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Celebrating the impressive accomplishments and exciting project outcomes of the undergraduates who engage in research and creative work is not only a well-established practice with potentially confidence-building benefits for students and the broader campus-community but also serves a central role in many outreach strategies to broaden participation and advance equity.

In print, websites, social media and events, our undergraduate research programs frequently highlight student stories that feature their success and offer encouragement to their peers—often inviting students to speak to their experience in information sessions and presentation events. We spotlight exceptional outcomes and invite students to realize the transformative benefits of this high-impact practice with snapshots of potential future selves.

As powerful and empowering as these stories can be, the way we frame the narrative of undergraduate engagement may also reinforce barriers to participation embedded in our campus cultures that impede inclusion and the advancement of equity. To students with less-than-perfect academic records, these presentations of success can leave little room for failure—and space for belonging in the academic community.

In her experience of “Overcoming Imposter Syndrome and Stereotype Threat,” Dr. Callie Womble Edwards points out that “in higher education, we use the term ‘scholar’ to refer to someone that has accomplished a significant feat that moved our field forward,” reflecting that “while victorious instances should certainly be celebrated, exhibiting these moments exclusive of accompanying missteps perpetuates the falsehood that perfection is possible.” �� If our outreach mirrors the broader culture of higher education, we risk excluding students experiencing imposter syndrome and stereotype threat—phenomenon “connected to the fear of being perceived as a failure.”

The Council on Undergraduate Research’s reframing of our work as “fundamentally a pedagogical approach to teaching and learning” demonstrates a shift in thinking away from project outcomes, emphasizing “process” and highlighting the value of mentorship in the practice of inquiry. ��Through this more holistic lens on our work, the outreach strategies we employ to recruit students can seem myopic, missing process in the presentation of product while inadvertently reinforcing barriers for minoritized students.

We understand that the benefits of participation extend beyond the disciplinary and acknowledge failure as an expectation of engaging in research and creative work. ��We also know the path forward is often clouded in uncertainty. ��But we see the value of students pursuing inquiry that “seeks to make a scholarly or artistic contribution to knowledge”—even if they fail to do so.