Faculty Development Fund
Deadline for Submission:
4 p.m. on Thursday, February 4, 2010
Download FDF Application Cover Sheet / Budget Sheet in MS Word Format
Recent Faculty Development Fund Winners
INTRODUCTION
During Winter Term 2010, CRLT will award monies from the Faculty Development Fund for innovations that enhance the quality of student learning.
Grant awards up to $6,000 are available to individual faculty members or small groups of faculty proposing innovative revisions to courses or innovative course development or initiating smaller innovative projects to improve student learning at the University of Michigan.
Grant awards up to $10,000 are available to departments, programs, and other large faculty groups that want to work together on more extensive projects such as curriculum development and evaluation, inclusive classrooms, research experiences for undergraduates, and graduate student instructor (GSI) mentorship and training programs. The $10,000 grant awards are intended for larger, collaborative projects.
For additional examples of project topics, please see FUNDING PRIORITIES below.
All FDF proposals are peer-reviewed by UM faculty.
ELIGIBILITY
The competition is open, on the Ann Arbor campus of the University, to all tenured and tenure-track faculty; clinical instructional faculty; Lecturers who have continuing appointments and course development responsibilities (i.e., an assignment from the dean, chair, or designee to develop a new course or significantly revise an existing course). For collaborative proposals, the project director listed on the Application Cover Sheet must meet eligibility requirements. Applicants who received Faculty Development Fund grants in the past may seek support for new proposals. If a choice must be made between projects of equal merit, priority will be given to the proposal submitted by an applicant who has not received funds during the previous academic year.
FUNDING
Grant monies must be used for project costs that do not fall within the realm of regular departmental expenditures. Requests should not include items that departments normally make available to faculty, such as photocopying, supplies, and routine secretarial assistance.
The following expenditures (among others) may be included in the budget request:
- grants for faculty summer support
- graduate student salaries
- materials and supplies
- travel and registration fees for special teaching-related seminars or workshops
- other essential travel
- leasing of equipment for a short time period so that departments may decide whether or not the equipment should be purchased.
Funding is NOT available for:
- registration fees for workshops, seminars, and meetings that are not directly related to teaching;
- Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) salaries;
- the tuition portion of a Graduate Student Research Assistant (GSRA) appointment
- the purchase of equipment.
FUNDING PERIOD
The period of funding will vary according to the requirements of the project. The funding period is limited to two years, and it cannot begin until May 2010. To be eligible, the funding period must begin in 2010 and projects must be completed by May 31, 2012.
FUNDING DECISIONS
The review of proposals will be carried out by members of the CRLT staff, with final funding decisions made by the CRLT Advisory Board, composed of UM faculty from across campus. Awards will be announced in April 2010, and funding will begin in May 2010.
FUNDING PRIORITIES
Although CRLT focuses more attention on undergraduate education, proposals concerning the education of graduate students or professional students are also welcome. Priority will be given to proposals in two areas:
(1) the incorporation of multicultural perspectives through instructional techniques and curricular content appropriate for a diverse student body, and
(2) the use of active learning strategies, including instruction that enhances students’ skills in critical thinking, reasoning, problem solving, and oral and written communication.
In addition to these priority areas, CRLT encourages faculty to think creatively about their teaching and propose other curricular or pedagogical innovations that will enhance student learning. Examples include, but are not limited to:
- novel applications and evaluations of technology in the classroom,
- innovative curriculum development and evaluation,
- non-traditional approaches to teaching and learning,
- programs to enhance the expertise of graduate or professional students,
- programs to enhance the mentorship or training of graduate student instructors (GSIs), and
- classroom research and assessment projects to help faculty (individually or in academic units) understand how and what their students are learning
PROPOSAL CONTENT
An applicant should prepare a brief three-to-five page proposal, along with the cover page. The proposal must include information on the following aspects of the project:
I. Goals of the Project. State the goal(s) of the project and provide a clear indication of how the proposal relates to students needs and to departmental and college priorities.
II. Project Design. Describe the general approach by which the project will meet relevant goals and indicate what makes your approach innovative from a pedagogical standpoint.
III. Project Implementation. Be specific about what the project will entail. Explain what activities are to be carried out, by whom, and how materials are to be used.
IV. Teaching Approaches. Describe the teaching approaches that will be used and how new approaches will be incorporated.
V. Impact on Learning. Give particular attention to the effects proposed changes will have on student learning. Improved student learning should be the ultimate goal of the project.
VI. Scope. Indicate the number of students, GSIs, and faculty members who will be affected by the project both immediately and eventually, and indicate specific departments, programs, or courses on which your project will have an impact.
VII. Continuation. How will the activities be continued or sustained beyond the initial funding period?
VIII. Evaluation. Describe methods for evaluating the effectiveness of the project. Give particular attention to the effects it will have on student learning. Methods of evaluation might include, but are not limited to: midterm assessments, student focus groups, participant observations, peer reviews, pre- and post-tests, end-of-course student ratings, etc.
IX. Timeline. Indicate the projected timeline for carrying out the project, and provide a breakdown for various stages of the project, including all points of evaluation.
X. Personnel. List names of faculty members and others involved. Do not include curriculum vitae.
XI. Budget Justification. Provide a justification of the budget so that it is clear why each requested budget item is essential to the project. Line items on the separate budget sheet should include the underlying assumptions used to prepare the request, such as rates of pay, numbers of hours and/or appointment percentages, and quantities and costs of various categories of supplies. Cost sharing by academic units, when applicable, should also be itemized. Fringe benefits must be figured into the budget for all personnel. Budget items that are normally provided by departments, such as library acquisitions, travel expenses, copying expenses, and supplies, may be included as cost sharing.
DEADLINES
Proposals are due to the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT) by 4 p.m. on Thursday, February 4, 2010. Complete proposals (see below) may be submitted by the applicant or by the applicant’s chairperson or dean. Please contact your chairperson/dean in advance of this deadline to allow enough time for the chair/dean to review, rate and forward (if necessary) your proposal to CRLT by the deadline.
SUBMISSION PROCEDURES
Applicants should complete the electronic copy of the application cover sheet (except the section for department chairpersons) and the budget sheet. Applicants should then e-mail the application/budget sheet with a copy of their proposal to their department chairperson. Chairpersons should complete the application cover sheet, adding comments if they wish. If the applicant is a department chairperson or dean, this section may be left blank. Chairpersons or applicants must forward the completed application cover sheet/budget sheet and proposal to CRLT via e-mail to crltgrants@umich.edu by 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 4, 2010.
Please submit the following application components as documents attached to a single e-mail:
- application cover sheet/budget sheet with department chairperson’s signature as a .pdf document named “lastname_firstname_FDFcover.pdf” (e.g., Smith_Jane_FDFcover.pdf)
- application cover sheet/budget sheet as a Word document (.doc or .docx) with department chair’s section blank (e.g., Smith_Jane_FDFcover.doc).
- full proposal text as a Word document (e.g., Smith_Jane_FDFproposal.doc)
- OPTIONAL: Although it is not required, applicants may want to include letters of evaluation or endorsement of their proposal from their chair, their dean, and/or other relevant faculty colleagues. Attach supporting letter(s) as a single .pdf document (e.g., Smith_Jane_FDFletters.pdf)
Please Note: Applicants are responsible for tracking the submission process to be sure complete proposals and supporting materials are received by CRLT by 4 p.m. on Thursday, February 4, 2010. CRLT will send copies of the proposal materials to the relevant dean for rating and ranking.
Please e-mail questions about proposals or procedures to crltgrants@umich.edu