College of Graduate and Professional Studies
Faculty Development Grants
CGPS GRANT APPLICATION DEADLINES 2008-09 • GENERAL REGULATIONS APPLYING TO ALL UMW GRANTS • FACULTY DEVELOPMENT GRANTS
The College of Graduate and Professional Studies (CGPS) Faculty Development Grant Program exists to assist CGPS faculty members in specific projects which exemplify professional initiative and can be justified in broad terms as supporting the University’s mission for the College of Graduate and Professional Studies. Following is a description of this program and of procedures and deadlines for submitting grant proposals.
According to the CGPS Faculty Handbook, the College will have a Faculty Development and Grant Awards Committee. This committee consists of four faculty members appointed by the Faculty Organization and Welfare Committee. The Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs serves as an ex-officio member of the committee. The committee will study and recommend policy concerning faculty development and will recommend to the Dean which faculty development grant proposals should be funded. Members serve staggered two-year terms.
CGPS GRANT APPLICATION DEADLINES 2008-09
Faculty Development Grants
(Professional Activity, Teaching Innovation, Instructional Technology)
Application for 2009-2010 Faculty Development Grant Due to Dean
February 6, 2009
Notification of 2009-2010 Faculty Development Grant Awards
March 20, 2009
GENERAL REGULATIONS APPLYING TO ALL UMW GRANTS
Commonwealth travel regulations (business meals, per diem limits, accommodation limits, etc.) are strictly applied to all internal grants.
If the project funding involves travel, a pre-approval form for any overnight travel must be filled out and signed by the Dean before the trip occurs. The President's signature also is required in cases involving international travel.
All common carrier business travel must be booked in accordance with the University's travel management procedures as outlined in the "Travel Policy Guidelines." Travelers may use the University's designated optional Travel Management Service provider or may make their own arrangements. Contact Janet West for additional details regarding current travel management policies. Arrangements made that do not follow established travel management procedures generally cannot be reimbursed. All financial transactions to be charged against the grant, including travel vouchers and reimbursement requests, need the signature of the Dean on the requisite payment or purchase (unless another party has been designated as the authorized signatory). Original receipts to support reimbursement requests, regardless of the source of funds or type of expenditure, must be submitted with the payment request. Hotel receipts/statements must reflect a $0.00 balance due and must also show the complete address of the hotel.
All purchases of goods and services must follow Commonwealth and University regulations, such as using mandatory sources and observing bidding requirements.
Grant funds must be drawn during the fiscal year for which they are awarded: none of these funds can be carried over to the next fiscal year. Failure to draw funds in a timely fashion (no later than June 1) will result in the loss of the award.
Reporting requirements are specified in the following descriptions. Failure to meet the program's project reporting requirements will result in denial of funding for future applications.
FACULTY DEVELOPMENT GRANTS
Academic Year 2008-2009 Application for Fiscal Year 2009-2010 Funding
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 (Stafford campus) to carry out a professional development project.
Three different development initiatives are grouped under the Faculty Development and Grants Committee’s umbrella: Professional Activity, Teaching Innovation, and Instructional Technology. The Faculty Development and Grant Awards Committee reviews all proposals and makes recommendations regarding funding to the Dean of the Faculty. 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 three grant programs:
“Professional Activity” grant proposals address professional research, scholarly and creative endeavors 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.
“Teaching Innovation” grant proposals advance projects aimed at enhancing student learning through pedagogical innovation or curricular development. As part of their normal responsibilities, faculty members are expected to keep current in their fields and revise or replace their courses accordingly, so teaching innovation grant proposals for activities within this range of expected teaching-related work will not be awarded faculty development grants. Instead, these grants are meant to encourage faculty to explore new and different ways to deliver instruction and/or to develop innovative courses which either initiate new ways of thinking about disciplinary practices or make use of interdisciplinary insights. Thus, these grants are intended to support the exploration of current educational research and experimental classroom practices that lie outside the range of routine maintenance of professional competence. Proposals for original classroom research into student behaviors, learning styles, teaching practices, attitudes toward learning environments, curriculum development, or other pedagogically-related topics are especially appropriate. Projects must focus on instructional delivery and have potential for presentation at teaching-related conferences or publication in teaching-oriented professional journals. Because teaching innovation projects are by nature experimental, it is understood that projects do not have to be successful to generate valuable knowledge. Faculty should note that proposals may include travel to teaching-related conferences or other destinations, but these should not be the ultimate focus of the projects. Travel and/or conferences should be integrated into a larger project—for instance, classroom research or the development of an innovative classroom technique
"Instructional Technology" grant proposals focus on technology-related projects that enhance the University's instructional program. These grants provide support for the development and implementation of technology-related projects that will result in definite improvement, innovation, or enhancement of the University's instructional program. Proposals may be submitted from one discipline, addressing a single course or curriculum; or they may be interdisciplinary projects in which multiple faculty members work as a team. Regardless, the Committee is interested in supporting the exploration of technology as it relates to quality student instruction. Such projects might include multimedia presentations or productions, computer-assisted instruction, the use of internal and external networks, or a variety of other ventures. It is expected that projects supported will produce results that can be evaluated and be disseminated throughout the University (and are thus potentially transferable to a variety of disciplines).
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, July 1 through June 30. Moneys awarded for any fiscal year must be spent in that year, which means that grant funding must be drawn on by June 1. 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 make only one grant proposal in an academic year. Grant money may be used for project costs (such as travel, equipment, supplies, and clerical or research support) or as a summer stipend.
Development grants are made only to full-time continuing members of CGPS instructional faculty. Grants may not include requests for funds to be used on equipment or supplies which will leave the University or for salaries of individuals not associated with the University.
III. The Grant Procedure
The deadline for submission of grant proposals is February 6, 2009. An applicant should submit five sets of the written proposal, including cover sheet, to the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs. The CGPS Faculty Development and Grant Awards Committee will review each proposal. The Committee then will meet to discuss each proposal and make recommendations, which will be forwarded to the Associate Vice President. The Dean will announce grants awarded by March 20, 2009. At the end of the grant period, a final report must be submitted to the Dean. Future proposals received from candidates who have not submitted final reports or progress 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 grant period has been established in the CGPS Library. Faculty are encouraged to review these proposals.
Grant proposals are to address each of the following items separately. Incomplete proposals will not be considered.
A. Cover Sheet
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 seven 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 CGPS Faculty Development and Awards 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.
3. Potential Impact and Significance. Discuss the importance or significance of the project, and explain why the CGPS should fund it. The proposal might, for example, explain how the project would enhance the teaching and learning programs of CGPS. Or the proposal could explain how the project will enhance the programs of CGPS 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.).
5. Anticipated Results. Describe any materials or outcomes which will ensue from the project.
6. Evaluation. Describe how the results or products of the project will be evaluated. Discuss the criteria that will be used to determine if the project's goals and objectives have been achieved.
7. Dissemination of Results. Describe how the results of the project will be shared with others who might benefit from learning about the outcomes of the project.
C. Documentation
The proposal must include a list of references, bibliography, works cited, or other statement of sources consulted which reveals the amount of preliminary investigation you have done in support of the grant proposal.
D. Budget
Itemize and justify the following costs, as appropriate to the proposal: summer course equivalent stipend; student assistants; equipment; materials and supplies; fees (registration, tuition, etc.); operating expenses (e.g., computer time, on-line searches, subscriptions, telephone, clerical help); travel; and other. The summer course equivalent stipend is standardized to a $3000 summer stipend (salary stipend plus University share of FICA) and should be requested as such.
Applicants seeking funds for expenses should state how the $600 annual faculty development moneys have been expended or are earmarked; otherwise, $600 will be deducted from the expense request.
E. Simultaneous Application
Identify any internal or external grant support either active or pending. State in particular whether or not the current proposal is under consideration elsewhere and, if so, where. If a copy of the external proposal has not already been filed in the Dean's Office, append a copy of the external proposal for the Committee to consult.
F. Previous Awards
List any CGPS grants awarded during the past three fiscal years (dates, amount of funding, nature of activity, and principal outcomes). Attach a brief progress report on Faculty Development funding received for the previous year, unless a final report has been submitted. The progress report is a short statement explaining the work that has been started.
G. Report
Specify the contents of the final report and the date it will be submitted. Applications received from individuals who have not submitted the required interim and/or final reports by the deadline for receipt of grant proposals will not be reviewed.
V. Final Report
Final reports for all funded proposals (Faculty Development, Teaching Innovation, Instructional Technology) are due in the Dean’s Office by September 3, 2010. For all grant projects, the report should include (1) a summary of non-stipend budget expenditures, and (2) a review of the results of the grant activities. The review may be submitted in one of two forms: a) a product such as a written or artistic work,
or b) a summary of progress toward the goals of the funded proposal. Statements of progress should be written for colleagues outside of one's research field: they should be descriptive rather than technical. The statement of progress should (at minimum) review the purpose of the project, discuss the progress made toward completion of the project, review some of the project's conclusions, and describe the next steps to be taken (in cases where the work remains unfinished).
VI. Evaluation Criteria
General Comments:
1. The Faculty Development and Grant Awards Committee holds the position that Faculty Development Grants are awarded on a competitive basis. Moreover, the Committee finds itself each year in the position of being unable to fund all worthy proposals. The Committee therefore has adopted, in addition to the general criteria listed below, a set of premises to guide its decisions for recommendation.
2. To the extent that funding is limited, the Committee takes the position that the development money 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 and must also identify the new directions that an additional year of funding will enable.
3. Candidates who have had three consecutive years of Faculty Development funding are encouraged (but not required) to seek other sources of funding.
4. 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 College of Graduate and Professional Studies.
5. 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.
6. Funding for travel will be prioritized so that traveling to do research has the highest priority. Traveling to a conference is lower on the scale with higher priority given to applicants who participate (e.g., present a paper) than to those applicants who do not.
7. Individuals who are serving temporary appointments or who have not yet been hired for the normal development funding period are ineligible to apply for Faculty Development grants.
8. The Committee may choose to recommend funding a grant but at reduced amount based on budgetary limitations or Committee determination that goals of the grant can be achieved with less funding than requested.
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 can not readily understand them will not be recommended for funded.
C. New Applications
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.
D. 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 reserves the right not to fund a project receiving funding from other University sources.
E. Grant Applications by Committee Members
To avoid conflict of interest, project proposals from members of the Faculty Development and Grant Awards 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 Associate Vice President and will not be shared with the Committee member who made the proposal.