Faculty development grants are intended to strengthen the quality of teaching at UCA. These guidelines have been designed to assist faculty in preparing requests for support through the Faculty Development Committee appointed by the UCA Faculty Senate.
For the 2024-2025 academic year there is $20,000 available for FDGs divided across five deadlines: September 30, November 15, January 31, March 14, and April 15. Grants will typically be funded up to $500 per applicant.
Criteria For Selection
The following criteria will be used in the evaluation of all Faculty Development Grants (FDGs). This is not an exhaustive list; other relevant criteria may be applied as warranted.
- The proposal has a clear rationale and a set of well-defined faculty learning objectives to enhance their teaching effectiveness.
- Proposals related to the enhancement of pedagogy are more highly valued than proposals designed to enhance knowledge of subject matter. Applicants should emphasize the relationship of the proposed activity to pedagogical challenges, opportunities, and applications.
- If the activity involves attendance at a conference, the application elaborates how the applicant actively participates in this event in ways that strengthen their teaching beyond offering their own presentations.
- The proposal describes the potential impact of the activity on their instructional effectiveness and indicates how widespread its impact will be, including specific classes affected and annual enrollments.
- The proposal demonstrates responsible use of university resources to maximize impact.
- The proposal provides a detailed, itemized budget of all expenses related to the activity.
- The proposal has support from the department chair/school director and college dean.
Activities Eligible for Funding
This program is provided to support faculty development activities related to enhancing teaching effectiveness and/or developing curriculum. Travel to a professional conference where sessions are primarily oriented to disciplinary research is typically not supported. Although FDG funds are not intended as an alternate source of funding travel for the purpose of presenting at a conference, an applicant may present a case for activities at the conference that do meet grant guidelines. Making a presentation does not automatically exclude an application from funding consideration. The applicant must build a compelling case for the pedagogical impact of conference participation. Improvements that will benefit a program or curriculum will be given preference over those that will impact only a single course.
Acceptable activities or meetings may focus on instructional design, content, or pedagogy. The activity should be justified by explaining how it will improve the applicant’s teaching. In addition to funding off-campus activities, FDG money is also used to fund relevant online professional development in teaching as well as bring speakers to campus to engage in professional development for a group of faculty. In general, equipment requests should involve instructional technology expenses, not hardware and software costs that relate to day-to-day job responsibilities.
Competitive Funding Considerations
- A faculty member may receive only one faculty development grant per academic year.
- Support is generally not provided to faculty to attend the same conference in two consecutive years.
- Due to limited funds, the Faculty Development Committee is less likely to fund more than one faculty member to attend the same event. Preference would go toward funding one individual to bring back to campus the newly acquired knowledge/skills.
- The typical grant award does not exceed $500; however, higher amounts will be considered depending on available funds.
- The committee shall not recommend funds for salary remuneration, stipends, reassigned time replacement, office help, or office supplies. Items ordinarily eligible for funding include travel expenses, registration/tuition, and required course materials.
- If you are unable to use your grant money in the current fiscal year, it must be returned to the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Academic Leadership so that it may be reallocated. (Note: This does not apply to summer grants intended to be used for faculty development activities that cross fiscal years.)
Completing and Submitting the Application
Please complete the application in Microsoft Word. Upon completion, submit the application via the online submission form. On your behalf, chair and dean approvals will be sought by the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Academic Leadership staff. Feel free to follow up with your chair and/or dean at your convenience. CETAL will then make the proposals available electronically to the Faculty Development Committee for review.
Responsibilities of the Recipient After Receiving the Grant
Grant recipients must submit a final report no later than three months after the grant is awarded. New proposals by grant recipients will not be considered until a final report in the form of a blog post has been received by CETAL. Confirmation of the report will be provided to your chair and dean.
Recipients should be willing to share with the campus community what they gain from the funded activity (e.g., through a CETAL program, blog post, etc). The final report will be written as a blog post to potentially be shared with the UCA community on CETAL’s website or social media. Hence, you craft your report to benefit UCA’s faculty at large. Blog posts are typically 250 words or less.
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