Faculty Development Committee
Criteria for Teaching and Curriculum Development
Grant Proposals
Purpose:
To foster teaching or curriculum innovations and improvements that enhance student learning. Appropriate projects might address curriculum planning, pedagogy, and/or course development or revision, and may include individual research, collaborative seminars, consortia, workshops, and/or tutorials.
Eligibility:
Faculty appointed to minimum 0.50 FTE positions for the academic year during which application is being made and the academic year following the award of the grant. Although we welcome applications from all faculty who meet the above criteria, preference may be given to applicants who have not received College-funded support (Sabbatical Leave, Released-Time Grants, Summer Grants for Scholarly and Artistic Activity, Teaching and Curricular Developments Grants) in the past two years.
Note: Sabbatical leave does not change the terms of faculty FTE appointments Eligibile faculty members who are currently on or anticipating sabbatical leave may apply.
Award:
Academic year awards provide project expenses and stipends, up to a maximum of $4000. Project expenses include such items as travel, lodging, meals, books and supplies, and consultant or speaker fees but not the purchase of computer hardware and software or audio-visual technology. Stipends are intended for faculty having leadership responsibility for the project, at a rate of $100/day, up to an individual maximum of $2000 or a project maximum of $2,500 should there be multiple leaders.
Summer awards provide project expenses (such as those described above) and stipends, up to a maximum of $4000; stipend maximum of $50 per person per day for project participants and $100 per day for faculty having leadership responsibility for the project. Individual stipend totals may not exceed $2000 per person with a project maximum of $4000.
Deadline:
Friday, February 29, 2008, by noon in the Office of the Dean of the College
Criteria for review:
Applications for Teaching and Curriculum Development Grants must follow the General Guidelines for All Grant Categories. In addition, the narrative proposal for a Teaching and Curriculum Development Grant must address each of the following specific criteria:
A. Enhancement of student learning:
Applicants must describe the ways in which the teaching or curriculum innovation and/or improvement(s) will enhance student learning. Applicants may describe the contributions of their project in terms of a specific major, department, or program, General Education requirements, or liberal arts pedagogy more generally. Plans for assessing the impact on student learning should be detailed.B. Program need:
Program need is evaluated with reference to:
(1) Relevance of the project to the pedagogical or curriculum needs of the applicant's department or program and/or College as a whole. Applicants should specify the academic needs the project will address. It is strongly recommended that applicants submit a letter of support from their department chair, program director, the chair of GEC or CEPC, Associate Dean, or other relevant academic leader.
(2) Urgency of the project. Projects whose objectives are tied to program requirements, changing pedagogy, staffing changes, or other circumstances warranting innovation or improvement are more likely to be funded than projects meeting less immediate needs.
C. Appropriateness of project design:
Project design is evaluated with reference to:(1) Specificity of project activities. Applicants must identify the overall time frame for the project, describe the activities they will undertake, and indicate an approximate schedule for their work.
(2) Suitability of project activities. Applicants must show that the project activities are appropriate to their preparation for the project, suitable for the proposed time frame and schedule, and likely to accomplish the intended outcomes.
(3) Projects relating to international or off-campus study programs must be by a letter of support from the Director of International and Off-Campus Studies.
(4) Support for purchase of computing hardware or software must be requested from the Director of Information and Instructional Technologies.
D. Participant preparation:
Applicants should highlight relevant information from the curriculum vitae attached to the proposal, such as previous teaching experience, publications, and/or leadership in other teaching or curriculum development efforts. Applicants should also describe any additional preparation that may not be reflected in their CV's, such as research conducted in anticipation of the application. If the application is being submitted by a group, only the preparation of the project director needs to be discussed in detail; however, a brief rationale for the inclusion of the other participants should be provided as well.
E. Plans for dissemination:
Applicants must describe how they will share the activities and outcomes of the project with a wider audience, beyond their department or program, which may include one or more of the college Faculties, the campus community more generally, and/or colleagues at other institutions. Applicants are encouraged to consult with the Director of the Center for Innovation in the Liberal Arts in developing their plans for on-campus dissemination.F. Budget justification:
Applicants must attach a completed FDC Grant Application Budget Form and explain the amounts requested in each budget category. The budget and the accompanying justification will be evaluated on the basis of:
(1) Specificity: Applicants must anticipate expenses in sufficient detail.
(2) Need: Applicants must show that the anticipated expenses are necessary to the project outcomes.
Revised 24 May 2005
Kris MacPherson for FDC
