In order to survive and progress, students of all backgrounds need to accommodate to common external realities, but getting to that point can be facilitated by calling individual styles of learning as strengths, not obstacles. Some undergraduate institutions that hope to emerge into the more visible ranks of accomplishment are still not clear about the distinction between research and those learning methods that have the veneer of research. While circumstances may require individual institutions to raise the question for themselves, there is absolutely no evidence for a broad trend. Quite the contrary, research funding opportunities are almost begging at the doors of undergraduate institutions. More importantly, the traditional mission is undergraduate-centered learning.
Research fosters that.
There is an inconsistency here. I suspect these assertions reflect uncertainties about how to cope with both institutional and professional change. Habit and fear can be powerfully resistive forces, as can contemplation of costs. The challenge for an undergraduate institution pondering the prospect of strengthening undergraduate research is to start at a level that is consistent with the institutions history and tradition, and move through different stages in a planned and organized manner. Indeed, where research is embedded in undergraduate learning, institutions have to be willing to include it in their accounting of faculty time and expectations.