I spoke with Ben Rayder and Brittni MacLeod, director and associate director for the Office of Undergraduate Research and Major Awards at the University of Houston. They talked about the newly-created "Action Research in Communities (ARC) program, which was designed to merge service learning and research into a program where undergrads are paired with a faculty mentor. 

The Action Research in Communities (ARC) Program at the University of Houston is a collaborative effort supported by the Cougar Initiative to Engage and the Office of Undergraduate Research and Major Awards. ARC offers exceptional undergraduates the opportunity to conduct faculty-mentored action research based on service projects in the Greater Houston community. Selected students receive a $1,500 scholarship and spend the academic year researching issues facing their community in order to develop actionable steps for improvement.