FACULTY DEVELOPMENT GRANTS Academic Year 2006 - 2007

Application for Fiscal Year 2007–2008 Funding

The maximum award amount for the next round of Faculty Development Grants is $4,000 (a $3,500 stipend and $500 in expenses) or $3,500 (for projects requesting expenses only) or a course release for either the fall or spring semester (and up to $500 in expenses, if required). Format requirements for the proposal and final reports are again revised. Finally, new items are added to the evaluation criteria that the Faculty Development and Grants Committee will apply when evaluating proposals.

I. Purpose

The purpose of the Faculty Development Grants Program is to provide money and/or time for a faculty member at the University of Mary Washington (Fredericksburg campus) to carry out a professional development project.

Two different development initiatives are grouped under the Faculty Development and Grants Committee’s umbrella: Professional Activity and Teaching Innovation. The Faculty Development and Grants Committee reviews Professional Activity proposals and makes recommendations regarding funding to the Dean of the Faculty. The TIP Board reviews all Teaching Innovation grant proposals and advises the Dean regarding which proposals ought to be recommended for funding. Final decisions are made by the Dean, who has the responsibility for the administration of the Faculty Development budget.

The following general guidelines define the two grant programs:

• “Professional Activity” grant proposals address professional research endeavors such as the scholarly and creative/artistic projects usually proposed by individual faculty members. In the case of team research project applications, the proposal needs to make clear why the research should be carried out as a collaborative project. The Faculty Development Grant program is designed to assist in starting new projects; therefore, projects proposed in this category generally advance the goals of enabling the faculty member to be an active and productive member of his or her academic discipline and profession. The outcome goal for all proposals in this category is ultimately the submission of a completed scholarly work (such as a paper or an artistic product) to an appropriate peer-reviewed medium or to some other comparable public forum as may be appropriate within the person’s academic discipline.

• “Teaching Innovation” grant proposals advance projects aimed at enhancing student learning through pedagogical innovation or curricular development. Projects proposed in this category should focus in some way on how course material is presented to students or on how to maximize student engagement with the material, not primarily on developing a body of knowledge or the faculty member's particular area of expertise. Faculty are encouraged to explore classroom practices, to apply models of innovative teaching to new contexts, and/or to expand their own knowledge of research in education or pedagogical theory. Especially appropriate are proposals for research into student behaviors, learning styles, effective teaching strategies, different types of learning environments, curriculum development, or other topics explicitly related to pedagogy. Projects in this category will typically have potential for presentation at teaching-related conferences or publication in teaching-oriented professional journals. Some proposals may be funded with the stipulation that the project be presented to interested UMW faculty at a TIP-sponsored workshop or panel presentation. Proposals may include travel to teaching-related conferences or other destinations, but these should not be the ultimate focus of the projects. Faculty simply seeking supplemental travel funds for teaching-related travel should apply directly to TIP using the request form included with the TIP Program materials in this "Summer Memo." Please note that faculty members are expected to keep current in their fields and revise or replace their courses accordingly; only projects that clearly lie outside this range of expected teaching-related work will be awarded teaching innovation grants.

NOTE: The category of Instructional Technology Grants has been superseded by the TLT Fellows program, which enables up to six faculty per academic year to work closely with the Division of Teaching and Learning Technologies (DTLT) to design and implement projects to enhance teaching and learning in specific courses by using information technologies. Typically, TLT Fellows will spend the fall term designing projects in consultation with DTLT, while in the subsequent spring term Fellows will teach their redesigned courses and assess project outcomes. TLT Fellows will receive one course release, typically in the spring when the project is implemented, and an additional stipend of up to 500.00 to defray costs for hardware, software, travel, and/or assessment. For additional details, see the section of the Summer Memo titled “Instructional Technology Information for 2007 - 2008.” Faculty members selected for TLT Fellowships may not receive a faculty development grant (Professional Activity or Teaching Innovation) during the same award year as the fellowship.

II. Scope of the Program

A. Awards

The final amount awarded per project will be based on the proposal’s budget and the funds available. To allow funding of the greatest number of worthwhile projects, grants will not exceed $4,000 per person (a $3,500 stipend and $500 in expenses). For individuals requesting expenses only, the maximum award amount is $3,500. For persons requesting a course release, the grant awarded will cover the costs of hiring an adjunct instructor in the semester in which the grant recipient will take the release to work on the project. For projects requiring larger amounts, faculty members are encouraged to seek external funding.

Grants are awarded for any period up to one fiscal year, 1 July through 30 June. Moneys awarded for any fiscal year must be spent in that year, which means that grant funding must be drawn on by 1 June. Applicants should be aware that stipends are taxable and are subject to Social Security (FICA) deductions, whereas project expenses are not.

B. Restrictions

A faculty member may submit only one grant proposal. Faculty members may not make a simultaneous request for more than one development grant even if the requests are made in different categories. A faculty member may not have a TLT Fellowship during the same award year in which they will have a Professional Activity or a Teaching Innovation Grant. Grant money may be used for project costs (such as travel, equipment, supplies, and clerical or research support) or as a summer stipend. A proposal for a faculty summer stipend makes a request for the standardized amount of $3,500 in lieu of teaching one Summer Session course. Faculty members are limited to a maximum of four remunerated Summer Session responsibilities, two during each of the Summer Sessions.

Faculty Development money in excess of the $3,500 summer stipend may be requested for equipment, supplies, clerical assistance, etc., as long as the total amount does not exceed the $4,000 Faculty Development Grant ceiling. Development grants are made only to full-time, continuing members of the instructional faculty of the Fredericksburg campus of the University. Grants may not include requests for funds to be used on equipment or supplies that will leave the University or for salaries of individuals not associated with the University.

Faculty MUST DECLARE, at the time of the application, that the grant being requested is for a summer stipend or project expenses only or a course release. This declaration is made by filling in the appropriate boxes on the grant application cover sheet. In cases where a course release is requested, faculty should be aware that a number of factors (other than the merits of the project) need to be considered, such as: (1) could the department find an appropriately qualified individual to cover the course the grant recipient wouldn’t teach, and (2) would the addition of this adjunct course not cause the department to have too many courses being taught by adjuncts in the semester in which the course release is provided? These factors should be discussed with the person’s department chair before submitting the grant proposal for a course release. If it turns out that a course release cannot work, given the particular circumstances in a given department, the grant applicant should request a summer stipend instead.

III. The Grant Procedure

The deadline for receipt of submitted grant proposals is 5 p.m. on 3 November 2006. An applicant should submit eight sets of the written proposal, including the completed and signed cover sheet, to the Academic Affairs Office (George Washington Hall, 309). The TIP Board will review the Teaching Innovation grants. The Faculty Development and Grants Committee reviews each Professional Activity proposal. The Committee’s recommendations, along with those from the TIP Board, are forwarded to the Dean of the Faculty. The Dean will announce grants awarded by January 23, 2076. At the end of the grant period, a final report must be submitted to the Dean (see Section V). Future proposals received from candidates who have not submitted final reports from previous years will not be considered for evaluation.

IV. Proposal Format

Each proposal must follow the format listed below. A file of successful proposals from the last three grant periods has been established in the Simpson Library (on the first floor, in a clearly marked file cabinet). Feel free to review these proposals.

Address each of the following items separately. Incomplete proposals will not be considered.

A. Cover Sheet (Copy provided with the grant guidelines)

B. Project Narrative. (Maximum of five pages)

The narrative is a detailed, specific description of what the project expects to accomplish, how it will be accomplished, and evaluation or dissemination plans. In particular, the narrative must address each the following six topics in the order listed below:

1. Project Description. Describe the project for which funding is requested. Identify the relevant problem or question in the curriculum or course that this project will address, or indicate how the project constitutes faculty development (and how it fits into your personal faculty development plan or agenda). The Faculty Development and Grants Committee advises applicants to “write the proposal, not the paper.”

2. Goals and Specific Objectives. Describe the goals and objectives of the project, and the schedule (dates) by which those objectives will be met. In the case of collaborative projects, outline the details of collaboration, including the specific roles and responsibilities of each researcher.

3. Potential Impact and Significance. Discuss the importance or significance of the project, and explain why the College should fund it. The proposal might, for example, explain how the project would enhance the teaching and learning programs of the University. Or the proposal could explain how the project will enhance the programs of the College and/or make the applicant’s involvement with those programs more effective. The proposal could also describe how the project’s results might advance scholarship in the discipline.
4. Procedures and Methods. Describe how the objectives and goals of the project will be achieved. Describe the experience and capabilities of the faculty member conducting the project, note any teaching or research commitments during the grant period, and briefly describe the facilities available for realizing the project’s objectives. Describe any logistical arrangements that are essential to the project (e.g., explain how access will be gained to material that is not generally available to the public, describe any pre-planning work that has already been done on the project, etc.). Please note that any research involving human subjects must, by federal and state regulations, be reviewed and approved by the UMW Institutional Review Board (IRB). The University’s IRB Manual of Policies and Procedures provides details about the policies and procedures that apply to human subjects research at the University, and is available at http://www.umw.edu/cas/acaffairs/institutional_review_board/default.php.

5. Results. Describe any materials or outcomes that will ensue from the project and explain how the results or products of the project will be evaluated. Describe how the results of the project will be shared such as submission of the completed project either to appropriate peer-reviewed media or to other suitable public forums.

C. Documentation

The proposal must include a list of references, bibliography, works cited, or other statement of supporting materials consulted or available for this project. The purpose for providing documentation is to reveal the amount of preliminary investigation and preparation done in support of the grant proposal. If the project proposes to use materials or sources of information not readily available in the public domain (e.g., interviews with company officials or review of private or personal documents or publications), the documentation section must indicate that the grant applicant has been assured access to such materials. Letters of invitation or agreement to use the materials should be attached. If the grant request is for participation in a scholarly or professional institute, the relevant supporting materials would be details describing the institute and an acceptance letter or an indication of when acceptance to the institute would be received.

D. Budget

Itemize and justify any and all requests for non-stipend/course release expenses related to the grant proposal, such as: student assistants; equipment; materials and supplies; fees (registration, tuition, etc.); operating expenses (e.g., copying costs, telephone, clerical help); travel; and so on. Applicants seeking funds for expenses must state how the $600 annual faculty development moneys (available through the Department) will be expended or are earmarked for the grant period; otherwise, $600 will be deducted from the expense request.

E. Simultaneous Application

Identify any internal or external grant support for this project, either active or pending. State in particular whether or not the current proposal is under consideration elsewhere and, if so, where. In the case of collaborative projects, state whether or not others on the research team are seeking any type of funding (for example, internal support from their respective institutions). A faculty member who has been awarded a faculty development grant or a TLT Fellowship, and subsequently receives support for the same project, either internally or externally, must notify the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and indicate the source and the amount of the additional support obtained.

F. Previous Awards

List any University grants and/or fellowships awarded during the past three fiscal years (dates, amount of funding, nature of activity, and principal outcomes). In the case of projects that have previously received Faculty Development funding, the researcher is reminded that the Faculty Development Grant program is designed to assist in starting new projects. While continued funding may be warranted for certain projects, the application for additional funding for a project that has already received a Faculty Development Grant must specify the justification for additional funding for a project that has already received a prior award. At a minimum, describe progress to date, delineate the next phase of the research, and explain why continued funding is both necessary and worthwhile.

G. Report

Specify the contents of the final report and the date it will be submitted. Applications received from individuals who have not submitted required final reports for previously awarded grants by the deadline for receipt of the next round of grant proposals (November 3, 2006) will not be reviewed.

V. Final Report

Final reports for all funded proposals (Faculty Development, Teaching Innovation) are due to the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs Office by September 15, 2008. FINAL REPORTS MUST BE SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY, as a file attachment.

For all grant projects, the report must include (1) a summary of non-stipend/course release budget expenditures, and (2) a review of the results of the grant activities. The final report must address each of the discussion points specified in section IV B. Specifically, the final report should briefly summarize the nature of the project (point 1); review how the completed project achieved its proposed goals/objectives/anticipated results (points 2, 3, and 5); assess the adequacy of the project’s procedures and approaches (point 4); and comment on how the results of this project have been or will be disseminated (point 5). Final reports should be written for colleagues outside of one’s research field: they should be descriptive rather than technical. If desired, electronic versions of a final product (such as an essay submitted for publication or photos of completed artistic works) may be submitted along with the final report. However, the submission of such items by themselves does not satisfy the reporting requirement. All persons receiving a Faculty Development Grant must write a final report addressing the points noted above.

VI. Evaluation Criteria

General Comments:

1. To the extent that funding is limited, the Committee takes the position that Faculty Development Grant funds should help individuals get started on a project. In the case of applications requesting funding for a project that has been previously supported, the narrative must clearly state the progress achieved in the first year of funding and must also identify the new directions that an additional year of funding will enable. The narrative must also make clear why the additional year of funding for a previously supported project is essential for bringing that project to a successful conclusion.

2. Faculty development recommendations will be made to fund as many worthy projects as possible that could not otherwise be done. Therefore, recommendations will not be made for that set of activities expected of any candidate in his or her day-to-day work as a faculty member at the University of Mary Washington.

3. Projects for work leading to a dissertation will not be funded. As a corollary, the Committee will not recommend funding candidates who are in the process of completing work for their terminal degree since such funding would detract from progress toward that terminal degree.

4. Individuals who are serving one-year appointments or who have not yet been hired for the normal development funding period are ineligible to apply for Faculty Development grants.

The Committee’s recommendations will be based on these evaluation criteria:

A. Quality

The Committee will assess all proposals on their merits as presented. Projects should exemplify professional initiative and should be justified in broad terms as supporting the mission of the University and the individual faculty member’s professional development.

B. Specificity and Clarity

Proposals should be written clearly in non-technical and jargon-free language for a general audience. Proposals should be succinct and provide specific information on such matters as the particular method for completing the project, proposed calendar, budget items and amounts, and expected results. Proposals written in such a way that an informed general reader cannot readily understand them will not be recommended for funding.

C. New Applicants

In the case of two proposals of equal merit and insufficient funding for two awards, the proposal by a new applicant receives priority over a new proposal by a previously-funded faculty member. If a proposal is submitted by a faculty member with a long history of funded projects (three or more awards in a row in the same category), the committee will only consider funding that person’s 2007 - 2008 proposal after all other worthy proposals have been funded.

D. Quality of Prior Reports and Results of Previously Funded Projects

In instances involving persons who have received prior grant funding, the Committee will consider the quality of the final reports submitted and the ultimate results of prior grant projects (successful publication of a essay, exhibition or performance of artistic works, successful book contract, etc.) as new award decisions are made. Poorly written final reports, or a record of past projects that did not result in productive final outcomes, will be taken in to consideration as the Committee makes its decisions about awards for the 2007 - 2008 grant cycle.

E. Simultaneous Applications

The Committee encourages faculty members to seek outside funding whenever possible. If an outside agency funds a proposal, the Faculty Development award may be reduced or rescinded as appropriate. The Committee also reserves the right not to fund a project receiving funds from other University sources.

F. Grant Applications by Committee Members

To avoid conflict of interest, project proposals from members of the Faculty Development and Grants Committee will be reviewed only after the Committee member making the proposal has left the room. The Committee’s recommendation about the grant proposal will be conveyed directly to the Dean and will not be shared with the Committee member who made the proposal.