undermine the dignity of our student workers and volunteers.
We’ve compiled everything we’ve learned about UROPs this semester in UAPA’s [Draft] Final Report on the MIT Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z5XChrr3h_TJij-u__WueZNu5W5uYFxeXWYut5LIihM/edit?usp=sharing>. But we want to make sure our views are representative of all experiences and perspectives on the matter. We are therefore asking that you share your thoughts and experiences in <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfcaWXvNTnGzUzFe6mTuDHEQIbXPoHLdjD_43Yv2WGzyeMbmQ/viewform?usp=sf_link> this anonymous form<https://forms.gle/uhs1XmLavDxFT3vk6>, add suggestions to the UAPA Final Report doc<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z5XChrr3h_TJij-u__WueZNu5W5uYFxeXWYut5LIihM/edit?usp=sharing>, and/or reach out to ua-publicaffairs-chairs at mit.edu<mailto:ua-publicaffairs-chairs at mit.edu>.

In particular, we want to know if you’ve had any experiences with:
1) Being pressured to not log hours worked;
2) Potentially hazardous/toxic working conditions;
3) Being asked to do substantial assignment unpaid as part of the interview/application process, especially those that directly the employer/lab and are used without proper accreditation;
4) Supervisors meddling in students’ academics;
5) Being asked about past salary/compensation in determining employment offers;
6) Not being notified that of revoked funding / delayed notice of funding decision;
7) Being pressured to not apply for direct funding;
8) Any other experience that undermine the respectful treatment of student workers and volunteers

Further, we want to know if you have any thoughts on:
1) Expanding Super-UROP opportunities into other fields/courses;
2) Phasing-out volunteer UROP positions, in lieu of academic credit or pay only;
3) Setting a maximum number of hours a volunteer UROP can work;
4) Pushing the direct funding deadlines sooner, so every student will know whether they’re funded before they start their UROP;
5) Mandatory know-your-worker-rights training module for first-time UROPs;
6) Increasing UROP wages on number of hours worked with lab to incentivize  investment/mentorship in UROPs from lab retention;
7) Increasing UROP wages on class year / units taken to reflect the increase in UROP skills/marginal productivity;
8) UROP Supervisor/PI Evaluations Public to MIT Students, similar to subject evaluations;
9) Increasing time-sheet enforcement in exchange for higher UROP wages or more UROPs funded
10) Any other changes you think that could improve student experiences in UROPs

Some of these changes may require tradeoffs, which is why your input is invaluable as we navigate these issues. We look forward to advancing this discussion as to how we can optimize student working experiences.

On a separate, more personal, note, this will be my last e-mail as UA Public Affairs Chair. UAPA has scored some huge wins, including expanding financial aid, hosting (with partners) coordinated efforts around voting and taxes, and preliminary low-hanging changes to the UROP system already. I am proud of what we’ve accomplished.
But above all, I hope my two years here has showcased the need to fight for respectful treatment of all workers, including young ones, especially as a tool to economically uplift our communities. The last few decades, young workers have been boned by a system of labor that we’ve been hesitant to change. Alongside our partner universities in the Boston Intercollegiate Government, but with the backbone of UAPA’s Unpaid Internship Proposal<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nlL4F3zzJRUMVM_cQnJjXL56OPVy8G7dtRj0YnFEuYE/edit?usp=sharing>, we’ve led some of the strongest efforts in Massachusetts to improve young workers’ conditions: Our conversations we had with legislative and executive offices were the first times they heard about the legal gray-zone and lack of basic protections for unpaid/volunteer workers, exploitative interviews, and wage-fixing for internship programs— all stemming from unchecked employer-worker power imbalances. Further, we have begun some of the groundwork to expand employment opportunities in areas of, for instance, public service and sustainability that we hope to continue building on. We have got to, and will, keep pushing to maintain the dignity of all young workers, one conversation at a time.
For any questions, comments, or experiences regarding UROPs or any of UAPA’s other initiatives, please email me at pirvine at mit.edu<mailto:pirvine at mit.edu> or the (new!) UA Public Affairs Chairs at ua-publicaffairs-chairs at mit.edu<mailto:ua-publicaffairs-chairs at mit.edu>. If you’re graduating this semester— Congratulations! If you’re not— look out for Fall recruitment next semester and UAPA’s initiatives next year! The new Chairs are hungry to see change ;)

Paul Irvine
UA Chair of Public Affairs
In case the hyper-links corrupt, here’s the full url’s for all the links:
Anonymous UROP experience form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfcaWXvNTnGzUzFe6mTuDHEQIbXPoHLdjD_43Yv2WGzyeMbmQ/viewform?usp=sf_link
UAPA’s [Draft] Final Report on UROPs: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z5XChrr3h_TJij-u__WueZNu5W5uYFxeXWYut5LIihM/edit<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z5XChrr3h_TJij-u__WueZNu5W5uYFxeXWYut5LIihM/edit>
UAPA’s Unpaid Internship Proposal: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nlL4F3zzJRUMVM_cQnJjXL56OPVy8G7dtRj0YnFEuYE/edit?usp=sharing <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nlL4F3zzJRUMVM_cQnJjXL56OPVy8G7dtRj0YnFEuYE/edit?usp=sharing>
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