$20K Grants Program

Program Description:

At the beginning of each academic year the CTL requests proposals from faculty that describe the use of teaching strategies that will improve student engagement and learning. A description of how the project will be sustained by the department and how it will become an integral part of the curriculum must be included. Proposals that describe the enhancement of a course sequence taken by a cohort of students and that involve more than a single faculty member will be given priority. The proposals must also include the numbers of students impacted by this effort, and how the impact of the proposed project will be assessed.

Only proposals that follow the guidelines will be considered for funding.

Your proposal will not be accepted if you have not submitted a final report for a project for which you received funding from the CTL in the past.

Proposal Guidelines

Grant Assessment:

The Office of Assessment is committed to supporting all grant recipients in their assessment efforts. This support could come in the form of survey or focus group development and/or administration, data analysis, or some other identified need. Contact the Office of Assessment for more information.

Proposal Evaluation Rubric:

1.   The proposal is well written and conforms to the guidelines.  (That is, both the project and why
      funds are needed to carry out the project are clearly explained.)
2.   The proposal describes (check all that apply):
          an innovative (or new) teaching strategy, which promises to enhance learning
          the use of innovative material, which promises to engage students in the learning process
          the integration of technology, which promises to enhance learning
          other ________________________________
3.   Number of faculty members who will be involved and support the project
4.   Number of students impacted
5.   The proposal has a well-defined plan for implementation and evaluation, including timetables
      and how participating faculty will be involved.
6.   If the project is successful, the manner in which the project will it be sustained by the
      department/unit is described.
7.   If the project involves new technology (servers, special software, etc), it is clear who will manage
      the hardware/software.
8.   If the proposal seeks funds for course revision, the revisions:
          would result in tangible benefits over and above what students expect from the course in its
          present form.
          would require an inordinate amount of time, clearly above and beyond "normal" course
          revision.
          other ________________________________
9.   Requests for technology are clearly tied to improvements in student learning/engagement.
10. How does the ‘bang-for-the-buck' stack up against the competing proposals?

Overall rating guide:
A - the proposal meets all of the criteria, is well-conceived, has a high probability for success.
B - the proposal meets most of the criteria, is interesting, has some probability for success.
C - the proposal does not meet the criteria, does not have much probability for success.

Previously Funded Grants:

A list of the proposals that have been funded during the past several years is available on the CTL web site under the category "Funded Projects."