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Information for Current
RUSH Scholars
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Responsibilities
of RUSH Program Participants |
- It is the responsibility of RUSH Scholars
to succeed academically and make a strong effort in the research
laboratory.
- It is the responsibility of RUSH Faculty
Research Directors to provide scientific leadership to make the
RUSH Scholar laboratory research experience meaningful and productive.
They are also committed to serving as academic and career advisor
to RUSH Scholars.
- It is the responsibility of the RUSH
Program Administration to provide resources and leadership to
maximize RUSH Scholar efforts in establishing a strong foundation
at the University through completion of the Freshman year with
high achievement in academics and training in biomedical research.
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| Tenure in the Cal
State L.A. RUSH Scholars Program |
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It is the intent to support RUSH Scholars
throughout the four years of the undergraduate experience through
a variety of mechanisms. The RUSH Scholars Program is the Freshman
component of the MBRS-RISE Undergraduate Scholars Program. Assuming
you make good progress in academics and training in research,
beyond the freshman year you will be supported by MBRS-RISE Undergraduate Scholars Program for the remainder of your undergraduate career,
or by the MARC U*STAR Honors
Program during the junior and senior
years. Overall, a student's tenure in the combined RUSH-MBRS
RISE or RUSH-MBRS RISE- MARC U*STAR programs to completion of
the B.S. degree is a maximum of 48 months.
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| Academic Progress |
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There are two very important objectives
of the RUSH program: 1) your academic progress in the Freshman
year, and 2) the progress of the research project in which you
participate. The expectation is that by participation in a research
group performing contemporary biomedical research, your academic
achievements and knowledge base will be enhanced. The goal of
the RUSH is to increase the pool of talented minority individuals
who will eventually take leadership positions in biomedical research
and related disciplines. To this end, your academic success as
a participant in the program is essential: strong performance
in your undergraduate major program is necessary for admission
to a strong Ph.D. program. Students are reminded that admission
to graduate programs generally requires a 3.00 minimum, and considerably
higher for the more competitive programs. You may be interested
in reading the document Some
Hints on Achieving Academic Success.
The National Institutes of Health requires
that RUSH Scholars be enrolled full-time at Cal State LA, and
that the Scholar make satisfactory progress towards graduation.
Scholars whose GPA drops below 3.00 will be placed on probation
and given two academic quarters to raise it above that level.
If at that time the GPA is not above 3.00, the student will be
disqualified from the Program.
Be sure that you take exams required
by the University, such as the Writing Proficiency Exam (WPE),
in a timely fashion. The RUSH program is bound by University
regulations, and if you are not allowed to register any given
quarter because you have not completed the requirement by the
University-set deadline, your continuation in RUSH or any of
the MBRS programs is also in jeopardy.
If you plan on taking more than 16 units,
you must get a memo from Dr. Gutierrez, Dr. Fratiello, or Ms.
Anderson requesting permission from the University Registrar
and the School Dean for an overload prior to your registration
date.
Your academic progress is monitored
by quarterly reports which are made available by the Registrar
to the Program Directors by computer link through the OASIS system.
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Research
Participation |
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The RUSH program is funded by a research
and education grant from the National Institute of General Medical
Sciences (NIGMS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH),
an agency whose primary mission is the creation of new, original
knowledge within the biomedical natural and behavioral sciences.
There are some 25 Cal State LA research laboratories involved
in the RUSH program. It is expected that you will participate
in research full-time (40 hours per week) during the summer when
you have no class commitments, and 10-15 hours per week during
the academic year. You need to communicate with your research
director so that his/her expectations for your participation
in research are clear.
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Biomedical
Sciences Seminar Series |
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The program hosts, in cooperation with
the Cal State LA Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) Program,
the Biomedical Sciences Seminar Series, which is held weekly
(Friday at 1:10 PM in Bio Sci 144) during the academic year and
occasionally during the summer. The goal of the seminar series
is to expose RUSH, MBRS and MARC students, and the Cal State
LA scientific community as a whole, to a wide range of biomedical
scientists representing various disciplines, with the intent
of broadening their scientific perspective. The presenters, which
have included former Cal State LA MARC and MBRS students, are
leaders in their scientific disciplines. They are frequently
minority scientists, and provide exposure to a range of academic
and industrial biomedical scientists. Also integrated into the
series are presentations by more advanced undergraduates and
graduate students. A schedule of the seminars for the current
term are available online at Biomedical
Sciences Seminar Series (this seminar
schedule site also includes biographical information about the
seminar speaker, an abstract of the presentation, and recent
references you may want to read as background for the seminar).
These seminars are an integral part of the RUSH program and attendance
is mandatory.
In addition we encourage your attendance,
as your schedule and other commitments allow, the seminar series
hosted by your major department (Chemistry & Biochemistry
on Tuesdays at 4:30 PM in Physical Sciences 306; Biology &
Microbiology on Tuesdays at noon in Bio Sci 144). All seminars
present an opportunity for you to interact with a practicing
scientist or a more advanced student. Take advantage of these
opportunities.
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Special
Workshops and Seminars |
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Throughout the Freshman year and summer,
the RUSH Program will host a variety of workshops, seminars,
and short courses designed to enhance your background in the
sciences, and better prepare you for a research career. These
will be scheduled to be complementary to your academic course
load.
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Academic
and Career Advisement |
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Your RUSH research director has agreed
to serve also as academic and career advisor. A good advisor
will be an ally in helping make your way through your academic
program with high achievement within a reasonable length of time,
and with most of your humor and sanity intact. You should see
your official academic advisor in your department at least once
a quarter. Ideally this individual will be your RUSH research
director. However, if you feel you need additional advice beyond
what one faculty member provides, seek out other advisors.
As soon as possible, but within five
weeks of joining the RUSH program, you must submit to the RUSH
program office a quarter-by-quarter MBRS-RISE
Undergraduate Scholar Program Plan
(signed by your advisor) which outlines the courses you plan
to take from the time you enter RUSH to graduation. This, of
course, may change with time. Any decision concerning your
academic program for any quarter must be made only after consultation
with your advisor.
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Tutoring |
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We view tutoring as a valuable performance
enhancement tool. Use tutors to help you get better understanding
of the subject matter, and consequently of enhanced academic
achievement. Be sure to use your teaching faculty as a resource
through their office hours. Also take advantage of the (generally
free) tutoring provided by the Learning Resources Center, the
Chemistry & Biochemistry Club, the Biology Club, the Department
of Physics, and others. More advanced members of your research
group may also be good tutors in courses they have already completed
successfully. Enlist their help.
The RUSH program has a limited fund
for tutors beyond the sources above. If you need the assistance
of a tutor, we can help defray the cost. We have located some
tutors and maintain a list in PS 628. You may, however, find
your own tutor. We can pay up to $10.00 per hour for tutoring;
beyond that you must pay the difference. If you are interested
in taking advantage of this, please see Lisa Bautista (PS 628)
before your tutoring starts, so that arrangements to pay
your tutor can be made. If you have any questions, see Dr. Anthony
Fratiello, Tutoring Coordinator (PS 620, x2326; afratie@calstatela.edu).
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Writing
Support Program |
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The ability to write well is among the
most valuable skills one can develop in support of a successful
career, invaluable for scientific work. It is through the written
word that we communicate ideas in grant proposals, report progress,
and publish completed studies. We have secured the services of
two graduate students in the English department to work with
RUSH, MBRS-RISE and MARC students to develop writing skills.
The writing specialists are Hugh Bonar ( hbonar@calstatela.edu) and Erica Hylton (ehylton@calstatela.edu). They have office space in Physical Sciences
512. Contact them to begin work on improving your writing. They
will not write for you, but they will critique your writing and
work with you so you learn to write better. Be sure to give yourself
enough lead time so that you may go through several drafts before
the final document is turned in to a professor (such as a class
paper) or research director (such as a research report).
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Priority
Registration |
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The University Registrar has granted
RUSH students priority registration. Your name and Student Identification
number (SID) have been sent to the Registrar. Please take advantage
of your priority registration status so that you enroll in the
classes you need and make good progress towards graduation. The
priority registration periods during the current academic year
are available at Priority Registration
Periods 1999-2000.
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Registration
Fees |
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Your registration fees are paid for
the three academic quarters of your Freshman year. Please see
Lisa Bautista, program administrative assistant, in PS 628 if
you have any questions regarding the payment of fees.
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Travel
to Professional Meetings |
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A significant advantage of the program
is the availability of funds to pay for your travel expenses
to professional meetings to present research results and to interact
with other investigators in your research area. The decision
of which meeting(s) to attend must be made in consultation with
your research director, and it is at his/her initiative that
Lisa Bautista, Program Administrative Assistant, will arrange
for transportation, lodging, payment of registration fees, and
securing a per-diem advance for your meals and incidentals. Ms.
Bautista handles the travel arrangements for all students in
the program (and faculty if they so request). Since meetings
are announced months in advance, be sure that your travel arrangements
are made as early as possible so we may get the best rates on
airfare and hotels. The funds we have available are limited,
so the more wisely we use them, the more students can travel.
Discuss with your faculty research director your interest in
attending a scientific meeting and if they approve have him/her
complete and send to Lisa Bautista a travel request form (available
online at MBRS Travel Request
Form) at least one month in advance,
or earlier if the meeting has an earlier registration deadline.
Several weeks in advance of your approved travel, you will want
to talk to Ms. Bautista to confirm that your reservations and
meeting registration are in order prior to travel.
Besides air transportation and lodging,
MBRS-RISE provides for meals ($32/day), incidental costs ($5/day
after the first 24 hours), and ground transportation (variable)
for each complete day (7 a.m. - 6 p.m.) you are away from home.
Partial travel day amounts are prorated.
Travel to meetings during the summer
or between quarters is preferred to travel during an academic
quarter. There is an opportunity cost: if you are traveling,
you are not on campus keeping up with your classes. In any event,
you are responsible for high academic achievement. Because of
the time demands, travel during an academic quarter by any student
with less than a GPA of 3.0 is discouraged.
The RUSH program office will, on request,
contact your instructors to let them know you will miss some
classes during the period of your trip. This information is also
collected on your MBRS Travel
Request Form. The letters will be generated
and distributed to your instructors two weeks before you travel.
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Payment
of Research Salary |
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RUSH Scholars receive a salary of $6,200
per year for their work in the research laboratory. Students
participate full time (up to 40 hours per week) during the summer
when they have no class commitments, and 10-15 hours per week
during the academic year.
The University Auxiliary Services (UAS),
the accounting enterprise which handles all fiscal transactions
for grants, has established a biweekly schedule for payment of
salary for your work in the MBRS program. You should fill out
and give your research director a time sheet (available online
at UAS Payroll Timesheet), which she/he will sign, certifying the number
of hours you have worked. You must then deliver the time sheet
to UAS Contract and Grants Administration, located in Administration
307, not later than 12 noon of the day it is due. Alternatively,
you may take your completed and signed timesheet to the MBRS-RISE
Program Office in PS 628 by 11:30 AM of the due date and we will
deliver it to UAS for you. Please consult a UAS time sheet schedule
for due dates -- your laboratory likely has one posted. This
schedule of due dates is also available online at UAS Pay Period Schedule.
Your research director is the only one
who can legitimately certify that the salary to be paid is for
work actually done. In exceptional cases (e.g. the student's
research director is off-campus), the Program Director (Prof.
Carlos Gutierrez) or Associate Program Director (Prof. Anthony
Fratiello) can sign a time sheet so that it may be processed
by UAS. When someone other than your PI signs your time sheet,
UAS is instructed to hold the paycheck until your PI authorizes
its release by countersigning a copy of that time sheet.
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RUSH
Program Evaluation |
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The Research Undergraduate Science Honors
program for new freshman students is evaluated by the Program
Evaluation and Research Collaborative (PERC). The goal here is
to use the results of on-going evaluation to improve RUSH Program
effectiveness. Your cooperation with the external evaluators
is appreciated.
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Scientific
Ethics and Responsible Conduct of Research |
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Scientific research is based on trust
and honesty, as is all scholarship. You are expected to exercise
the most ethical conduct in your academics and research. The
notions of scientific integrity and ethical conduct of research
are fundamental to the establishment of a research career. The
Cal State MBRS-RISE Program provides a workshop for student participants
where the topics of experimental design and the philosophy and
ethics of research are presented. MBRS-RISE. Scholars receive
a copy of On Being a Scientist: Responsible Conduct In Research
published by the Committee on Science, Engineering and Public
Policy (COSEPuP) of the National Academy of Science as background
for this workshop.
In addition, throughout the year special
seminars will be presented in the Biomedical
Sciences Seminar Series devoted to
issues dealing with the responsible conduct of research and ethical
issues. Finally, we expect that the continual informal conversations
between the faculty mentor and the student regarding integrity
and ethics will reinforce the material presented in the workshop
and in the seminars.
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Useful
Forms |
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The following forms, lists, and schedules
may be useful to you. Any other forms you may need are available
in the Program office in PS 628.
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If we can be of assistance in furthering
your academic or research goals, do not hesitate to approach
your research director, or the program directors or coordinator
(Drs. Carlos Gutierrez and Anthony Fratiello, or Ms. Vicki Kubo
Anderson) ), or Ms. Lisa Bautista, Administrative Assistant.
We'll try to help as much as we can and are able.
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