Open badges are credentials designed to recognize skills, experiences, professional growth, and achievements.  Partnering for STEM Success is awarding the following badges to students who have met the stated criteria.  Here are the badges we are awarding:

Research Team Participant

McMurry University recognizes these badge holders for participating on a faculty-led research team.  To earn this badge, the Research Team Faculty verify that the student has successfully identified needed materials, evaluated relevant background literature, collected and recorded accurate and relevant data, analyzed results, and supported other research team members throughout the semester.  This badge can be earned each semester of participation as well as for participating in summer research.

Research Proposal Poster

These badge holders are recognized for making a public presentation and defense of a proposal for academic research at a either the McMurry Fall Research Summit or the McMurry Academic Conference, held annually.  This badge can be earned for each conference where a poster was presented and defended.

Research Poster

These badge holders are recognized for making a public presentation and defense of a poster presenting the hypothesis or problem, research methodology, data collected, illustrations, results and conclusions, and acknowledgements.  The poster may be presented as an individual or team, and can be earned for each conference where this type of poster was presented and defended.

Oral Research Presentation

These badge holders are completing a project and making a final public presentation and defense of their work in a formal setting.  The presentation may be given by an individual or a team.

Best Oral Presentation or Best Poster

These badges are given for a presentation or poster presented at the McMurry Academic Conference held each spring.  The selections are made by a committee comprised of faculty members from the Sciences.  These badges are awarded once each year.

Research Boot Camp Participant

McMurry University recognizes these badge holders for participation in Research Boot Camp, held prior to the start of the Fall semester each year.  These badge holders must have participated in at least 10 hours of research team orientation activities including the following topics:  student researcher rights and responsibilities; regulatory compliance; safety and operating procedures; on and off-campus access and permissions; expectations for work; research ethics and research integrity; reporting complaints, injuries, or other issues; team specific orientation (academic expectations, scheduling and responsibilities, outcomes and artifacts)

Project Completion

The project completion badge is only awarded when a student has completed a long term research project and has earned badges for proposal posters, research posters, multiple semesters of research team participation, and the final oral presentation.

Certificate in STEM Research

Students earning this badge and certificate have completed a long term research project and demonstrated competence with planning, preparation, conducting research using appropriate methods and rigor, analyzing data and interpreting meaning, and disseminating results from the approved STEM project to a professional audience for external validation.